With 3 pets in our small ranch-style home, keeping our floors clean is a daily chore.

Remember when I wrote this blog post last year about how I keep my floors tidy with 3 pets? Other than the fact that I upgraded our vacuum cleaner to the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet Deluxe, not much has changed since then.

Carpet still grosses me out, but we’re not quite ready to replace it yet. Therefore, it is important to me that I have carpet cleaning products on hand that eliminate all signs that we are a 3-pet home.

As you might know by now, I have also been in the process of overhauling all of my household cleaners, and one of the products I used regularly was odor-eliminating powder for my carpet.

I have learned that most store-bought carpet powders are terrible for your health, though, because of the fragrance in them.

However, I didn’t want to completely cut out a vacuum booster from my carpet-care routine. I figured it would be easy to create my own carpet powder using baking soda, and I took a stab at it.

Guess what. It is incredibly easy.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a safe air freshener that works to neutralize odor particles instead of masking them (which is what you want).

I simply add 2 cups of baking soda to a mason jar and pour in 20-30 drops of a favorite essential oils (I use Young Living’s Lavender or Purification).

You can forgo the essential oils if you want. I like adding them to the baking soda for added deodorization and cleansing, though.

Then, I place the lid on the mason jar and shake it to fully combine the baking soda and essential oil drops.

Once properly combined, I remove the mason jar lid and sprinkle baking soda over my carpet.

You can even place a piece of paper with tiny holes punched in it over the mouth of the jar and secure it with the jar’s lid ring if you want a more controlled sprinkle of the powder. I just evenly shake the open jar over my high-traffic carpet areas, though.

I like to let the baking soda sit on my carpet for at least 30 minutes to 1-hour before I vacuum it up. That gives it enough time to seep into the floor and attack any odor particles. That extra time also allows the scent from the essential oils to penetrate the carpet and the room.

When I’m ready, I vacuum thoroughly and enjoy the nice clean smell left behind.

While I vacuum about every other day, I only have to use this carpet powder once every two weeks or so.

See, it’s that easy (and inexpensive) to make your own carpet powder. And this DIY product is much better for your health and household than what you find on a store’s shelf.