Agree. I’m not a fan of scents, either purchased ones (e.g. essential oil diffusers) or bad residual scents. I especially dislike cigarette and pet smells. When I walk in to someone’s home, I instantly know if they have cats or dogs, or if they’re smokers. Some try to cover it up using purchased scents (ugh). In these homes, I find an excuse to hang out outdoors.
Off this point: it’s one thing to have a place that smells nice because it’s just been cleaned. But if it has rarely if ever been cleaned before that, it can smell only so good. In my experience, that funky single-guy smell comes from infrequent and indifferent cleaning. The odor settles in over time. The key is not cleaning well, but cleaning often.
I hate fake smells. The best indoor smell is no smell. It all comes down to cleanliness. Your house and yourself. Take the garbage out daily, wash dishes every night, laundry on a regular basis, weekly (if not more often) sheets and towel changes. Clean bathroom (including toilet!) several times a week. Open windows for fresh air when possible. Shower daily. Cleanliness is next to…….
Flowers and other plants?
Quite the thread title/username disconnect here
Hard to fault the optimistism, though.
Does baking soda really work? I know you can Google it and find millions of sites that extoll its virtues, but the “baking soda absorbs fridge odours” thing has been disproven. I remain a little dubious about its alleged miraculous powers and my limited experiments suggest it does little.
You must have come across a bad batch
No. I don’t care for colognes and perfumes, not any of them. I’m not alone in this.
As a rule, scenting a room with anything but cleanliness and fresh air is not, in my opinion, a good idea except for some specific finite purpose, like incense for meditation or lavender for a relaxing bath.
I’m not sure that’s true. Here’s just one source:
Well. I appreciate the advice and suggestions. I’ll endeavour to live a more clean life, though I am a realist that I likely won’t be able to maintain such a rigid schedule of sterility. And the nice smells thing is my own choice, it’s what I want for my home, even if it’s not what is best from your vantage point. So I will definitely be looking out for some aroma-creating thing, at least at first, to achieve the home I wish for myself. Where it goes from there, who knows.
We have a housekeeper come in once a week. She does the bathrooms, dusts everything including all the ceiling fans, cleans the kitchen and does the floors. This costs us 40 bucks a week for a smallish 1500 sf home.
Your costs might vary, but you might want to consider it.
Way back when I was dating, I could sure tell the difference between a home that got cleaned up as a special occasion and one that was always clean but got a little extra shine in anticipation of an overnight visitor. If that is something you are interested in, fresh sheets and towels can help convince someone that they would be comfortable after the fun stuff is over.
Story of my life, right here!
Someone needs to develop a potpourri with the fragrance of pan-fried liver, bacon & onions.
Not sure how practical this is, but a pan of spices, or oranges/lemons simmering on the stove will make the place smell great. At least until the house burns down because you forgot about the pan (the reason I’ve never attempted this).
A bowl of white vinegar seems to help eliminate bad smells.
Many of the products advertised to improve the smell of your home do so by numbing your sense of smell, rather than actually removing odors (which, if you think about it, is a complicated thing to do). So just because your house smells great to you, guests may not agree, at least until their odor receptors are numbed.
I agree that keeping the place fairly clean will do most of the work for you. But I will recommend a candle I like a whole lot. The scent is called tobacco, but of course it doesn’t smell like cigarettes because that would be gross. It’s a very pleasant scent that I find to be subtle and slightly masculine. And candle light is cool and romantic.
I found the candle at World Market. They have some very pleasant smelling soaps too that you can leave out on your bathroom counter.
Yes, clean cotton smells nice.
I have bad allergies and long ago began using air cleaners in almost every room. I have two cats. I have had people stay here and later tell me they had no idea I have cats (they tend to hide from strangers) because there is no smell. I appreciate that the air cleaners do the job both for pollen and for smells.
I use hand soaps from Bath and Body Works which I like because the odor does not linger forever and many of them are natural aromas. My DH uses one called Warm Vanilla and it leaves a nice fresh vanilla smell that lasts a little while. To make it last longer put the soap in a window that gets some sun; that also works for scented candles to give you a bit of fragrance that doesn’t overwhelm.
Lastly, I agree that hiring a cleaning service is the best money you can spend. Mine comes every two weeks and there is nothing like coming home from a hard day to a clean house that smells wonderful and looks wonderful too.
Mopping the floors every week helps keep a fresh smell.
Change the bed sheets and do laundry every week.
Keep the dishes washed.
House plants freshen the air. I have one in every room. I also like to open windows when the weather is nice.
A housekeeper that comes in weekly is the best solution.
I agree that a homes smell is a combination of everything in it.