Your Home Will Smell More Amazing Than Ever With An Easy Trick From Joanna Gaines

The elements that make a home inviting extend beyond shiplap and cozy furniture pieces. Especially when resetting her home for a new season, "Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines appeals to all of the senses to create a welcoming living space. "For me, the tools for this reset begin with the senses — sounds, smells, colors, and textures. I love to put a good playlist on shuffle, burn a new candle, and start looking for the places in my home where I can clear clutter, incorporate new colors, and add life," she writes on her Magnolia Home blog.

She offers a simple trick for making your home smell amazing without candles or room sprays: a simmer pot. Essentially, this is a small pot filled with potpourri that simmers on the stove all day. It's easily customizable to fit the season, occasion or your mood. For spring, Gaines likes to make a citrus simmer pot with a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary, a teaspoon of dried lavender, two or three lemon slices or peel, and a few drops each of lavender and rose essential oils. Add them to a few cups of water and simmer for hours. Check on it frequently and add more water as necessary. Be sure to place your pan on a back burner out of the way, where it is safe from being accidentally knocked off the stove. For a safer option, purchase a potpourri simmering pot and use Gaines' recipe to scent your home naturally.

The beauty of a simmer pot is that you really can make it with anything. An easy way to make your house smell good for fall is with cinnamon sticks. Fill a pan with water, add two or three cinnamon sticks, and add citrus peel, whole cloves, and apple slices. Another great winter scent is pine. Scent your home with pine needles by simply throwing a handful of fresh pine needles into a simmer pot on the stove. For breezier, springlike scents at other times of the year, simmer oranges, lemons, mint, ginger, lavender, or herbs like basil or rosemary.

Simmer pots are frequently simmered on the stove, but that means the scent is limited to the kitchen and may not fill the whole home. Luckily, simmer pots can also be made in a slow cooker. Simply start the simmer on the stove and transfer to the slow cooker. Turn the unit on low and leave the lid off. Check the water levels and add more as needed. A mug warmer can also make a great simmer pot. Again, start the simmer pot on the stove, transfer to a jar or mug, and set on a warmer. Likewise, a wax warmer can also make a portable simmer pot. Fill a small glass jar with simmer pot ingredients and water. Place the jar on the warmer. Again, keep an eye on the water levels and top off as needed.