The Simple, 2-Second Method I Always Use to Make My Bedroom Smell Amazing

Living in a prewar Brooklyn apartment has certain charm — like timeless architectural details and my beloved stoop — but it’s not all Carrie Bradshaw-esque glamour all the time. The bedroom has a popcorn ceiling, for one, and I can hear my upstairs neighbor’s every move 24/7. But my biggest annoyance is the fact that sometimes the building just smells old. 

I’ve tried to overcompensate for this with scented candles and diffusers galore, although these can only do so much. The longer I’m exposed to the fragrance notes in my apartment, the more desensitized I become to them. There’s one lovely smelling, bedroom-freshening tip that I learned from another Apartment Therapy editor, though, and it’s now crucial to my morning routine.

Associate Lifestyle Editor Sofia Rivera and I both got a bottle of DedCool’s Room + Linen spray in early 2023. Sofia mentioned that, growing up, her mom always spritzed her pillows with a lavender linen spray, which made the bed smell like a “field of flowers.” Obviously, I absolutely had to implement this ritual for myself ASAP. Now, I mist both my pillows with room spray every morning after making my bed, and this one simple, two-second method conceals any muggy odors for hours and leaves my room smelling downright delicious. 

Not only that, but it’s practically become an added form of daily self care — like a little “treat” for myself as I’m starting the day. Seriously, just two quick sprays can do wonders for boosting my productivity (my desk is right next to my bed when I WFH) and instantly giving my bedroom a fresh, pristine, borderline luxury-hotel-worthy feel overall — even when the space hasn’t been fully cleaned in an embarrassingly long time. This tradition makes me all the more excited to get in bed every night, too, since traces of the room spray usually still linger on my pillowcases. 

Of course, some weekday mornings I’m so rushed that I can’t even remember to grab my lunch from the fridge, let alone spray my pillowcases. For the most part, though, this habit is as second nature as brushing my teeth or turning off my window AC before I leave — and takes less time. Plus, in the almost two years since I’ve implemented this trick, I’ve hardly made a dent in my room spray.

You might already add a few drops of essential oils to your pillowcases as a soothing pre-bedtime ritual, but I highly recommend finding a refreshing scent to kick-start your day and immediately “clean” your bedroom. It’s like the equivalent of freshening up your person with perfume, but now for your pillows. This method also forces me to actually make my bed every morning, although it’s admittedly perfect for feeling slightly more put together if you just don’t have the time or energy to make it happen. 

Just be sure that you really love the scent you choose, especially if you have a small bedroom, since you’ll be getting whiffs of it, well, pretty often (you don’t have to use it daily, though). My specific DedCool room spray, Blonde — which unfortunately sold out — has a subtle citrus-meets-woodsy fragrance that’s sweet but not overpowering. Depending on your preferences and budget, you can shop brands like P.F. Candle Co., Boy Smells, and Diptyque for your own go-to room spray and then start incorporating this “lazy” technique into your morning routine.