Make Your Own All-Natural Gel Air Fresheners

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I am the only female in a house full of males and two cats so trust me when I say that things can get a little funky up in here. Between dirty socks, teenage body odor, and the litter box I am always looking for new ways to make the house smell nice. Girl it up if you know what I mean. 

The problem with most air fresheners is that I don’t like to spray questionable ingredients into the air we breathe and I find their smell too overpowering. Whenever possible I like to make my house smell nice by using essential oils, simmer pots, or potpourri. I recently found a recipe for homemade gel air fresheners and this seemed like the perfect solution so I had to try it. It’s easier than you may think!

The essentials:

• small jars
• unflavored gelatin
• food coloring
• essential oils (I used peppermint, lavender, and lemon)
• salt
• water
• ribbon or other embellishments (optional)
• witch hazel or cheap vodka (to slow mold growth)

Slowly add all four packets of gelatin to one cup of boiling water, whisking continuously until dissolved. It will clump quickly if you’re not careful but don’t worry about a few little clumps because you can pick them out with a butter knife. Once your gelatin is dissolved add one cup of cold water along with a tablespoon of salt. 

Once your gelatin is combined, pour it into heat-safe jars. I used small 4oz. jars but you could use mason jars or any other container that you like. This recipe makes about a pint (16oz.) of gelatin so keep that in mind when choosing your containers. 

Once your gelatin is in the containers add essential oils and food coloring and stir to combine. I used about 20 drops of oil and 4 drops of food coloring to my small jars because I like dark colors. One or two drops would be perfect if you like lighter colors. 

Let the jars sit overnight to set. If you have a little liquid left on top after 24 hours you can pour it out. No biggie.

Tie a ribbon around the jar if you’d like and now you have all-natural, inexpensive air fresheners to freshen any room in the house. These also make a nice homemade gift.

For a fun springtime variation, I made one air freshener in a small terra-cotta pot. Once the gelatin was almost set I added some silk sunflowers and now I have a cute little air freshener for the family room that doesn’t look like an air freshener at all. 

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DIY Gel Air Freshener

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

These gel air fresheners are easy to make and smell great! You can adjust the color or amount of scent to your personal preference.

They are non-toxic and safe for little ones and pets.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 box, 4 packets of unflavored gelatin
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1-4 drops food coloring, I used 4
• 20 drops of essential oils, depending on the size of your container and personal preference
• 1 oz witch hazel or cheap vodka, the ingredients in these fresheners are free of preservatives. Using the witch hazel or alcohol will slow or inhibit mold growth

Instructions

1. Boil one cup of water
2. When water is boiling add the 4 packets of gelatin and stir continuously or it will clump
3. Once the gelatin is combined take off the heat and add a cup of cold water and salt
4. Transfer gelatin to heat safe jars (gelatin recipe makes one pint to choose your containers accordingly. I used four 4oz jars)
5. Add essential oil and food coloring
6. Let sit overnight to set

Notes

There may be a very small amount of liquid left after the gel has set. You can just pour it out.