Room Smells Musty? Here’s How to Fix It

If a room smells musty, your first instinct might be to light a bunch of candles and hope for the best. However, fixing a musty room runs much deeper than covering up a bad smell. You need to get right to the source. Follow this six-step plan to make the room smell good again and get rid of musty smells: Determine the source. The first step to fixing a musty room is determining the source of the smell. Keep in mind that it might be due to a combination of factors, and that lack of ventilation can exacerbate the issue. Common culprits to watch out for include mold and mildew, dust, dirty laundry, stains and spills, pet accidents and leftover food. Once you determine the source of the smell, dispose of it and clean the area as needed. For example, you can purchase cleaners specifically designed to treat pet urine stains if that is the source of your problem. Source: Evgenyrychko/Shutterstock.com Clean the room. Once you’ve removed the source of the smell, you should clean the whole room top to bottom to get rid of any lingering funkiness. Dust all the furniture and then vacuum and mop the room. If necessary, deep clean the carpets. Vacuum any upholstery and consider taking off the covers and running them through the washing machine if that is an option. Any fabric such as bedding and curtains should also be washed. If the room is really grimy, you might need to clean the walls or wipe down the baseboards and windows before vacuuming and mopping. Ventilate the area. Once you’ve gotten rid of all the smells and dust, it’s time to get the air flowing. As long as the air outside is clean and the weather is good, open up your windows and get that good external air. You can also turn on your air conditioning or heat or circulate the air mechanically–or plug in a fan to get it flowing in a smaller area. Make sure to remove any dust from the fan or vents before blasting the air, as this can cause gross-smelling particles to circulate. After you’ve gone to all that hard work to clean, you want to make sure that you’re not putting nasty smells back in the air. Source: Yuttana Jaowattana/Shutterstock.com Purify the air. If the air quality in your room is not so good, you might need to improve it a bit before you put your fans on blast. Consider getting an air purifier with a HEPA filter to remove over 99 percent of particles in the air, including mold spores and tiny dust particles. Some filters that are designed to remove specific particles are also an option. If your air tends to be humid, which promotes the growth of mold and mildew, consider getting a dehumidifier to help take some of that moisture out of the air and prevent it from growing again. Use baking soda and vinegar. These common pantry ingredients help naturally fight odors. Vinegar is an excellent, safe cleaning agent that is effective against mold and mildew in its pure form. Use it as you would other cleaning sprays. Baking soda is an odor absorber, which is why you’re supposed to put an open carton in your fridge. Baking soda can be used to clean things that can’t be washed. Simply sprinkle the powder on the item, give it time to absorb all the smells and then vacuum it up. Source: grafvision/Shutterstock.com Make the room smell good. Once you have returned the room’s “resting smell” to neutral, you can work on making it smell good again. Light some scented candles, set up a reed diffuser or plug in an aroma diffuser. Whatever your preferred method of aromatherapy, make sure to follow best practices and place the candle or diffuser in a safe location so it can’t be knocked over. For more tips about how to make your house smell good, check out the guide we put together that explains how to do just that. Don’t despair if you have a room that smells musty. It’s totally possible to make it smell good once again. Follow this six-step plan to get your room smelling good in no time.

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The Best Year-Round Candle Scents

Many candle scents are understandably based on the seasons, such as our American Summer or Pumpkin Picking soy wax candles. But sometimes, we just want a go-to scent that we can burn year round, no matter the occasion. If you’re in the market for a year-round candle scent, check out some of our favorite contenders below: Thanks Candle If you’re looking for a lighter scent to burn year-round, might we suggest our new “Thanks” candle? The base of patchouli and musk forms a sweet yet strong foundation. Middle notes of cucumber, pink melon and kiwi add a light fruitiness to the fragrance and help balance out the patchouli and musk. Top notes of lemon flower and oud wood (which smells warm, sweet and woody) help round out the scent. This candle is the perfect way to thank a special person in your life, or to spoil yourself. Dallas Candle If you like the smell of vetiver, you’re going to love our Dallas Candle. It starts with a fragrance that’s equal parts earth and spice, thanks to a base of oakmoss, frankincense and sandalwood. Then we added leather, nutmeg and cedarwood for a strong scent. Final notes of smoke, grapefruit and bergamot keep the scent from being too overwhelming. This candle is an especially great gift for the guy in your life, thanks to its masculine fragrance. He’ll love burning it year-round, no matter the weather outside. San Diego Candle A fragrance based on “America’s Finest City” can’t help but smell amazing, not to mention this versatile fragrance can be burned year-round to boot. We took patchouli and sandalwood and then added some sea moss to create a base scent grounded in this coastal city. Then we added in some sea air, jasmine and amber to further the marine fragrance and add some floral notes. Finally, we topped off the candle scent with some lavender and rosemary to balance out the scent with both floral and herbaceous notes. Colorado Candle This candle smells the way the wide open Rockies feel. To create a fragrance for the Centennial State, we began with a base of amber, musk and cedarwood to capture the feeling of relaxing in a log cabin in the woods. Then, we added in some notes of warm sandalwood and fresh snow to incorporate that fresh powder from the ski slopes. To finish things off, we incorporated some hints of spruce leaves and cinnamon to capture those classic Colorado pine forests. New Mexico Candle If you’re looking for a candle that captures the smell of sandalwood, you can’t go wrong with our New Mexico Candle. We needed a unique scent to capture this unique state, so we began with a base of cedarwood and bay leaf. Then, we added in some clove, musk and sandalwood to round out the scent. To really encapsulate the spirit of New Mexico, we finished off the candle scent with hints of chili pepper, nutmeg and cactus to evoke the state’s spicy cuisine and desert vistas. Maryland Candle Another sandalwood candle, our Maryland fragrance is sweet yet spicy for a perfect year-round candle scent. We started with tonka bean, vanilla and musk to create a complex base that’s neither too sweet nor too heavy. Then, we incorporated some warm cinnamon, herbaceous thyme and spicy ginger to further add to the scent. Notes of bay, cumin and nutmeg help finish off the candle fragrance and call to mind the classic Maryland spice blend of Old Bay. Burning this candle isn’t quite the same as eating a fresh crab cake straight from the bay, but it’s close! Tennessee Candle If you associate Tennessee only with honky tonks and country music, then you’re really missing out. We captured the complexity of the Volunteer State with an appealing year-round candle scent that starts with a base of clove, musk and guaiac wood. We layered in notes of magnolia, patchouli and sandalwood to capture the scent of Tennessee’s trees and then added some notes of whiskey and bergamot to incorporate some floral and citrusy notes. Finally, we topped off the fragrance with notes of the state’s signature export: whiskey. Make your home smell great year-round with these year-round candle scents. Whether you’re looking for something light and floral or strong and smoky, you’re bound to find a versatile scent that you love on our list of year-round candle scents.

