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Spring is finally here and it is being welcomed with open arms!  It has been a cold winter in North Carolina (doesn’t this weather know that we moved here from PA for this very reason?  Oh- and for a job, but that’s not the point right now. haha!)
fresh clean smell for your home - 7 great & easy tips!

I love being outside.   I really do!  I even asked my husband and my Dad to build me a screened in porch out back because I love to spend time out there… just picture it:   There I am, enjoying the breeze with a  great book in my hand, just swinging the day away (  Ok- now add four kids onto that swing with me, and make that book Curious George and the Fire Truck).

Between soccer games (3-5 every week), play dates at the playground with friends and generally just spending a lot more time outdoors in the spring, you will notice that your kids (or pets) are probably bringing IN more dirt, more allergens and more odors.    If you are like me, I really want to keep bad odors OUT of the house and make your house smell fresh and clean every day.

I love when I walk into our house, after being gone for a few hours, and it has a fresh, clean smell.
 If you’re determined to keep foul odors from spreading throughout your house and the air inside your home, these tips might help you:

1). Deodorize the carpet before vacuuming

2).  Remove all shoes outside!  You could even make this easy DIY mudroom bench and leave it in the garage.  

3).  Remove any sweaty, grass-stained clothes at the door.  I have our kids take off their messy (dirt-filled) clothes in the garage, especially if I can envision it tracking through the house I just throw down a pair of shorts for the kids to change into, and I leave a plastic laundry basket at the back door.   Someone carries the basket up when they are finished and pre-treat the stains.  (You could add this to their age-appropriate chore basket)
(Sweaty wrestling uniforms included!)

wrestling

4).  You will want to clean your light-bulbs if they have been around anything that would keep them from releasing the odor when it is turned on.

5). Every day, I will turn on the kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans.  A good way to remember this is to just turn them on when you are getting ready to unload the dishwasher and turn them off when you are done.  I usually leave them on for about 5-10 minutes a day, just enough to remove odors.   It also helps to prevent mold (because it prevents moist conditions).   It is best to vent to the outdoors. 

5).  Use Filtrete filters.  Filtrete™ air filtration captures airborne particles to help your home stay healthy, clean and fresh.   When you install a Filtrete Healthy Living furnace filter from 3M, it uses electrostatic technology to trap dust, pollen, dust mites, pet dander, odors and more…

6).  Wash your white towels and washcloths in BLEACH!!
keep towels smelling great If you notice that your kitchen towels and washcloths smell awful (like mildew) when you use them, even just once, it might be because you didn’t wash them in bleach.  I only buy white because they can be washed with bleach… I do a load of whites about every other day.   (If you don’t think bleach is a healthy option, you could try using vinegar, but I personally LOVE the smell of bleach, so I can’t imagine not using it.  It reminds me of being at the indoor swimming pool on Hilton Head Island, visiting my grandparents when I was little.)

7. The last tip, if you don’t already know, is to open your windows for even just a few minutes a day, even when it is cold outside.  Just let some of that fresh air come in and sweep through your room!

If you liked this post, you will love my De-cluttering series and my Organizing series or my post on the many uses of lemon in your home!  Now onto the giveaway!

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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19 Comments

  1. I will buy more vacuum bags and cleaning supplies for the “spring clean”. 🙂

  2. If I won the $50 gift card I would use it to buy new towels and socks! All white so I can bleach the stink away like you said lol.

  3. Great idea to just have white towels and washcloths. Like you, I love the smell of bleach…it takes me back to my competitive swimming days!

    1. Yep- the smell of pools! 🙂 Its the best. My husband thinks I’m crazy when I smell the fresh-out-of-the-wash bleached towels! 🙂

  4. Thank you for the tips. I will start washing kitchen cloths in vinegar.

  5. I don’t have to use bleach to keep my towels and washcloths from smelling after one use. The trick is to let them dry out unfolded on the towel bar in between uses and make sure the room is well ventilated. Installing a more powerful bathroom fan helped solve the problem. I also use vinegar in the fabric softener cup in my washing machine. The vinegar rinses out every last bit of detergent that may be left in the clothes in the washer (which helps cause the mildew smell.) Since this happens in the final rinse cycles, my clothes don’t smell like vinegar or pickles. And I don’t have to worry about bleach accidents ruining my laundry.

  6. We don’t do most of these. Hmm…

    We live in PA and love it. We’re in rural southeastern now…grew up in northeastern though. We like the four distinct seasons.

    Usually just washing my dishcloths in hot water works for us.

  7. On sunny days, I wet my dishcloth and let it dry in the sun while I’m at work. It’s good for another few days. I air things out all of the time and sunny days are the best. The sun takes odors out of many things and when you bring the items in it freshens the room. Love, love the sun!