Holiday Potpourri Simmer Pot

I originally shared this awesome potpourri simmer pot recipe as a guest post over at A Rosie Sweet Home. In case you missed it there, I’m sharing it here as well!

Today I’m going to share one of my favorite fall “crafts” with you. One of the things I love about fall (besides cute boots!) are the smells and flavors. I love pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon…you name it! So today I’m going to share a super easy way to bring those smells into your home with a potpourri simmer pot.

Holiday Potpourri Simmer Pot

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges
• 3-6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• water

Directions:

Cut the oranges into eighths, leaving the peel on. Put everything into a big pot on your stove and fill with water, leaving about 1-2 inches of room at the top. Turn on the stove to a low setting and enjoy the wonderful smells!

The steam is what makes the house smell delicious, so make sure your water is just slightly simmering. Your entire house will smell like fall within about 20 minutes.

The water will boil away eventually, so refill it whenever you notice that it’s low. When you leave the house, go to bed, or just want the potpourri turned off, put a lid on it and leave it on your stove.

I leave this pot on pretty much the entire time I’m at home and I love it! The oranges never rot because the water is hot most of the time, but I have noticed it starts to lose its smell after about 3 days, and the oranges get a bit brown and icky. At that point, I usually empty the water, toss the ingredients, and make it again!

Variations:

The best thing about this recipe (besides the delicious smells!) is how versatile it is.

• If you’d rather a more “wintery” scent, use apples instead of oranges, skip the cloves, and add a 1/2 C of fresh cranberries.
• You can cut open a tea bag and pour the contents into the water.
• You can use allspice, or mint, or holly, or pine needles.

Pretty much any food, plant, or spice with a nice scent will work great. And you can customize your version with whatever scents you enjoy the most!

Have you guys tried a simmer pot before?

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Jessi @ Practically Functional

Hi! I'm Jessi, the blogger behind Practically Functional, a blog about simple and practical ways to love your home, no matter where you live! We love every single square foot of our little home, and you can love yours too! Make sure you follow along by RSS or subscribe by email so you don't miss anything!

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