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Do Candles Expire?

Many products come with expiration or “best by” dates, leading some people to wonder if candles can expire like other items. Below, we explain whether candles can expire and why and then offer advice for storing and taking care of your soy wax candles to prolong their lives. Do Candles Expire? No, candles don’t expire in the same way that food products do. However, they may lose their color and/or scent over time, especially if not stored properly. Candles are made by blending fragrance oils with a carrier wax. Usually, the fragrance oil will be the first to dissipate. In that case, your candle will still burn like normal, but it will produce minimal scent–if any fragrance at all. This is more likely to happen to candles that are left in direct sunlight or that are not stored in a container. If you’ve ever left pillar candles out on display and noticed that they lost their color and scent over time, then you know exactly what this looks like. In some rare cases, your candle can go bad, especially if it’s made with plant-based waxes (such as soy wax) or natural fragrance oils. This is because plant-based products can degrade over time. For the best results, burn these candles within 12 to 18 months of purchase. The candle manufacturers may also provide guidance for how long their different types of wax last, so check with the individual brands if you have lots of different candles made with different types of waxes. How to Store Your Candles You can take certain steps to lengthen the life of your candle, especially if it’s made with natural waxes or fragrance oils. The first step is to keep it out of direct sunlight. This is because UV radiation breaks down materials over time, causing colors to fade and scent to dissipate. You may have noticed that objects left outside or near a window will fade over time, and this follows the same principle. If your favorite candle placements expose them to sunlight, move them to a more shady spot once you are finished burning them. Storing your candles in an airtight container will also help keep the fragrance from fading. Some candles already come with a container and a lid, in which case you can just replace the lid after you’re done burning it. For candles that don’t come with a container or a lid, you might want to get an airtight plastic box that can hold the candles when not in use. If you get an opaque box, it will also protect the candles from sunlight so you can leave it out. But if you get a clear one, you’ll need to find somewhere to store it. Other Candle Care Tips Storing your scented candles properly isn’t the only thing that you can do to prolong the life of your candles. Here are some other candle care tips that will help you make the most of your candles and maximize your burn time: Keep the candle away from drafts and vents while it is burning. This will ensure an even burn and keep the flame from sputtering or being blown out. Trim the candle wick before each burn. This will also help it burn evenly and reduce its chances of smoking, which will discolor the container. If soot marks do accumulate, do clean them regularly–though wait for the glass to cool first to avoid burning yourself. On the first burn, make sure that the entire first layer of wax melts (this may take several hours). This will help set the candle wax’s “memory” and prevent tunneling, where only the center of the candle burns down. On subsequent burns, don’t leave the candle burning for more than four hours at a time to prevent the wax from superheating, which will reduce the candle’s scent. Allow the candle to completely cool and harden before burning it again. Keep the top of the candle clean and dust-free. If you store it in a container like the instructions above, you won’t have to worry about this. While most candles don’t truly expire, their scent and color will fade over time. You can prolong their lives with the proper care and storage. Follow the tips above to get the most of your candle and enjoy its scent for many months to come.

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What to Do When Your Candle’s Glass Turns Black on Top

Psst. Don't forget to check out our new arrivals after learning more below! Shop HERE. You’ve been burning a candle and loving the new fragrance when you notice a thin, grey film forming on the top of the container. The buildup gets worse with every burn, until you have a black ring around the top of the candle. While unsightly, this black deposit has a perfectly normal explanation, and it’s very easy to both prevent and clean. Read on to discover what causes candle glass to turn black, as well as how to prevent it from happening and how to clean off the buildup. What causes candle glass to turn black? Candle glass turns black due to the accumulation of soot. Any type of candle can create soot, though it’s more common with certain types of waxes, such as paraffin wax. Soot is created as a result of an incomplete combustion reaction, and it can be caused by several different factors. One of the main reasons is having a candle flame that is too large, which is, in turn, caused by a longer wick. A longer wick and a larger flame means that more wax will be melted, which gives the candles more fuel. This increased fuel can result in incomplete combustion, which leads to soot. An uneven burn can also create soot. Long candle wicks tend to curl over or form a mushroom at the top, which creates a lumpy flame that burns some parts of the candle wax more than others. The candle wick may also move off center when the wax is melted, which will also result in an uneven burn and create soot. Finally, placing the candle near a draft or vent can cause the flame to move around, yet again resulting in an uneven burn and causing still more soot. How can you prevent candle glass from turning black? Thankfully, soot formation is not inevitable, and there are several steps that you can take to stop soot from forming before it even starts. The first is trimming your candle wick down to one-eighth to one-fourth inch before each burn (make sure the candle has completely cooled before doing this). You can do this with scissors to start, though you might want to get a dedicated wick trimmer so you can continue to do it as the candle burns down. Trimming the wick keeps the flame small and  ensures that it is evenly shaped, helping to prevent incomplete combustion. If the wick moves during burning, you should also recenter it while the wax is still soft. You can use the wick trimmers or another tool to nudge it back into place. Don’t use your fingers or you might burn yourself. You should also keep the candle away from vents, drafts and other things that might cause the flame to sputter or burn unevenly. Place the candle in a secure location where it won’t be disturbed. A little bit of bobbing is normal for a candle flame, but if it’s really going in and out, or it’s not shaped evenly, try moving the candle to a new location. How can you clean black candle glass? Despite your best precautions, your soy wax candle may form soot anyway. If your candle glass is turning black, it’s best to clean it periodically to keep the soot from building up. The more soot there is, the harder it will be to clean. Before cleaning the candle, blow out the flame and let the wax and the container cool completely. Dampen a paper towel and rub it over the soot until it dissipates. If the soot is really stubborn, you can use rubbing alcohol instead, which will cut through the buildup. Let the candle dry completely before burning again. If you have already burned the candle all the way down and are looking to repurpose the jar, you can also use soap and water to remove the candle wax. First, you’ll need to remove the candle wax from the jar (check out the linked guide for instructions on how to do that). Soak the candle container in some soapy water and then wipe with a soft cloth until all the soot comes off. Let the container dry before repurposing. If all your candles have a black ring of soot, never fear. This unsightly buildup is easy to both prevent and clean up. Follow these tips to keep your candles soot-free and looking good.

