How to have a nice smelling house without overpowering fragrance?

[Flingmoo]

Personally I don't mind the artificial, somewhat overpowering fragrance too much but DH hates it. Unfortunately though, we do have some unpleasant whiffs in our house at times, e.g. pooey nappy smell (my 7 month old is very... regular shall we say), fishy smell from cooking fish, lingering 'frying' smell from frying chicken, pork etc.

In the summer it's no issue to just open a window and let a nice fresh breeze take care of it. But in the winter I'm not sure what to do. The extractor fan doesn't seem to prevent cooking smells. At Christmas I did a "stovetop pot pouring" by simmering some cinnamon sticks, citrus, vanilla etc. which filled the whole house with lovely natural smells but it's a bit too festive for the rest of the season!

Any tips to freshen up my house?

I don't light but leave scented candles open in rooms which imparts a subtle smell.

Hyacinths. They're available everywhere at the moment.

(Potpourri, not pouring!)

Try a few drops of essential oils in a spray bottle of water, I just made a lovely one with lemongrass and peppermint!

Natural subtle scents unlike air fresheners.

Make sure the extractor fan filter is clean; freshly laundered towels on the bathroom radiator seem to give off a good smell; make sure all dirty nappies go straight outside and any solids are flushed down the loo; I have "clean" scented diffuser sticks in the bathroom (eg verbena, or green tea - nothing too sweet or sickly).

We just stick with opening the window even in the winter! Doesn't take long. Artificial smells make me feel sick.

A few drops of lavender oil on the vacuum cleaner filter and as BallsFE says a few drops in water then mist using a spray bottle.

I just bought a diffuser, recommended by people on another similar thread. It's fab. I only use 100% natural essential oils, so it doesn't smell artificial at all. It seems to scent he room much more quickly than candles or incense, and fairly subtly too.

Oh and I'm all for opening the windows to air the place a bit, but the natural oils, particularly the floral ones, feel quite mood-enhancing too, rather than just masking nasty niffs.

Keep it super clean and burn scented candles by Dyptique or Cire Trudon every evening (in winter) or have vases of fresh flowers (spring) etc to give a slight perfume.

We still open the window in winter. 10 mins open will clear the room of horrid smells

We also have candles but they add smell rather than clean

We always changed baby nappy in bathroom also so all poo smell in bathroom where is should be, open window . Can then empty poo straight into toilet and wash hands all in one place. Just had changing mat stored behind bathroom door