Making A Reminiscence Smells Box 🌹

Simon O'Donovan
4 days ago
8 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

A reminiscence smells box can be a powerful tool for triggering memories and emotions, especially for people with dementia or those who enjoy sensory exploration. The key is to select scents that are universally recognisable or personally significant.

How to Create Your Reminiscence Smells Box

Materials You'll Need:

A sturdy box: A shoebox, a small wooden crate, or a decorative storage box works well.

Small containers: Film canisters, small plastic jars with lids, or even small fabric pouches are ideal for holding individual scents. Make sure they can be easily opened and closed.

Cotton balls or felt pads: For absorbing liquid scents like essential oils or extracts.

Labels: To clearly identify each scent (especially helpful for caregivers or if the person has impaired vision).

Instructions:

Choose your scents: Aim for a variety of familiar and evocative smells.

Prepare the scent containers:

For solid items (like spices, coffee beans, or potpourri), simply place them directly into the containers.

For liquid scents (like essential oils, extracts, or diluted cleaning products), soak a cotton ball or felt pad and place it in the container. This helps to control the release of the scent and prevent spills.

Label clearly: Write the name of the scent on each container. You might also include a brief prompt like "What does this remind you of?"

Arrange in the box: Place all the prepared scent containers neatly into your box. You can add dividers if you would like to keep them organized.

Scent Ideas for Your Reminiscence Box

Here are some categories and specific ideas for scents that often evoke strong memories:

Food & Drink:

Coffee: Freshly ground or roasted coffee beans.

Vanilla: Vanilla extract on a cotton ball.

Cinnamon/Spices: Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, or a small bag of mixed baking spices.

Citrus: Dried orange peel, lemon essential oil, or a small piece of a fresh orange (replace regularly).

Peppermint: Peppermint tea bags or essential oil.

Chocolate: A small piece of plain chocolate (sealed).

Herbs: Dried rosemary, lavender, or thyme.

Nature & Outdoors:

Pine: A small pinecone, pine needles, or pine essential oil.

Earthy/Soil: A small amount of dried potting soil (ensure it's clean and doesn't contain additives).

Rain/Fresh Air: While hard to capture, you could try a subtle "fresh linen" or "ocean breeze" essential oil blend.

Cut Grass: A small amount of dried grass (replace frequently).

Household & Everyday:

Soap/Shampoo: A bar of classic scented soap or a shampoo-soaked cotton ball.

Laundry Detergent/Fabric Softener: A small amount of scented powder or a fabric softener sheet.

Baby Powder: A cotton ball lightly dusted with baby powder.

Old Books: The unique scent of old paper (a small torn page from an old book).

Wood Smoke: A piece of charred wood (ensure it's cool and safe).

Personal Care & Nostalgia:

Perfume/Aftershave: A few drops of a classic or common fragrance on a cotton ball.

Vick's VapoRub: A tiny dab on a cotton ball (strong, so use sparingly).

Toothpaste: A small amount on a cotton ball.

Tips for Using Your Reminiscence Box

Introduce one scent at a time: Allow the person to fully experience each smell without being overwhelmed.

Encourage sharing: Ask open-ended questions like:

"What does this smell like to you?"

"Does this remind you of anything or anyone?"

"Where have you smelled this before?"

"How does this make you feel?"

Be patient and listen: The goal is to stimulate memories and conversation, not to get "correct" answers.

Observe reactions: Notice if certain smells trigger strong positive or negative reactions.

Personalize it: If you're making this for a specific person, try to include scents that are unique to their life experiences (e.g., their favorite flower, a specific food from their childhood).

Refresh regularly: Scents can fade, so replace items as needed to keep the experience vibrant.

Creating a reminiscence smells box is a wonderful way to connect with others on a deeper sensory and emotional level. Enjoy the process!