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14 Calming Scents to Help You Unwind

Psst. Don't forget to shop our best sellers after you learn more below. Shop HERE. We could all use a little more calm in our lives right now, and aromatherapy can be a great way to relax–especially when coupled with other de-stressing techniques. Whether you’re a newcomer to aromatherapy or an expert looking to expand your fragrance collection, we’ve compiled a list of the 14 best calming scents below. Then, we delve into aromatherapy techniques that you can use to destress, including running a diffuser and lighting candles. Calming Scents to Help You Relax Whenever we need to relax, we turn to these 14 calming scents to help us unwind and destress. Rosemary - Try our San Diego candle You’ve probably cooked with rosemary before, but you should also consider including this fragrance as part of your aromatherapy routine. Rosemary has both energizing and relaxing effects, so if you need to improve your concentration and reduce stress while working on a major project, you should definitely try it out. Lavender - Try our France or Evening Unwind candle Lavender is one of the most popular scents for relaxing and falling asleep, and with good reason. This fragrance oil has many calming properties, and it can help release tension, soothe racing thoughts and help you unwind. Whether you’re stressed from work or just want to supercharge a relaxing evening, lavender will help you calm down and unwind in no time. Jasmine - Try our New Home, SoCal or Gone Hiking candle This sweet, rich floral scent is known for its calming properties. If you’re tired and stressed, this fragrance oil will help soothe your tension and promote relaxation. Jasmine is not only available as an oil but can also be found in many candles, perfumes, soaps and even alcohol and desserts. Vanilla - Try our Book Club or NoCal candle This sweet, mild scent doesn’t get enough credit for its calming properties. While many people dismiss vanilla as a pedestrian fragrance, it’s a fantastic base scent that will also help you relax—not to mention it makes your whole house smell like baked goods, minus the hassle and mess of getting in the kitchen. We call that a win-win. Sea Breeze - Try our Vancouver or San Diego candle If you prefer a fresh scent that transports you outside, sea breeze is an excellent choice that will also help you calm down after a stressful day. After all, we can’t think of anything more relaxing than sitting next to the ocean with a tropical drink in our hand. As an added bonus, you won’t have to clean sand out of every crevice at the end of the day. Clary Sage - Try our Thank you, Mom or Ohio candle Clary sage is the more colorful, flowering cousin of the common cooking herb often found in grocery stores. While it does have a similar fragrance profile to regular sage, clary sage is a bit softer and sweeter and doesn’t hit your nose quite as hard. If you’re looking for a savory herbal scent to help you relax, try experimenting with clary sage. Ylang Ylang - Try our Los Angeles or Thank you, Mom candle While you might not be familiar with the name of this plant, you’ve probably smelled it before. It’s a fairly common ingredient in candles, perfumes, lotions and soaps. Ylang ylang has a heavy, sweet smell, sometimes with notes of fruits and rubber. Ylang ylang can help calm you down after a stressful day and soothe negative moods. Lemon - Try our NYC or Spa-cation candle While citrus is more well-known for increasing alertness and energy, it can also help you calm down after a hard day. Lemon has also been paired with other scents on this list to add a note of brightness and alleviate some fragrances that may be too rich or sweet on their own. If you’re skeptical of using lemon to relax, all we can say is don’t knock it until you try it. Cinnamon - Try our Home Office candle While this spicy fragrance is a staple of winter holiday fragrances, we think it should be used year round due to its many beneficial properties. Cinnamon’s effect is warming and invigorating, yet calming. Pair it with vanilla to make your house smell like sweet cookies, or use it to add a scent of spice to some of the other options on this list. Sweet Marjoram - Try our Evening Unwind candle Not to be confused with margarine, this woody, spicy fragrance smells like a less pungent version of oregano. While better known as a cooking spice, in oil form, marjoram has calming properties that will help you to relax. Sweet marjoram creates a warm, woody scent that is soothing but not overpowering for gentle herbal aromatherapy Peppermint - Try our Alaska or Montana candle If you’re looking for an invigorating yet calming scent, but don’t want a citrus fragrance, then peppermint is a good alternative. The minty nature of this refreshing scent will gently invigorate you while soothing away tension. If you’ve never explored peppermint beyond the occasional cup of peppermint tea, you’re really missing out. Rose and Geranium - Try our Wildflowers candle While these two flowers look very different, they have similar scent profiles, which is why we’re listing them together. Unlike other floral scents, which can be heavy and cloying, rose and geranium have a sweet, refreshing scent that’s very distinct from other florals. They can help reduce stress and anxiety, helping you to relax and calm down. Vetiver - Try our Black Tux candle Grassy scents are also good for relaxing, and one of our favorite scents in this family is vetiver. Vetiver smells dry, earthy, woody, leathery and smoky, which is why it’s often used in candles that have a heavier, musky scent. The smell of vetiver will transport you to lying on the lawn during a warm summer day—and what’s not relaxing about that? Sweet Basil - Try our Spring Cleaning or Sunday Farmstand candle Basil isn’t just good for making pesto. In oil form, sweet basil can also help you relax and destress. If you find regular basil too aromatic for your tastes, seek out the sweet basil version, which has a bit of a lighter scent. Basil goes especially well with lemon for a clarifying yet relaxing combo fragrance. How to Use Calming Scents to Relax If you’re new to aromatherapy, you may be wondering how to incorporate it into your daily routine. Try these eight ideas to use calming scents to help you relax. Diffuse the fragrance. There are many different methods of diffusing essential oils into the air. These devices use heat or sonic waves to atomize the fragrance models and disperse them into the air. We especially love ultrasonic diffusers because the sonic waves don’t cause the fragrance to degrade, which can sometimes happen when you use heat instead. Electric diffusers provide a strong fragrance, but they do need to be plugged into an outlet and can’t be left to run continuously. Reed diffusers absorb the fragrance oil into the reeds and passively release it into the air, providing 24/7 fragrance. They can be placed anywhere in the home since they don’t require power, but their scent tends to not be as strong as electric diffusers. Spray it around. Room sprays are another low effort way to use aromatherapy around your home. Room sprays mix fragrance oils with either carrier oils or water to dilute them and then disperse the droplets into the air. Because no heat is involved, the scent from room sprays tends to be less strong than some of the other methods listed here. However, room sprays are very affordable and they do get to work fast, so they’re a good way to quickly make a room smell nice. You also don’t have to worry about room sprays overheating or getting tipped over, so they can be good for houses with small kids and rambunctious pets. Light a candle. Not only do candles provide pleasing, relaxing scents, they also create atmospheric lighting that can’t be matched by electricity. If you need to relax in a hurry, dim the lights, light some candles and enjoy the cozy atmosphere you’ve just created. To prolong the life of your candle, make sure to place the candles in a stable area away from drafts, pets and children. Candles shouldn’t be burned for more than four hours at a time to keep the wax from overheating. As with anything involving an open flame, you should always follow proper safety precautions and never let it burn unattended. Inhale it directly. For the most potent smell, you can inhale the fragrance directly. Some people like to rub a couple of drops of fragrance oils on their hands and then bring their palms up to their face and breathe the aroma in. Others apply a few drops to a terracotta disk that they wear around their neck for a gentle aroma all day. People who suffer from colds, allergies and other sicknesses that stop up their sinuses enjoy steam inhalation. They add the fragrance oil to a bowl of steaming water and then lean over, close their eyes and inhale. If you’re experimenting with inhaling a fragrance directly for the first time, use only a few drops and don’t breathe too deeply so you don’t accidentally overpower yourself. Put some on your pillow. If you’re using aromatherapy to help you fall and stay asleep, adding a few drops to your pillow before climbing into bed can help you drift off more easily. Make sure to use a pillow case that you don’t mind getting stained, and use a pillow protector or other barrier to protect the pillow itself from the oils. Many people like to do this with lavender fragrance oils before going to sleep, but you can also experiment with many other scents on this list. This method is an especially good choice if you want the benefits of aromatherapy during the night but you don’t want to leave a diffuser plugged in while you’re asleep. Add it to your bath. Taking a hot bath or shower is already calming, and adding some fragrance oils will take the experience up to 11 on the relaxation scale. You can add the fragrance oil to the hot water itself, or you can use scented products such as bath bombs and body wash that smell like the fragrances on this list. Make sure to choose high quality products with natural scents for the most effective aromatherapy. For a little aromatherapy throughout the day, you can also get scented hand soaps so you get a nice fragrance every time you wash your hands. Apply it to your skin. Adding a few pumps of scented lotion or massage oil will enhance the experience and allow you to get the benefits of aromatherapy. Before you apply the scent all over your body, you should do a patch test on your skin. Apply a small amount to the inside of your wrist or elbow, cover it with a Band-aid and observe it for 24 hours. If you don’t have any signs of a reaction, then you can proceed with slathering yourself with as much as you want. Create a compress. If you’re suffering from a headache, adding a few drops of fragrance oil to a compress made of a washcloth or towel can help soothe your stress and pain. The aroma will be strongest if you add it to a hot compress, but you can add to a cold one as well. You can also make your own reusable hot/cold pack by putting dried rice in a sock or other fabric bag. Mix some fragrance oils or dried plants with the rice so that you get a nice whiff of fragrance every time you use it. You can also buy hot/cold packs and wraps that are already scented with lavender, chamomile and other calming scents. Calming scents can help you relax and unwind after a long day. Look out for these 14 scents as you shop for scented candles, reed diffusers and other aromatherapy products.

