Any real estate agent will tell you that if a home smells good it will sell quickly, and they often advise baking a cake or a batch of biscuits before prospective buyers arrive. Jackie French also has some great homemade ideas on how to fill your house with pleasant, subtle fragrances…and keep your knickers smelling good too!
You’ll need
- 2 pieces of paper the same size as the drawer (you can use brown paper, butcher’s paper or recycled gift wrapping, but paper with a pattern works best)
- 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon scented oil (choose a fragrance to suit the owner of the drawer; Jackie likes rose or lavender oil, but a man might prefer lemon grass, bergamot, Neroli or orange oil)
- 2 tablespoons Clag glue
- 2 tablespoons boracic acid (optional)
Method
1. Place the spices in a bowl. Sprinkle with the scented oil, then add the glue and mix thoroughly.
2. Coat the back of one piece of paper with the mixture. Press on the second piece of paper and leave to dry. (Tip: don’t be tempted to only use a single piece of paper. The glue mix might seem dry and stable, but as time passes it may become moist and stick to the drawer, or worse still to your underwear!)
Silverfish
The only problem with these drawer liners is that glue and paper are very attractive to silverfish. For this reason Jackie always adds boracic acid or borax to the spice and glue mix. Boracic acid is toxic so wear gloves when handling it, store it out of the reach of children, and don’t use the drawer liners where toddlers might decide to chew on them.
Further information
Boracic acid is available from chemists but if you have trouble finding it you can buy it by mail order from Green Harvest Organic Gardening Suppliers in Queensland, phone 1800 681 014. You’ll find Jackie French’s article Scented Drawer Liners in the April 2000 edition of the Burke’s Backyard Magazine.