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Storing your incense, especially when you have a lot of it, is important for getting the most out of burning. It can also be a bit of a puzzle when figuring out where to keep your incense to allow for easy accessibility while also protecting the integrity of your incense collection.
Incense should always be kept in a cool and dry place. This helps to avoid scent degradation, oxidation, cross-contamination with other incense, and even potential mildewing. Here’s everything you should know about how to store incense the right way.
Can Incense Be Left Out?
Incense should not be left out. Keep it in a cool, dry spot to avoid the scent degrading or the incense itself becoming wet and unusable. Incense can actually become moldy or oxidized depending on the makeup of the incense recipe.
How Should Incense Be Stored?
Find a cool, dry spot tucked away from light to store your incense. This will keep the scent from degrading over time. You should also avoid letting different varieties of incense mix and mingle. This can cause a sort of cross-contamination that will mess with the scent your get while burning. You can use boxes or baggies to store your incense but it’s easiest to simply store the incense you buy in its original packaging and keep it in a drawer in your house.
How Long Does Incense Last in Storage?
While incense will not “go bad”, proper storage will keep the scent from fading away. The quality of incense you purchase will be a major determinate in how long your incense keeps before the scent begins to seriously degrade. Lower-quality incense may begin to lose scent a year or two after purchase.
Incense Storage Ideas
You could always store your incense in its original packaging. (This is my preferred method.) I’ve heard of others storing their incense in plastic baggies, although I would recommend using Stasher bags instead of plastic bags for the reusable aspect. The biggest takeaway is: incense should be kept in a cool and dry spot so it keeps its integrity and can be properly burned when you’re ready to use it.
Paulownia boxes are another storage option. These boxes will swell when the air becomes humid to create an airtight situation that protects your incense from moisture and scent degradation. If you use paulownia boxes you should still keep your different incenses separate. Paulownia boxes can be purchased from Etsy and are reusable making them a preferred option for incense storage.
If you don’t want to keep your incense in baggies, paulownia boxes, or in their original packaging, you can get creative with these additional incense storage ideas:
- Use a bead storage tube
- Get a test tube style incense holder
- Store in a wooden box
If you go for a wooden box, avoid any heavily scented woods. These can mess with the scents of your incense sticks. There are plenty of different storage items you can buy from Amazon and Etsy that are specifically designed for incense storage. If you pick a storage option not specifically made for incense sticks then you’ll want to double-check the length to ensure your incense sticks will comfortably fit.