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How to Reuse Homesick Candle Jars

You’ve melted through an entire scented candle, and now you’re left with the beautiful glass jar it came in. You could toss it out or recycle it, but that seems like a waste—and you’d be right. If you’re wondering how to reuse candle jars, the good news is that there are many options to repurpose these containers. Here are our seven favorite ways to reuse Homesick candle jars: Office Organization Office supplies are oh so necessary, but they can quickly become a confusing tangle of rubber bands, paper clips and staples. If you have a bunch of small office supplies jumbled in your desk or in a drawer, you can keep them organized by separating them into empty candle jars. Dedicate one jar to each type of office supply and then tuck them in a drawer or basket for discreet storage. The glasses are also attractive enough that you can leave them out on a desk or shelf to show off your innovative storage hack. Craft Supply Storage If you’re a crafty person who can frequently be found working on at-home projects, then you know how hard it can be to wrangle your materials and keep them organized. There are craft storage solutions available, but most of them are utilitarian and not very nice to look at. If you’re looking for a better-looking way to store your craft supplies, reusing candle jars is an excellent solution. Whether you’re trying to store beads, buttons, screws, crayons, paints or any other number of items, Homesick candle jars will keep them neatly separated and ready at your fingertips. Bathroom Containers Bathroom storage is both a science and an art, and having the right containers can help you keep the mess at bay. If you have items that you want to leave out on your counter, reusing candle jars to hold Q-tips, makeup brushes and similar items will keep your bathroom looking nice while still leaving the essentials easily accessible. The glass is also easy to wipe down and disinfect–a must in any bathroom. Drinking Glasses If you’ve been meaning to get more drinking glasses, larger glass candle holders are a fantastic and practical upcycle. If you intend to drink out of the glasses, you do need to make sure to remove every last bit of wax and clean them thoroughly with dish soap and water before using. (If you’re not sure how to do that, check out our guide that explains how to get wax out of candle jars.) Put together a matching set of glasses from the same size candles, or mix and match for a more eclectic look. Mini Plant Pots Miniature plants are a great way to add some green to your space, no matter how small it is. However, it can be hard to find cute planters that are the perfect size for a single succulent. Fortunately, candle holders are the perfect size to hold tiny plants. Since they don’t have drainage holes, make sure to put a layer of horticultural charcoal in the bottom before adding in the dirt. This will soak up excess water and help fight root rot. Flower Vase If you’re not quite ready to take care of your own plants on a long-term basis, you can still keep them around in the short-term by putting a bouquet of flowers in an empty candle holder. Use smaller ones as bud vases to hold a single stem, and larger ones to hold more substantial bouquets. For a striking arrangement, line up a series of candle holder vases down the center of your table for an unusual focal point that is sure to get your guests talking. Candle Holder 2.0 If you want to get meta, you can reuse your candle jar by placing another candle inside of it. This works especially well with tea lights, which are small enough to fit inside pretty much every glass container. If the jar is too deep, you can fill it with decorative stones, glass pebbles, beads or other filler to add visual interest and elevate the candle. You can also paint the glass or frost it to make it even more unique, or leave it plain to show off the candle in its full glory. Reusing candle jars is not only environmentally friendly, it’s also a great way to get storage and decor for free. Browse this list whenever you need inspiration for how to reuse candle jars.

