I love my home to smell fresh and clean, but I don't like the idea of breathing in all the chemicals that are often found in commercial air freshener. Plus, many of these chemically based air fresheners don't work very well. Here are some easy and inexpensive homemade air fresheners and deoderizers.

1. Soak a cotton ball. Saturate a cotton ball with your favorite essential oil or use real vanilla extract. Place the cotton ball on a plate in a central location (or near the area where the odors tend to emanate from.)

2. Use the stove. Steep cinnamon sticks and cloves in some hot water on the stovetop for a couple of hours. Experiment with other favorite spices, as well. Ginger, basil, and rosemary are also good choices that are probably readily available in your spice rack. Also try real vanilla or almond extract .

3. Deoderize your garbage disposal. Place a small lemon wedge in the garbage disposal. Turn on the disposal for about one minute while running cold water. Another method for freshening your disposal: Make ice cubes from vinegar and grind them in your disposal for a minute or two. Rinse with cold water.

4. Make sure your home is clean. If your home isn't smelling fresh, give it a good top to bottom cleaning with natural cleansers. Check for damp areas that may be moldy or mildewy. If you have pet odors, tackle them yourself or find a carpet cleaner that offers some natural cleaning alternatives

5. Open the windows. Let fresh air flow through your home as often as possible.

6. Experiment with the variety of all natural air fresheners that are available. By popular demand, an increasing number of these are finding their way to the shelves of your natural foods stores - and even regular grocery stores.

7. Deoderize diaper pails or trash containers by sprinkling in a mixture of baking soda and essential oils. (Add a teaspoon of your favorite essential oil to every cup of baking soda and mix well.) You can also try this as a carpet deodorizer. Sprinkle on the carpet, wait a few minutes, and vacuum. (Make sure to spot test any new carpet treatment before using it throughout your home.)

8. Treat yourself to a fresh bouquet of fragrant flowers. (Oriental lilies are my favorite. They fill my home with a remarkable aroma for days.)

Once you have found your favorite solution for all natural deodorizing, write it down so you can use it again, and share it with others.

If your office cleaning company uses natural green cleaning products, you should have no need for them in the workplace anyway, but many individuals like to have that little stick, or gel, or spray to chase away odors just in case. If you're one of those people, here is a bit of information on the downside of air fresheners and also some tips on keeping the air fresh naturally!

Many air fresheners on the market today contain chemicals known as phalates, which are suspected of causing cancer, birth defects and fertility problems. Conclusive evidence has not been confirmed regarding the amount of exposure required before adverse affects take place, but as a precaution many countries have banned the use of phalates in some cosmetics and children's toys. This should tell us that being exposed to this dubious chemical is not a good thing, and might as well be avoided if possible until evidence is found to the contrary. So, where does that leave us with our concerns about nasty odors in the office? Well, the truth is, some simple answers can be found right under our noses!

Cleanliness, of course, is the first defense against odors. As mentioned above, if you have hired a diligent and efficient cleaning company, your office should be free of odors anyway. But for those not so pleasant smells that waft in from time to time, you can try these things:

* Open windows to bring a bit of fresh air if possible to eliminate a temporary odor from a burned lunch or food spill.

* Empty all trash containers daily or immediately if something is really smelly and shake a bit of baking soda into the bottom of the trash can as well

* If you have a garbage disposal, run a piece or two of lemon through the system every so often

* Heat a small dish of water and cinnamon in the microwave for a few minutes to eliminate odors both in the oven and the room

* If someone in the office has a green thumb, consider placing a few houseplants throughout the office. Plants act as natural air purifiers and look pretty too! There are also commercial companies that will provide and maintain plants for the workplace in the event that no green thumbs can be found!

* Consider putting a small personal air cleaner on your desk. These can be found in a variety of sizes and price ranges and work quite well to keep small areas odor free.

* Zeolite crystals also help to eliminate stubborn odors that are sometimes hard to pinpoint. These crystals are usually sold in a mesh pouch and can often be found in home, farm and hardware stores. They absorb odors for a period of time and then can be refreshed by being placed in the sun for a time.

No one wants to be surrounded by foul odors all day, especially when you're trying to get your work done, but beware of trying to mask those odors with commercial air freshener! There is plenty of doubt surfacing as to whether or not these perfumed culprits are actually quite harmful to our health.