Who needs holiday-themed air fresheners when you can make a simmer pot instead? The yummy-smelling DIY [1] hack is amazing on multiple levels: not only do you get an amazing, seasonal smell throughout your home, but it's an environmentally friendly trick [2], too! Simmer pots are exactly what they sound like: a pot in which chunks of fruit (slices are great, but so are leftover peels [3]) are simmered with spices to create a smell that's better than anything you can buy in stores. If you want to make your home smell cosy and holiday-ready, we've got you covered! Keep reading for some of our favourite Fall and Winter simmer-pot recipes that are sure to leave a delicious aroma [4] all season long.
Lemon, Rosemary, and Vanilla Simmer Pot
This recipe is described by its creator as "making your house smell like the most amazing dreamland/your local Williams Sonoma." It's a simple combination that's perfect year-round: lemon slices and lemon peel simmered in water with stalks of fresh rosemary and a hint of vanilla.
Fall Simmer Pot
One of the best parts about Fall is that indescribable warm smell that seems to go perfectly with the season. This simmer pot recipe uses all your favourite scents: apple, star anise, ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Spiced Apple and Orange Simmer Pot
This simmer pot recipe smells like all your favourite cold-weather drinks. All it takes is slices of apple and orange, along with cinnamon sticks and whole cloves.
Zero-Waste Simmer Pot
Cut back on waste with this simmer pot recipe by using unused apple scraps and orange peel, along with spices like cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla bean.
Christmas Simmer Pot
This simmer pot recipe will make your home smell welcoming and cosy. Plus, with bright cranberries, orange peel, rosemary, cinnamon, and nutmeg, its bright red colour is gorgeous to look at!
Apple Cranberry Simmer Pot
Apple and cranberry are the main scents in this simmer pot, but there's an unexpected twist. Along with the expected spices like cinnamon, this recipe uses bay leaves for an extra dimension.
Fall Spices Simmer Pot
There are a few things that show up in most cold-weather simmer pot recipes: apple, citrus (in this case, orange), and cranberries. What sets this recipe apart? The addition of lavender and fresh mint, two unexpected herbs that add a new and delicious smell.
Citrus and Apple Simmer Pot
Instead of just one citrus scent, this simmer pot uses three! Grapefruit, orange, and lemon slices mix with green apples, plus cinnamon and rosemary and a few essential oils.
Apple Potpourri Simmer Pot
Apple, lemon peel, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and cardamom pods: all Fall staples. Put them together in this simmer pot, and you'll have a warm and spicy smell for your whole space!