Simmer Pots Can Make Your House Smell Like Your Favorite Fall Flavors

While we love a good candle for fall, we may love a simmer pot more. Reasons: They're more economical, they create zero waste, and when bubbling away on the stovetop, they ensure your house is filled with comforting cozy scents of fall without any of the artificial or potentially irritating ingredients in candles or air freshers. If you're not familiar with the term, a simmer pot is simply when you fill a saucepan with water and your choice of fruits, spices, and other scented goods. By simmering your autumnal witches brew on the stovetop on low heat, the ingredients combine and release scents that waft through your home. 

If you've ever wished your whole house could smell as good as a Williams & Sonoma store, simmer pots are where it's at. Whereas a candle's scent will be limited mostly to the room it's burning in, a simmer pot is the easy, natural way to freshen up and fill even a large space with yummy smells. If you use ingredients you already have around or even that you gather from outside, like herbs and pine sprigs, they're basically free. And unlike candles, even the best of which can contain artificial fragrance or potentially harmful ingredients like formaldehyde, with a simmer pot, you control the exact scent and ingredients. Got rambunctious pets or kids that make candles a non-starter? Another reason simmer pots should be your new favorite hack for scenting your home. 

Would it be cozy season without scents like brown sugar, chai, fir tree, etc? We'd argue not. You can still achieve the season's best scents without shelling out for pricy candles that create waste, plus release question chemicals into the air. Simmer pots get their scents from the real ingredients, with no chemicals added. For a winter-cozy mix, use sliced oranges and lemons, cinnamon sticks, some cloves, and sprigs of fresh rosemary. Your options are endlessly customizable. Try fresh sprigs of pine (clip some off your Christmas tree) and cranberries for that hallmark holiday scent. Make a warm, cozy pot filled with sliced apple, vanilla, and cloves. Or for a more refreshing blend, incorporate fresh springs of mint. 

To make, fill a saucepan with water and drop in your choice of ingredients. Bring to a boil and then turn down and keep at a simmer. Your mixture can stay on the stovetop for 2-3 hours or more — just keep an eye on the liquid and add more water as needed. And as always when you're using the stovetop, don't walk away or forget about your pot. And it's good to avoid lighting scented candles when hosting a dinner party, as you don't want to detract from the food's flavors. To make the process even easier, add the whole concoction to a crockpot and let simmer away on the countertop, filling the house with cozy scents of the season.