Make Your Own Sachets

Yes, I remember. Long before we had our GE Filter Flow Washer. And long before we had our wringer washer. Mama washed our clothes on a scrub board. She heated the water with a fire built under a black cast iron wash pot. Our only other source of hot water was a kettle on the wood stove.

The clothes were always hung to dry on a clothes line. Crawling into bed at night 'neath those fresh bed linens, still scented with pure sunshine, was a sweet experience.

Mama kept those linens smelling nice even when they were folded and put away. There were traveling salesmen in those days. Some sold brushes, some sold razor blades, some sharpened knives, some took pictures of children sitting on ponies, and some sold a variety of items, including sachets.

Mama bought those sachets when she had a nickle to spare. They came in a little box about the size of a hotel guest soap. I don't know what they were made of. They were of a soft wax like texture. Over a period of a few months, the sachets eventually evaporated, all the while giving the linen drawers and the linens a delightful scent reminiscent of one's favorite bath soap.

I'm still crazy about nice scents. No matter what else I bought my lady friends for their birthdays, they could know to expect to get a bottle of one of the better perfumes or eau de parfums.

I have a favorite bath soap. Its scent greets me each time I enter the bath. I have a favorite after shave, Dante Original. Regretfully, it hasn't been made in many years. I settle for the scent of new mown hay in the form of Aqua Velva.

It's nice to pull out a sweater from a drawer and get a slight hint of your own signature scent. It's a small way of getting back in touch with your own self. It just feels good.

I make my own sachets. They don't last for months like the old timey ones did. I'll settle for a few weeks. I buy tiny plastic bags from Walmart. I use them for storing seed. I saturate the tips of a couple of swabs with my earthy Aqua Velva and put them into the bags, making sure they're sealed well.

Though well sealed, the fragrance does escape into the drawers, a bit at a time. Just enough to greet you with your favorite scent each time the drawer is opened.

I won a few bucks by submitting pictures to ThriftyFun. And guess what? I'm going to take part of that money and buy myself a bottle of 4711. I haven't worn it in years. It smells like a cross between a bakery shop and a bar of nice bath soap. Extremely fresh. Yes!