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5 days. That’s how long we had been gone. That’s how long the garbage had been sitting in my garbage can… the can that I forgot to empty before I left. The can that held the strawberries that I found in the back of the refrigerator when I cleaned it out. That’s how long it held the dinner that I threw out the night before we left for our trip. Five days.

A close up of a box of Glad Flex Force garbage bags.

Thankfully, we had used the Glad ForceFlex OdorShield trash bags with Febreeze. It’s funny because I partnered with them for this post and then tried out their garbage bags on Wednesday and Thursday. We left Friday morning. I’ll just give a shout-out to Glad for that one. I don’t think the smell would have held up without you. J Your bags offered continuous Odor Neutralization for five days! Woo-hoo!
A box of Glad ForceFlex garbage bags on a porch railing.

When we came home and I rushed in, thinking that I would be hit in the face with the smell of garbage, I was surprised (more like shocked) to find that I didn’t notice anything. I know that sometimes it is those small changes that can make a big difference around your home.

We have made a few changes in the past year that really add up in the “fresh-house smell” department.

1- We buy only white dishtowels and we bleach them every time that they go into the wash. I know some people aren’t big on bleach, but I just know that I love the way that my dishtowels smell and I’ll never go back on that.
Cleaning products sitting on a porch railing.

2- I put a lemon & baking soda into my garbage disposal every week. So, once a week, I’ll make a meal that uses lemon (I just find one that we like- we have a bunch) and I’ll take the leftover lemon, rub it all over the sink (inside) and then push it into the disposal. I’ll sprinkle some baking soda on it and put some in the disposal as well. I give it about 3 minutes, come back and rinse it all away. I turn the disposal on and it’s gone… along with any odors.

3- We have a ‘closet’ for our cat’s litter box. My friend, Hillary, told me about this. Our kids had been asking for a kitten for years. We had a goldendoodle, so we weren’t sure about a kitten. Plus, the smell scared me. In college, I had a roommate (for about a week) with a cat.

The smell was so strong (and gross) that I moved out and bunked with my friend, Julia, for the rest of the semester. When we got our kitten, we put a small cat-door into our closet under the stairs & that is where his litter box & food go. The smell has never made it’s way into the rest of the house (I clean it out daily, too).

4- I will always use Glad ForceFlex OdorShield trash bags with Febreeze from now on. That first trip was just a test (even though I didn’t realize I was going to be doing a test) and it passed, so it is a must- have in our house. The stretchable strength and odor neutralization mean you could even take your trash out less and no one will mind because only a fresh scent is left behind.

A close up of a box of Glad garbage bags with a bag being pulled out of the box.

5. Dip a cotton ball in Febreeze. This one started years ago. I used to put a dryer sheet into my drawers (my aunt did this and I always loved the smell of her clothes, then my mom did it for a while when I was in high school and I still remember loving the way everything smelled). So, I decided to try it with a cotton ball. I dipped a cotton ball into a jar of Febreeze and let it dry. I put it into our car & in a few drawers and things started to smell great.

All in all, it is just those little things that add up to a lot of freshness. My biggest fear is that our house will smell funny or have an odor, so I am always looking for great ways to keep things smelling fresh and clean. I clean daily, vacuum every day (we have a lot of people in our family, so this is a must) and I use these ideas that I just gave you. They work.

If you have any ideas, I’m sure other readers (and me!) would love to read them- feel free to leave them in the comments.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GLAD . The opinions and text are all mine.

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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