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How to Decorate a Home Office

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, more people than ever are working from home—and some companies have announced that they’re never going back to the office. If you find yourself trying to decorate a home office for the first time, you’re not alone. People all around the world are trying to create a home office or optimize their existing space. Here are our top nine tips for how to decorate a home office: Cut the clutter. It’s difficult to work in a messy space, so do yourself a favor and go through your office and get rid of anything you don’t need. This will also help you see what you really have to work with. For example, you might realize that you don’t need a large filing cabinet after you toss all your outdated documents. Choose a color scheme. Your color scheme will guide all your decisions, so it’s important to set it upfront. If you already have major items that you’re working with, such as a desk or chair, that makes the decision for you. If you’re starting from scratch, choose colors that are easy on your eyes and broadly available to give yourself the most options. Neutrals and popular colors like teal and pale pink are generally good bets. Prioritize form over function. If you buy a chair that looks cute but it’s uncomfortable to sit on, chances are that it’s going to sit in the corner and gather dust instead of being used for its intended purpose. While that may be fine for an empty corner of your living room, you can’t afford that when it comes to your home office. Make the space work for you, but don’t invest in unnecessary or cheap decor that’s going to break as soon as you use it. Make the space enjoyable. Yes, home offices are practical spaces meant for working—but that doesn't mean that they have to be all work and no play. Your office should be a space that you want to spend time in, so don’t be afraid to add some homey touches such as a comfortable chair, a blanket, wall art, decorative objects and reed diffusers. (And if you’re wondering how to make your whole house smell good, not just your office, check out our guide.) Settle on your anchor pieces. A desk and a chair are the must-haves for any home office. Choose a chair that provides enough support, but is comfortable to sit in for long periods of time. The desk should be solid and have at least some storage—a couple of drawers at a minimum. If you like to work while standing up, you might also want to look for an adjustable desk that you can raise or lower as needed. Make the most of your space. If your office is small, or it’s really a corner of another room, don’t give up yet. There’s a lot you can do even with a small space. Get creative and really think about how you can maximize the room that you have. For example, you might be able to free up the floor by using a wall-mounted document holder instead of a freestanding filing cabinet. Let there be light. Proper light is essential for good work. Try to choose a home office space that gets good natural light, but do position your computer screen away from windows to reduce glare. Supplement the light as needed with lamps and overhead lights. Steer away from harsh fluorescent lights and choose more muted yellow light bulbs for a more flattering glow. Invest in organization. When it comes to your home office, it’s absolutely worth it to invest in organizational solutions such as document storage, plastic bins, drawer organizers and more. Even just putting your items in bins instead of piling them on shelves will make your space look neater and give you peace of mind. Your organizational solutions don’t have to be complicated or expensive to be helpful. Don’t forget the small touches. When decorating any space, including your home office, small touches can go a really long way towards elevating the space. For instance, getting color-coordinated desk accessories in a cute pattern may cost a few more dollars, but they will really pull the space together and make it look like you designed everything with thoughtful care (which you did!). If you’re wondering how to decorate your home office, follow these nine steps to create a cute and practical space that will suit all your work needs. And if you did get that reed diffuser for your office and aren’t sure what to do with it, check out our guide for how to use a reed diffuser.

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6 Scents That Help You Sleep

Sleep issues plague between 50 and 70 million Americans. That’s a lot of sleepless nights! Whether you have the occasional night of bad sleep or chronic sleep issues, aromatherapy can be a helpful tool in your quest for better sleep. However, it’s important to choose the right scents to help you sleep. Some scents such as citrus have an energizing rather than a calming effect, and they will wake you up instead of helping you drift off to the land of nod. Here are six scents that help you sleep: Lavender Lavender is one of the most popular scents for sleep, and with good reason. This soothing, calming scent will help to relax your body and mind and help you fall asleep. Lavender is perhaps the best-studied of all essential oils, and it can also help with anxiety and pain relief–two things that often keep people up at night. Thanks to lavender’s popularity, there are many ways to perform aromatherapy with this soothing scent, from decorating with lavender sachets to lighting a bedroom candle. Vanilla The sweet, light scent of vanilla is another fragrance that will help you fall asleep. If you love the smell of warm baked goods, you can recreate the scent with a vanilla-scented candle—minus the mess of actually getting in the kitchen. Whether you’re looking to soothe nervous tension or calm down after a tough day, a vanilla fragrance can help you do just that and prepare for a restful night of sleep. Jasmine If you’d prefer a more traditional floral scent, jasmine is an excellent choice when it comes to scents that help you sleep. Jasmine can both boost daytime alertness and reduce restless sleep at night, a one-two combo that can make a big difference for your sleep. If lavender’s efficacy has begun to wear off for you, or you just want to shake things up with a new floral scent, jasmine is a good bet. Rose and Geranium We’re listing rose and geranium together because they smell quite similar and have similar effects, even though their flowers don’t resemble each other in looks as much as you might think. These fragrance oils can help reduce stress and anxiety, which in turns helps you sleep better. Some experts also recommend valerian for sleep, but it can smell a bit stinky. If you’re wanting a fragrance oil for sleep, we recommend rose and/or geranium instead. Sweet Marjoram If floral isn’t your preferred fragrance family, you can try sweet marjoram instead. While the name sounds like a flower, sweet marjoram is actually an herb that has more of a woody, spicy undertone. It smells a bit like oregano, though less pungent. Sweet marjoram can help you relax at night and make it easier for you to fall asleep. If you find the other scents on this list too sweet, give sweet marjoram a try and see if it helps. Chamomile You don’t have to drink chamomile to get its sleep-inducing benefits. Just smelling it can help you feel more relaxed and sleepy. If you’ve only ever used chamomile tea to help you sleep, consider incorporating chamomile into your aromatherapy routine as well. This fragrance oil can help soothe nervous tension, reduce pain and digestive upset and help you chill out before bed. You’ll wonder how you lived (or rather slept) without chamomile fragrance oil. Now that you know what scents will help you sleep, here are some tips for doing aromatherapy before bed: Light a scented candle in the evening as you begin to wind down. Make sure to extinguish it fully before going to sleep. Run an aroma diffuser before bed. Like the candle, make sure to shut it off and unplug it before going to bed. Set up a reed diffuser in a stable space for 24/7 aromatherapy. Add a few drops to a carrier oil and use it as a massage oil. You can also incorporate it into lotion and use it to moisturize. Draw yourself a warm bath and add a few drops of oil to soothe yourself while you soak. If you’re one of the many people who struggle with sleep issues, aromatherapy might be able to help. Try one of these six scents that help you sleep to improve the quality and quantity of your shut-eye.

