In a time where everything is available at the tips of the finger, making things yourself is a whole different joy. Joining the bandwagon of DIY arts and crafts, I landed myself at my favorite spot - Indigo Books.
I absolutely love walking around at Indigo stores, trying to find that right crisp book, a new writing pad with its quirkiness, a mug that I can gift further or a unique household product that I love to use and show off. This time my search landed me on two unique products I have never seen, far less used - shoe pourri and poo pourri.
Now who would have thought, a pourri for your shoes? A pourri to get rid of the poop smell? Yes! It's available at a starting price of $12.95. Expensive to get rid of smells, eh? Well even though I love to indulge myself into some splurge from time to time, this buy made me wonder, can I not make this at home? Is it a complex process or can I DIY?
After much research and experiments, here I present to you a recipe so sleek, you will love to steal it right away. But just before we can dive into it, let's understand what a pourri means. Pourri in its true authentic sense means decayed or rotten, however potpourri means dried flowers and leaves mixed with spices to give a fragrant smell. So essentially, poo-pourri or shoe pourri means a fragrant blend made using essential oils that can help get rid of unpleasant odours from the bathroom/restroom and shoes respectively.
To make this DIY, at home, poo pourri, you will need the following:
Fresh Water, Alcohol free Concentrated Air Freshener, Essential Oil aka Attar, A spray bottle, a beaker/funnel, a shaker, a measurement cup having ml markings and most importantly a cool DIY mood, coz we all know, nothing without that DIY mood, right?
- Take a clean, dry shaker and place a beaker/funnel on it.
- Take the measurement cup and pour out 30 ml of the alcohol free, concentrated air freshener like our Air Freshener Bint Al Arab which has notes of lime into it, an effective ingredient in getting rid of any bathroom or shoe odors. We recommend using lime infused air fresheners for poo-pourri, whereas with shoe pourri being as creative as you’d like works perfect.
- Into this 30 ml concentration, mix 10 ml of Fresh Water. Refrain from using water that has been stored for sometime or is packaged as packed water tends to develop an odor of its own which turns pungent overtime. If there is no access to pure water, take tap water or packaged water, boil it and cool it down completely before using.
- Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oil aka Attar like our Attar Emani also having notes of lime and neem to the concentrate. Start by adding 5 drops and increase depending on how strong you’d like the pourri to be. Make sure to choose an Attar that compliments the concentrate, else it will end up turning the fragrance pungent.
- Pour the complete mixture into the shaker, using the beaker/funnel that has been placed on it.
- Tightly close the shaker and shake vigorously till the essential oil blends in well with the rest of the concentrate.
- Pour complete contents into the spray bottle using the beaker/funnel.
- Cap the bottle and spray!
Psst, Secret Tips - Choose a floral or citrus blend for poo-pourris as it leaves the area more fragrant and pleasant. For shoe pourris opt for more oud based and fresh ingredients infused blends. While choosing an Attar to compliment the Air Freshener, choose products having highly similar ingredients. This will enhance and smoothen out the whole blend.
Love to go the extra mile? Add a few drops of lemon or a few rose petals to the blend and charm the guests with your unique DIY pourris!
Keep reading and keep shopping for more interesting reads and at-home DIY projects!