Thrifty Trick

I don't often buy paper or cardboard goods from the thrift store because you can't really clean them, and they're often stained or soiled. I invested in this hat box because other than the unpleasant thrift-store odor it was in pristine condition. All I needed to do was get rid of the smell, and that just required a trick my grandmother taught me.

Dried lavender will erase almost any smell if you let it sit with what you're deodorizing in an enclosed space. Since the hat box came with a lid I just lined in with some paper towels, added a layer of lavender, covered it up and let it sit for two weeks undisturbed (I added the little square wicker box on top of the lavender because it was a bit smelly, too.)

My hat box smells only a little of lavender now, and not at all like the thrift store.