SOME CST ACTIVITIES IDEAS BASED ON A REMINISCENCE SMELLS BOX

IDIOMS ABOUT SMELL

Ask members to complete these well known phrases by way of a shout out ...

I can smell a RAT

Wake up and smell the COFFEE

Something smells FISHY

Come up smelling of ROSES

Stink to high HEAVEN

Follow your NOSE

Have a taste of your own MEDICINE

I smell TROUBLE

Sweet smell of SUCCESS

A rose by any other name would smell so SWEET

Turn your nose up at SOMETHING

I could smell that a mile OFF

BEST SMELLS IN THE WORLD

See how many of these members can come up with ...

Based on various surveys and common experiences in the UK, here's a list of the top 20 smells that are widely recognised, enjoyed, and hold a degree of cultural significance:

Freshly Baked Bread: Consistently ranks as a top favourite, evoking feelings of comfort, home, and warmth.

Bacon Frying: A quintessential Sunday morning smell for many, strongly associated with breakfast and relaxation.

Freshly Cut Grass: The scent of summer, gardening, and outdoor leisure, especially popular in a nation with a love for green spaces.

Coffee: A ubiquitous morning aroma, linked to waking up, routines, and social gatherings.

Cakes Baking in the Oven: Sweet, comforting, and reminiscent of homemade treats and special occasions.

Freshly Washed Laundry/Fabric Softener: The smell of cleanliness, domesticity, and a well-kept home.

Roses: A classic floral scent, abundant in gardens across the UK and often associated with romance and beauty.

The Sea/Ocean Air: Evokes holidays, coastal walks, and a sense of fresh, open spaces.

Petrichor (the smell after rain): A distinct earthy and fresh scent, particularly appreciated in a country known for its rainfall.

Wood Smoke (from a log fire/bonfire): Associated with cosy evenings, country pubs, and autumn/winter festivities.

Vanilla: A popular, sweet, and comforting scent found in many foods, perfumes, and home fragrance products.

Sunday Roast: A savoury, rich aroma that signifies a traditional British meal and family gatherings.

Fish and Chips: The distinctive smell of a British classic, often enjoyed by the seaside or from a local chippy.

New Car Smell: A unique combination of materials that many find appealing and associated with newness and luxury.

Lavender: A calming and herbaceous scent, often found in gardens and used in aromatherapy and personal care products.

Pine Needles (especially at Christmas): Strongly linked to the festive season and real Christmas trees.

Citrus (e.g., Orange, Lemon): A refreshing, clean, and invigorating scent, common in cleaning products and food.

Chocolate: A universally loved sweet aroma, present in homes, bakeries, and confectioneries.

Mint: A sharp, refreshing scent, used in food, drinks, and hygiene products.

Fresh Flowers (general): The varied and pleasant scents from gardens, parks, and florists, signalling spring and summer.

These smells often trigger nostalgic memories and are deeply woven into the fabric of daily life and cultural experiences in the United Kingdom.

WORST SMELLS IN THE WORLD

See how many of these members can come up with ...

There's no definitive, universally agreed-upon list of the "top 10 worst smells," as scent perception can be subjective. However, several odors are consistently cited for their particularly offensive nature. Here's a compilation of some of the most notorious:

Many different substances and natural phenomena are considered to produce some of the worst smells in the world. These odours are often described as repulsive, nauseating, and capable of lingering for extended periods.

Hydrogen Sulphide: Known for its strong "rotten egg" smell, this gas is found in natural occurrences like geysers and swamps, and is also associated with decaying organic matter and sewage.

Raw Sewage/Fecal Matter: An unsurprisingly high contender, the smell of human waste and sewage is universally considered appalling due to bacterial breakdown.

Rotten Flesh/Gangrenous Flesh: The decomposition of animal or human remains produces an intensely foul odour, due to the complex bacteria involved. Gangrenous flesh, a medical condition, is said to be so bad that medical staff may wear biohazard suits to avoid the smell.

