Many of us currently enjoy the beautiful smells of potpourri gifts in the workplace or at home, which make our daily lives so much more enriched. But were you aware that it was once necessary for everyday life? Potpourri was first created for use in castles. Castles were originally designed with small windows in order to prevent objects, like arrows and stones, from entering into the castle. The narrow windows would trap in the damp air and create a very musty and unpleasant odor. It wouldn’t take long for most castles to smell very bad. Castle inhabitants began to place herbs throughout the rooms so they would have a nice smell in each and every room. Were they to not do so, then the castle would begin to smell horrible and make living in one very tough. The inhabitants constantly had to clean up the potpourri because the oils would evaporate and the herbs would begin to rot and add to the bad smells. Potpourri was usually created in a special room found in the bottom of most castles. Herbs and spices were combined with brandy in these really large rooms which usually contained mixing containers. These potpourri mixtures usually gave off glorious smells. Seasonal demand for certain fragrances was extremely common. There were many fragrances that took years to a decade to age before they were ready to be used.   To cover up the nasty smell of the castle, many rooms and locations were selected to have the appropriately created potpourri deposited. Sometimes potpourri could last as long as a decade with the correct amount of refreshing and upkeep. All that was needed was a little added alcohol to help with the evaporation of the aroma into the area of the castle. At night, the potpourri containers would be capped to help preserve the aromas. If you are interested in making potpourri, then search for free potpourri gift catalogs or just potpourri catalogs.