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How to Make Your Home Smell Like a Luxury Hotel

So you want your home to smell like a hotel — not a cheap motel, but a 5-star luxury hotel. That’s totally possible, but you do need to pick the right scent and find the best way to disperse it across your home. Below, we walk you through choosing a luxurious fragrance and the best way to scent your home. What scents are luxurious? The first step to making your home smell like a hotel is choosing the right scent. While you can buy candles, room sprays, and diffusers made by luxury hotels, they cost quite a lot of money and usually only come in one scent. If you’re looking to pick out your own fragrances, here are some luxurious scents you should explore: Citrus If you want a lighter, energizing scent that still smells fancy, look no further than citrus. Oranges, lemons, limes, and even grapefruits add a bright note to candles and make them smell as fresh as a crisp pair of clean white sheets on a hotel bed. If you find some other scents on this list too sweet or cloying, seek out a citrus candle for a clean, perky fragrance. (Check out our collection of citrus-scented candles if you need some inspiration).  Florals Florals are one of the most popular luxury hotel scents for a reason. Jasmine, rose, geranium, lavender, tuberose, lily: there are so many scents to pick from, you’re bound to find one that you like, whether you prefer your home to smell like a single flower or the inside of a hothouse. Many luxury hotels base some or all of their signature scents on florals, and after getting yourself a floral candle, you’ll understand why. Spices Spices add depth and nuance to fragrance profiles, making them more complex and enjoyable. Spices may be more smoky, sweet, or herbal, and can range anywhere from cinnamon-scented candles to sweet marjoram reed diffusers. If you’ve always thought of spice candles as “too sweet,” there’s a whole world of scents out there for you to explore. Wood If you want a heavier, muskier scent, look for a scent that incorporates woodier fragrances, Cedarwood and sandalwood are two of the most common wood-based scents, but there are some others as well. Wood-based fragrances are an especially good choice during fall and winter, when the scents of citrus and florals may feel a bit too light.  How to incorporate scent into your home? Now that you’ve chosen your luxurious scents, you need to figure out how to disperse them around your home to make it smell like a hotel. Thankfully, there are many different ways you can spread fragrances around your house. Here are just a few: Candles Obviously, we’re a big fan of candles here at Homesick. Not only do they smell great, but they also provide atmospheric light and they look aesthetically pleasing while sitting on an end table. Since they’re solid, you don’t have to worry about liquid sloshing around, meaning that they can be stored easily in different locations. Of course, you do have to be careful with the flames, but as long as you put them in a stable place away from drafts and remember to blow them out, you’ll be golden. Diffusers Reed diffusers passively release fragrance into the air thanks to channels in the reeds. They do not require a power source or an open flame and can be placed almost anywhere in your home. Electric diffusers use either heat or sonic waves to atomize fragrance molecules and release them into the air. While their fragrance is stronger than that of reed diffusers, they do need to be plugged into a wall outlet and can’t be run continuously, lest they overheat. Soap and Lotion Scented soap and lotion are a hallmark of luxury hotels, and they’re a fantastic way to make your home (and yourself) smell like a luxury hotel. Some people can be sensitive to scented products, so make sure to do a patch test before jumping into a scented bubble bath or slathering yourself in floral lotion. It’s totally possible to make your home smell like a hotel. For the best results, you should start with a clean, neutral-smelling house. If your place is smelling a little funky, check out our ultimate guide on how to make your house smell good.

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How to Deal with Homesickness

At its core, homesickness is longing for your home while being apart from it, and it’s often accompanied by feelings of sadness and even depression. If you're struggling with how to deal with homesickness, you don’t have to give into it. There’s plenty of concrete steps you can take to feel better. Try these six tips for dealing with homesickness: Acknowledge your homesickness. Homesickness is a natural part of moving away from familiar environments, so it’s totally normal to feel this way. In fact, denying your feelings will only prolong your homesickness and make it more difficult for you to cope. Acknowledge what you’re feeling, but try to avoid wallowing. Fixating on how sad you feel will only exacerbate your feelings. Some people find journaling or meditating to be helpful with processing, while others find that it causes them to ruminate on their feelings instead, so experiment around and see what works for you. Talk to people from home. Moving away from family and friends is tough, even when you’re excited about the move. While it takes more effort when you live far away, you can totally keep a long-distance friendship going. Text, call and video chat with people from home or keep in touch by exchanging cards and care packages through the mail. Don’t rely completely on other people to reach out to you. Make sure you’re taking initiative and reaching out to them, too. Relationships are a two-way street, after all, and both sides should be putting in the work. Keep items that remind you of home. Having touchstones that remind you of home will help keep you grounded and remind you where you came from. For example, you might have a city scented candle or state scented candle that reminds you of your hometown, or photographs that capture your old home. Having these familiar objects around will help you feel more grounded and remind you of home. Consider dedicating a wall or a corner of your new home to these objects, so spread them throughout your apartment or house so you have a little reminder in every room. Make the most of your new location. When you’re feeling homesick, it can be easy to fixate on all the ways that your new home is different from your old one (and usually the ways your new home is worse). While you may feel like your new place is inferior, make an effort to find the positives in your situation. Maybe your new city has a lot of great restaurants, or more museums, or a lot of parks and campsites. If you can’t think of anything off the top of your head, do some research on what your new city, state or country is known for. Stay busy and get out of the house. Wallowing in your feelings at home might sound really good, but staying on the couch isn’t going to help you recover in the long run. A lazy day at home is fine on occasion, but if you’re spending every night and all week inside, it’s time to get out. Go for a walk to get to know your neighborhood, grab food from a nearby restaurant or check out the coffee shop on the corner. Staying busy will help distract you from your homesickness and give you a way to channel your energy into something constructive. Create a new routine for yourself. Part of what makes homesickness so hard is that you’ve lost the people, spaces and routines that you were used to. While you might not have even noticed this structure in your life before the move, once you lose that routine, it can make coping even harder. Try building yourself some daily and weekly routines to give your schedule a sense of normalcy. Frequenting certain areas, such as going to the same coffee shop or grocery store, will also help you feel more grounded and familiar with the area. Whether you moved to the next town over or an entirely new country, homesickness is real and can significantly affect how you feel. If you think you might be feeling homesick, try the six strategies listed here to see if they help. If you want something that reminds you of home, be sure to shop our collection of memory scent candles.

