My kids will tell you that I like my house to be clean. But not just any clean. I like my house to be so clean that you can smell the clean. I have a super nose when it comes to stinky odors. I have been known to search the whole house to find a dirty sock that I could smell from two floors away. (My lovely dog, Mojito, steals and hides dirty socks if someone takes them off and doesn’t put them away immediately.)
With the kids back in school I have lots of time to make sure that my house is as sparkly clean as I want it to be during the day. My morning consists of a short list of things to tidy up so that I don’t have to worry about the smells that messes create.
- Wipe down the bathrooms
- Start a load of laundry
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Tidy main living spaces
Back To School Means Back To Sports
With everyone heading back to school it means heading back to school sports as well. I have four kids, two giggly girls and two teenage boys. Having the teenagers and a sport loving husband participating in cross county, hiking, basketball and weight lifting on a daily basis I have a lot of odors to battle. Between the muddy uniforms, sweaty socks, disgusting gym clothes and “teenage smells” I have a lot to contend with to keep my house smelling good. I can spend all day cleaning but if one running shoe is left out or one pair of socks isn’t taken to the laundry room right away I will know it. Since we can all be forgetful and leave socks by the stairs I have come up with some ways to keep the “smells” at bay.
Dryer Sheets
Every six months I place one fresh dryer sheet in each air vent in the house. I use a non perfumed sheet that just smells “clean” to me. Every time the air conditioning or heat pops on it blows a clean scent throughout the house. I have friends that will still comment to me that “it must be laundry day, it smells so good” whenever they come over. (Forget the fact that I have four kids and everyday is laundry day.)
Plug Ins
Oh I love plug-ins! In the basement (where it can smell musty here on the east coast due to humidity) they are a life saver. They get rid of that touch of ‘I’m underground’ scent that you might otherwise dread. I also secretly placed them in all of my children’s rooms without them even knowing. I use my 13-year-old son’s room as a guest room when people visit, and guests would never know if I didn’t tell them. Even my son says, “It is a good thing I keep my room smelling so good so when people come over there isn’t any cleaning to do.” Sure Jason, you keep thinking that it is you ;)
Candles
We live out near the county and there can be some unfriendly odors that follow the wind into our house. Burning candles keeps those smells at bay in the dining room or front hallway where the door are located. In all of my main living areas (we have a great room and a front room with offices) I like to have a candle lit to help with the ambiance when people are over. I have found some great seasonal scents the past few years. Some that are perfect for fall give off just the right amount of scent without overwhelming the room. They work great if the runner in your family leaves his cleats by the back door after cleaning them off or if the husband leaves his SWEATshirt on the back of his office chair.
What are some of your tricks to keeping back to school smells at bay?
*Even though I was compensated for this post, all opinions, as always, are my own.
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I place dryer sheets in my air conditioner vents! it really helps!
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Awesome! I have been doing this for years! Change them every 3 to 6 months!
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I have never heard of the dryer sheet trick. What a great idea. I use the candle trick often.
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The dryer sheet trick is a long lasting one too. Every time the air or heat pops on a small WHOOSH of freshness blows out. It is awesome!
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I love the idea of adding a fresh dryer sheet in each air vent! What a brilliant idea! I have 4 boys so I can totally relate!
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I do the laundry vents thing too!! I don’t use them in my actual laundry but I’ll stick them in a vent, or even the air conditioner :P
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Usually when my son has sports, I make him take a bath in the morning before school, and then after he gets home. He’s not allowed to be at the table unless he is clean.
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Dryer Sheets is a great idea. I like scented candles and Fe-breeze.
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I haven’t tried the dryer sheets! What a great idea! :) I’ll have to do it soon. I do candles too btw, but not much of those plug-ins.
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I love this post because these are great ideas. I am going to use the dryer sheet in the air vent for sure. Thanks for sharing.
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those tips are very helpful for me! i would love to have such a nice smelling house hahaha like its a laundry day
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I too love a clean home. That candle looks really nice. I have burning fall type of candles at the moment. =)
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Ugh don’t remind me of the smells please. We use scentsy to get rid of the smells over here.
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Dryer sheets are a great idea. I love clean smells and not perfumy! I also love candles.
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We use plugins and air freshners to keep the place smelling good. I really like your trick about putting a sheet behind the air vent.
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I will have to try the dryer sheet trick Thanks for the suggestion! I love the way my house smells when I’m doing laundry.
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Wow my mom had a nose like yours. No smell could get past her. LOL. I keep back to school smells away by doing laundry almost daily and I diffuse a variety of essential oils throughout the house.
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I use dryer sheets in the bottom of every garbage can. It helps soooo much. But there’s nothing but laundry that can help those nasty gym and practice clothes when they come home.
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I like the dryer sheet idea. I use Scentsy wax warmers to keep my house smelling great. I love all the scents they offer. My favorite one rite now is Rosemary Mint.
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It can get pretty stinky in my boys’ room. We use those Renuzit things but I think a plug in may work better. I’ve also thought about trying Scentsy. I wish I had more time to keep my house clean!
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I always have some candles lit to freshen up my house!
Michelle
mash-elle.com
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I seriously was just smelling my kids shoes this morning EKE. The boys are growing up and sports are here. STINKY!
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You are the best mom ever omg!!! I am loving the dryer sheet in the air vent idea!! Def trying it :)
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OK FIRST I want to invite you to my house! I’d love to have you running your morning routine around my apartment. I like things to be clean, but my best intentions aren’t always met. I love candles myself and often vacuum up baking soda after leaving it on my carpet for a while (we’re a pet friendly household). I’m totally stealing your dryer sheet trick though. It sounds amazing!! Thanks for inspiring me to get my clean on today :)
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I try to wash the clothes as soon as he gets home from working out. The gym bag is the worst, I spray it with Lysol at least 3 times a week.
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I train almost daily and I do my laundry after each workout. I could just imagine how hard it is to have a whole family that’s really sporty when it comes to the laundry.
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Well, when my boys were in school I was a SWM and the only ones I had at home were my girls. My boys both went to Glenwood Military School for boys, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have sports in the house. My youngest daughter went the whole nine yards with track and even beat the boys team. She was even in ROTC, but I was very fortunate that she cleaned & did her own laundry. I’m a very lucky mom.
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My kids do karate, so we go year round. They smell, but it’s their gear bags that REALLY smell. Like gag worthy….
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The gear is the worst! My 16 year old left his cross country bag in the car overnight once! It was terrible! I had to air the car out for 24 hours and spray it down with a deodorizer!
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