What's that smell? Could it be your house? And How to Fix it...

I try to only blog about items received on blog drops if I think they would be of interest to my readers. I got a box of amazing smelling goodies from Ambipur the other day and with it came some tips which I thought are quite handy.(P.S. Their products smell amazing and eliminate rather than just masking odours!)

Ambi Pur recently asked South African women to comment on the worst odours in their houses and their attitudes towards smelly homes. What I found peculiar is how women from different places found different smells to be the smelliest and hardest to remove in their house. In South Africa, we rate toilet and nappy smells to be the worst (true in my home- the nappy bin has to be cleaned daily or it smells aweful), in the USA pet smells, while in India, the smell of Indian cooking seems to be the hardest to remove (I found this interesting or rather worrisome as I cook a lot of Indian food- do I have a smelly home?). Apparently 57 percent of women have avoided visiting someone because of the way their homes smell!

Here are some great tips from Ambipur for ensuring that your home smells great at all times:

• After cooking and eating, spray a little air freshener.  Apparently our noses become immune to odours after around fifteen minutes, so other people might still smell it even if you do not.
• If your child is sleeping away from home, spray their bed or pillow with a familiar smell so they feel at home.
• Use Ambi Pur Citrus & Morning Aerosol to eliminate the smell of cooking or pets.
• Before turning lights on put a little air freshener onto a cold light bulb and switch on to gently release the fragrance into the room.
• Pleasant smells can help your home feel friendly and welcoming so use air freshener in the hallway to welcome guests.
• Wipe feet of pets before they enter the home. 

Here are some of my tips for ensuring that your house smells fresh:

• Keep your house clean and do dishes and laundry straight away and empty all bins daily to avoid smells from developing in the first place (sounds obvious but I know many who do not follow these rules).
• An old Indian upcycling trick is to leave the used packages of fabric softeners under your car seat so that your car smells fresh.
• A drop of essential oil in your load of washing or even on the inside of a toilet roll holder will add a whiff of your favourite scent to your home. 
•  Keep old orange and lemon peels and keep in your kitchen close to the door. This will smell nice and also keep insects at bay. Also, mint and lavender planted close to your kitchen door smell nice and keep insects away(it also means these are close by should you wish to use them in the kitchen).