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What Is Hygge? How to Make Your Home Cozier

Hygge has taken the world by monochromatic storm—but do you actually know what hygge means? Originating in Denmark, hygge is pronounced “HEW-guh” and refers to a feeling of quiet contentment and coziness. It’s derived from a Norwegian word meaning “well-being,” and the earliest known use of “hygge” came in the 1800s. However, the concept really took off in 2016, when explanations of hygge —and pictures of simple yet attractive Danish homes—took the world by storm. Hygge is not just a design principle, but a mindset–one that extends both to your home’s decor and how you live your life. Whether or not you’re of Danish descent, you can cultivate a sense of hygge in your home by following the tips below. If you thought your home was cozy before, you’re about to seriously level up. Get rid of clutter. Take a look at any pictures of hygge-inspired homes and you’ll notice one common trend: There’s no clutter anywhere. For one, the Danes dislike waste, which includes extraneous physical objects. The average house in Europe is also smaller than the average house in America, so Danes have less space in which to store things. All this translates into a lack of clutter. Before you hygge your home, go through everything and figure out what you don’t use anymore. Donate it or give it to a friend who you know will use it. If you’re a creative type, you might also be able to give it a new purpose–artistic, functional or otherwise. Incorporate meaningful objects. That being said, hygge is not about throwing everything out and stripping your home life down to the bare essentials. If you have an object that’s meaningful to you, such as your grandmother’s china or a piece of furniture from your parents, then by all means should you keep that, and even make it a focal point of the room. If you don’t currently own any objects like this, you can visit thrift stores to find furniture, rugs and other decor that already have a sense of history to them. Your home is supposed to feel personal, not like a sanitized room out of a catalog. Select the right color palette. Bright colors are the antithesis of the hygge aesthetic. Most decor follows a monochrome palette based on greys, creams, tans and other neutrals. Some color palettes might introduce touches of other harmonious tonal shade, such as muted greens, blues or purples. These color palettes are soothing to the eye and make it easy to decorate, since everything is based around the same versatile shades. If you currently own a lot of bright fabrics for furniture, you might want to look into replacing or reupholstering them to fully embrace the hygge aesthetic. Choose comfortable textiles. Color isn’t the only aspect to choosing the right fabric when it comes to cultivating hygge. Choosing comfortable, cozy fabrics is an integral part of creating a space you want to be in: think soft knitted blankets, nubby upholstery on couches and sheepskin rugs. Basically, the fabric should be comfortable to the touch and make you want to wrap up in it. While hygge may involve a limited color palette, it calls for wide variety when it comes to fabric texture. These various textures really pop in the absence of different colors and help add both visual and tactile appeal to the space. Embrace different textures. Tactile and visual appeal doesn’t stop with the fabric. You should incorporate a variety of textures across a wide range of objects. For example, you might put a glazed ceramic pot on top of a smooth wooden end table, or pair a rough linen lampshade with a polished stone base. In the bedroom, a chunky knit blanket can set off a smooth white bedspread, and in the bathroom sleek metal fixtures will contrast nicely with slate tile. Get creative and experiment with combining textures across different rooms.  Put candles everywhere. Danes use the most candles of any country in Europe, and with good reason. This old school illumination makes for the best lighting for a hygge ambience. When clustered together, candles create a soothing, gently flickering light that won’t blind your eyes with brightness. It’s the perfect way to provide low lighting at home during dark winter nights. Plus burning scented candles will further contribute to an aura of peace and calm, and there’s nothing more hygge than that. Arrange several candles together to produce more light and create a focal point in the room. Use softer lighting. Candles aren’t the only form of lighting these days, and sometimes a flickering flame just can’t provide enough illumination. That’s why hygge is about embracing soft light in all its forms. Natural light is the best way to achieve this, so pull open your curtains and raise the blinds to let the sunlight in. If you don’t get a lot of sunlight in your home, or you need more illumination at night, lamps with lower temperature light bulbs are an excellent fix. These light bulbs provide softer, less harsh light that won’t hurt your eyes as much. If you want to make the light even softer, choose lamps with shades instead of opting for the exposed bulb look. Add subtle natural touches. Bringing the outside in is another core concept of hygge. This design principle can take many forms, from a bouquet of wildflowers to a small potted plant to a hand-crafted oak table. In fact, plants are an excellent way to add a pop of color to your aesthetic and introduce elements from the natural world. If you’re selecting potted plants that you plan to keep around a while, opt for houseplants or succulents that are mostly green in color. This will follow the hygge color scheme and keep you from introducing too many new hues at once. Bring in the books. If you like books, you’re going to love hygge. Danes are big readers, and books often feature prominently in their homes. After all, reading is an excellent pastime for winter nights when it’s too cold to go out. Books also make a fantastic addition to hygge decor, so if you’ve always wanted your bookshelves to be front and center, now’s your chance. Make sure to install plenty of shelves so you can display your books in a clean, uncluttered way. Overflowing shelves are definitely not very hygge. Feature the fireplace. There’s nothing better than curling up next to the fire on a cold winter’s night. If you have a fireplace, making it the focal point of the room is absolutely a hygge move. Orient your furniture so that it faces towards the fireplace, and clear any obstructions sitting in front of the fireplace so they don’t catch flames when you stoke the fire. Even if you don’t have a fireplace in your home, you can practice hygge outside around a firepit or campfire. In a pinch, you can always cue up a video of a roaring fire on your TV or laptop and pretend it’s the real deal.  Create a nook. Many Danish homes feature a nook that’s perfect for curling up in with a warm blanket, a good book and a steaming cup of tea. Evaluate your living area and see if there’s any space that you can convert into your very own nook. It can be as simple as a chair in the living room, or you can get more creative with spaces like unused closets or window seats. Fill the nook with things that make you happy: scented candles, a comfortable throw pillow, a cute potted plant. If you prefer to do something besides sitting and reading, you can turn the nook into a workspace instead—as long as it’s something that brings you meaning and fulfillment. Decide on the right furniture. Not all current design trends are anti-hygge. The muted color palettes that are in right now are a good example of how modern design trends and hygge can intersect. While the hygge aesthetic may be minimalist in some ways, especially when it comes to color, it’s not supposed to look cold or uninviting. And unfortunately, modern furniture often embodies just those traits. If your couch looks like it might stab you if you sit on it, that’s not hygge. Instead, look for comfortable, well-made furniture that practically begs you to take a seat, and test drive in the store if you can to make sure that it’s really as soft as it looks. Make your bed a haven. Making the bedroom as cozy as can be is a big focus in hygge. This starts with investing in a comfortable mattress and then covering it with high quality sheets, plenty of comforters and blankets and lots of cushy pillows—all in a calming color palette, of course. If light keeps you up at night, get some blackout curtains that you can open up during the day to get that all-important natural light. Who knows? The calming nature of hygge might even help your sleep in the long run. And if lazing around in bed isn’t comfort and contentment, we don’t know what is. Consider your kitchen. Hygge doesn't stop at the bedroom and bathroom. Your kitchen also deserves the hygge  treatment. The kitchen can be one of the hardest areas in your house to keep organized, especially if you cook a lot or if you have a small kitchen. Go through the kitchen like you did the rest of the house and get rid of anything you don’t use. Shelves, cabinets, islands and other forms of storage are your friend here, and you might want to consider investing in some organizational solutions such as bins to keep things out of sight. Don’t forget the bathroom. If the bathroom is the last place that comes to mind when you think of cozy, then you haven’t seen a true hygge bathroom. Sure, bathrooms are made of hard, easy-to-clean surfaces out of necessity, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t turn the bathroom into a space of luxury and coziness. Get some plush bath mats, soft towels and a cushy bathrobe to help soften up the space. Light some candles and sink into an indulgent bubble bath whenever you have the time. Even if you can’t relax for a long soak, you can still use scented soap and soft washcloths to turn even a quick shower into self-care. It’s easier than you think to make your home smell like a spa. Welcome others into your space. Yes, spending an evening by yourself on the couch with a good book is very hygge. But so is welcoming loved ones into your home and entertaining them in a space that you’ve intentionally  filled with things that you love. Arrange the furniture to face each other to encourage conversation, and fill the dining room with personal touches like handwritten name cards. Hygge is all about the simple pleasures in life, and some of those pleasures include gathering for a family dinner or having a wine night with your closest friends. If you’ve always wanted your home to be cozier, hygge is an excellent thing to pursue. Follow these 16 tips to embrace hygge in your own home.

