Winter is one of my favorite times of year.

I’m not real big on the heat, so stepping outside into the crisp, clean air with a big comfy jacket on just feels great.

The season is not, however, without its shortcomings.

Icy roads. Getting dark outside way too early. The absurdity that is taking 30 minutes to bundle up your kids for a 15 minute outing.

But my least favorite? The unbelievably rank and musty smells that just seem to crop up everywhere.

The good news is that I’ve figured out a lot of ways to use essential oils in the fight against winter smelliness, and now I’d like to share them with you!

Let’s dig right in:

Using Essential Oils to Remove Mildewy and Musty Smells

Have you ever brought out your winter clothing only to find that it’s not smelling quite so fresh after a summer of being stashed away somewhere in a closet?

I’ve found that these smells can linger even when storing winter clothes in sealed plastic clothing bags.

Rather than going through the process of washing everything (it used to take me at least two runs in the washer to remove the odors), you can use essential oils to get rid of the musty smells.

If you like, you can spray down your clothing individually using the smelly shoe spray recipe I’ve included below, or similar alcohol or witch hazel based spray recipes you can find here on the blog.

But really, who has time for that? There’s a little essential oil life hack I’d like to share with you. It sounds crazy but it works and doesn’t take anywhere near as long.

Take your diffuser and fill it with lemon, cinnamon, clove, orange, or thieves essential oil—thieves is the most effective in my experience, but use whichever of those you like best.

Hang all your clothes up in the closet.

…Now run your diffuser in the closet.

Yes, in the closet.

After your diffuser has ran its course, run all the clothes through the dryer (you want to eliminate any lingering moisture).

Bam! Just saved you how many hours?

5-Minute Prep: Smelly Shoe Spray

Is it weird that I have this very irrational fear of being asked to take off my shoes unexpectedly, especially in winter?

Like I’ll be invited over to someone’s house where they insist I take off my shoes before walking on their very fancy carpet—it’s a nice idea but in my experience that stops real quick once you procreate—and I’ll realize that my shoes and socks are super disgusting and smelly and I’ll just spontaneously die right there on the spot.

Well, here’s how I make sure that never happens.

Shoes tend to get pretty smelly during the winter because we tend to wear thicker socks. Our feet don’t know it’s winter, so they sweat more. Step in a puddle or have to make your way through snow? Yeah, that just adds to the whole hot-sweaty-moisture mixture going on in your shoes.

The first thing you can do is more of a preventative measure: sprinkle a little baking soda in your shoes before and after wearing them.

However, if the damage is already done… well, baking soda can only do so much. That’s why this super easy and quick essential oil smelly shoe spray is the best: it can actually cleanse and reverse the stink process.

Gather the following:

• 4 ounce spray bottle
• 2 ounces witch hazel
• 1 ounce distilled water
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops tea tree essential oil
• 3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 2 drops lemon essential oil

Pour the witch hazel and distilled water into the spray bottle. Carefully add the essential oils, place the cap back on, and then give the bottle a good shake. Spray stinky shoes! Make sure to hold them upside down so you can spray the inner toe part as well.

Give the shoes 15-20 minutes to completely dry before wearing them again. If they still smell bad, repeat the spraying procedure. Two or three rounds of this should defeat even the smelliest of shoes!

Diffuser Recipes to Cleanse a Stuffy Room

When it’s really cold outside, you don’t tend to open your windows as often (sometimes not for weeks in certain parts of the country). While this keeps things nice and warm, it also means that most of the rooms in your house aren’t getting aired out very often like they would during the warmer months.

If you have allergies, the dust buildup can get pretty rough.

The answer? Cleanse the room with one of these amazing, fresh-scented diffuser recipes:

“Indoor Allergy Buster”

• 2 drops chamomile essential oil
• 2 drops peppermint essential oil
• 1 drop basil essential oil

“Citrusy Fresh Winter”

• 3 drops peppermint essential oil
• 2 drops lemon essential oil
• 1 drop orange essential oil

“Calm and Clean”

• 2 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 drops tea tree essential oil
• 1 drop eucalyptus essential oil

Want More Awesome Winter Essential Oil Recipes?

In case you missed it, I have a massive post that collected some of my favorite winter essential oil recipes. Check it out! There’s all kinds of great recipes in there, like for a lip balm, a sore throat soothing recipe, a bunch of fantastic diffuser recipes, and more.

If you haven’t already, make sure you say hi to everyone over at the Aroma Outfitters VIP Facebook group. Let us know how your winter is going!