How to Make Your House Smell Good, Room by Room

Start with what smells bad

Empty the trash and recycling, and wash the bins.
Clear out the fridge and wipe it down.
Wash bedding, towels and throw blankets; fabric holds smells.
Vacuum rugs and upholstery, and run the dishwasher and laundry instead of letting them sit.
Open the windows for ten minutes to let fresh air through.

Scent on top of a bad smell just makes a new bad smell, so this part matters most.

One scent everywhere gets muddled. Give each room its own:

Kitchen: something fresh or bright to cut through cooking smells. Try Pink Grapefruit and Clean Cotton.
Living room: warm and welcoming. Try Vanilla Bean and Comfort Spice.
Bedroom: calm and soft. Try Eucalyptus Lavender Herb and White Sage & Lavender.
Bathroom: clean and airy. Try Sea Breeze and Sea Salt & Orchid.
Desk: clear-headed. Try Eucalyptus Lavender Herb and Pink Grapefruit.
Dining table: no fragrance to compete with the food. Try Unscented.

Our candle scent guide goes into the scent families in more detail.

Light it about an hour before you want the room to smell good; the scent builds as the wax melts.
One candle per room is usually enough. A bigger room or an open plan suits a bigger jar.
Trim the wick to ¼ inch, keep it out of drafts, and burn it for no more than four hours at a time.

A simmer pot: a small pan of water with orange peel, a cinnamon stick and a few cloves on low heat. Stay in the room and top up the water so it never boils dry.
Fresh flowers, herbs or a bowl of citrus on the counter.
Baking soda sprinkled on a carpet, left for a few minutes, then vacuumed up.

For a house that smells like December, see how to make your house smell like Christmas, or our fall candle scents for October and November.