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The Best Scents for Energy and Focus

Among their many benefits, scents can help improve your energy and focus. But not all scents are equally suited to all purposes, and some smells are better at increasing alertness and improving concentration. Here are six of our favorite fragrances for energy and focus: Lemon Just as you reach for lemon and honey tea when you’re feeling under the weather, so you should try smelling lemon when you’re feeling run down. As a whole, citrus scents boost alertness, increase energy and can help you wake up. Lemon in particular is an excellent choice if you’re looking for energy and focus. Whether you’re feeling keyed up or run down, lemon will promote feelings of clarity and calmness. Orange Orange is another citrus scent that will help boost energy and focus. Oranges come in two main flavors, sweet and bitter, and either one will work here. Like lemon, orange scent will boost energy and concentration, but it’s a bit less acidic than lemon, especially in its sweet orange form. If you want the energizing effects of citrus without the tanginess of the lemon, orange is the way to go. Cinnamon While cinnamon might not be the first scent that comes to mind when you think of “energizing,” the spice has a warming, stimulating effect. The smell of cinnamon helps fight fatigue and will gently boost your mental and physical alertness. This is an especially great scent to use in the fall and winter months when you’re looking for something more warming and comforting. Peppermint This invigorating herb isn’t only good for tea and breath mints. The smell of peppermint lifts the spirits, helps improve focus and can clear away brain fog. Use this scent whenever you hit a slump during the day or whenever you need to think clearly. Peppermint a particularly great choice to enliven your post-lunch sleepiness. Lavender While lavender is often associated with improving sleep—and it can certainly do that—this smell will also boost your focus if you’re struggling with anxious jitters and an overactive brain. Lavender’s calming properties will help soothe nervous tension, allowing you to clear your head and concentrate on the task at hand. Rosemary If you need a pick-me-up in the morning in addition to your coffee, smelling rosemary is an excellent option. Rosemary’s stimulating properties will help wake you up, improve memory and focus and boost your mood. If you’ve never experimented with this herb, it’s well worth exploring. So, how should you enjoy your these scents? There are several different methods you can try. Some of our favorites are: Reed diffusers: This method passively diffuses scented oils into the air using reeds full of microscopic channels. Reed diffusers can be left to run 24/7 and they don’t require a power or heat source, so they can be placed almost anywhere in the home. Because the fragrance oils are usually mixed in with water, the smell isn’t as concentrated as some of the other diffusing methods, but it does last longer. Electric diffuser: These electronic devices plug into a wall and use either heat or ultrasonic waves to atomize the fragrance oils and diffuse them into the air. At Homesick, we chose ultrasonic technology for our own diffuser, since heat can cause the oil molecules to degrade. Aroma diffusers do need a power outlet to operate, and can’t be left on 24/7 like reed diffusers, but they also provide a stronger scent, which increases the benefits of the fragrance oil. Candle: If all this sounds too complicated, you can always light a candle that contains one or some of these notes. Make sure to trim the wick before each use and allow the candle to fully melt across the surface. This way, you’ll get the most scent and hours out of your candle. The right scents will help boost your energy and focus and improve your mental sharpness. If you’re looking to decrease fatigue and increase alertness, look for these six fragrances as you shop for your next scent.

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