Thioacetone: Regarded as one of the worst-smelling chemical compounds known to science, it can induce vomiting and nausea from a significant distance.

Durian Fruit: This Southeast Asian fruit is infamous for its pungent smell, often described as a mix of turpentine, rotten onions, and sewage, leading to bans on public transport in several countries. Despite the smell, many find its taste sweet and creamy.

Vieux Boulogne Cheese: This French cheese has been scientifically identified as one of the smelliest cheeses in the world, with its odor often compared to a "cow's behind."

Surströmming: A Swedish delicacy of fermented herring, its smell is so potent (due to hydrogen sulphide, propionic acid, and other acids) that it's banned on several airlines.

Hákarl: An Icelandic dish of fermented shark, buried for months and then hung to dry. It's said to smell intensely of fish and ammonia, and also like urine and rotting cheese.

Zorilla (Striped Polecat) Spray: Similar to a skunk's spray but reportedly even more odorous, this defensive secretion can be smelled up to half a mile away.

Corpse Flower (Rafflesia arnoldii/Amorphophallus titanum): This giant flower literally smells like a decaying corpse, attracting carrion flies for pollination.

Rotten Food: Common offenders include spoiled potatoes (which can release solanine gas and be deadly in poorly ventilated areas), eggs, fish, and milk.

Smelly Feet/Sweat/Body Odor: The smells associated with poor hygiene are frequently cited as highly unpleasant.

Bad Breath: Halitosis, or bad breath, can produce very disgusting odors.

Next are my ideas for a Reminiscence Smells Box, in the categories of:

Childhood Smells
Household Smells
Smells From Nature
Food Smells

As people with dementia sometimes experience changes in their sense of smell and taste, a print off of visual clues to go with the smells can be advantageous.

The idea here is for people to smell each pot (for as long as engagement and enjoyment last - a song break between categories may be beneficial in this respect) and tick the corresponding pictures off.

In each category, members could state:

The smell which is their favourite
The smell which evokes a certain strong memory
The smell which is most unpleasant

Suggested contents:

Mothballs, Germolene, Wrights Coal Tar Soap, Vicks, Brasso, TCP, Lavender Floor Polish, Johnson's Baby Powder, Kiwi Show Polish, Nivea Face Cream, Pledge Furniture Polish, Pears Soap, Vosene Shampoo & Fairy Soap

Ad break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_-C1RcBJxw

Members could be asked to bring in their favourite fragrance ...

Suggested contents:

Play-Doh, Swimming Pool (diluted dash of bleach in water - generally 10% strength), Old Book (give off a scent known as Vanillin), Palma Violets, Crayons, Liqourice Allsorts, Coppertone Sun Cream, Popcorn, Cookies (remember licking the bowl when mum was baking?), Candy Floss, Chips (Salt and Vinegar), Matey Bubble Bath, Marzipan (Christmas Cake) & Lucozade

Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMyY1hTqTzc&list=RDqMyY1hTqTzc&start_radio=1

Suggested contents:

Fresh cut grass, Log fire (coal burnt wood), Seaside (seashells), Autumn leaves, Pine, Rosemary, Mint, Rose water, Clove oil, Honeysuckle, Honey, Lavender, Wild garlic & Moss (earthy smell)

Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BakWVXHSug&list=RD-BakWVXHSug&start_radio=1

Suggested contents:

Coffee beans, Lemon, Curry powder, Onion, Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Fresh baked bread, Parmesan cheese, Orange, Cinnamon, Strawberry, Marmite & Tomatoe

Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOk4pKRT4E8&list=RDkOk4pKRT4E8&start_radio=1

IDEAS FOR REFRESHMENTS

Some more strong flavours are available should members wish to try them (and spit them out into a tissue if necessary) ...

You could also try sharing out a packet of Jelly Beans and see what flavours members can identify (I have to say though some of the flavours are a bit um chemical tasting, to me anyways).