My grandmother's cedar chest, opened for the winter blankets

We get cedar-lined chests in the shop now and then and the smell is the first thing people comment on. The cedarwood note explains why they were made that way: eastern red cedar heartwood is so aromatic that moths avoid it, so it lined chests and closets.

So that's why grandma never had a moth hole. The blankets smell of it now too.

Calgary basement, same kind of chest, same smell. My mother calls it the winter box.

Ours had a cedar block in the sweater drawer instead. A bit of sandpaper brings the smell right back.