Friday, December 02, 2005

Stinky

My house is stinky... well, actually just the downstairs kitchen area, thankfully. I noticed it this morning while getting the kids ready for school and thought maybe one of them was a bit gassy. But, then the odor was still there when I returned from my haircut (and Starbucks, of course.) You know how you kindof get accostomed to a smell if you just hang around, but when you go out and then come back, it's all fresh and newly offensive? Yes, that's what's happening here.

Now, is it a stinky bathroom because I have a three year old boy who lacks toilet aim? Possible. Is it something stinky stuck in the garbage disposal? Maybe. Have I left something to rot in the trash can? Could be. Is something lingering in the dishwasher? Might be.

I was not able to pinpoint the smell, so I'm doing an all out clean. I have "flyladied" the sink. (Have you checked out Flylady.com? Beware, it's a bit of a cult, but with good ideas for neatness, order and balance.) She says to fill the sink all the way to the rim with hot hot hot water and add a cup of bleach, let it sit for an hour, then drain and do another layer of cleaning with Windex.

I also mopped, ran the dishwasher, took out the trash and vacuumed the area rugs. Now it just smells like bleach. I'll have to assess the real result tomorrow when I leave and then come home again to test the fresh new odors.

Can you belive a whole post about smells and cleaning? Pathetic. Either there is no art happening, or it's all for Christmas presents that I can't share. You decide.

Since I prefer a post with pictures, I'll share this with you.



Ok, there is some art happening. Claire does a wonderful job making birthday cards when she is invited to parties. This one included a watercolor rainbow! Beautiful!

6 comments:

masshag said...

Is it possible you have a potato gone bad? this has happened to me and it really smelled up the kitchen.

Anonymous said...

I have a stink in the kitchen. I know what it is. I have been sick and steve has been doing the kitchen clean-up. I am sure he put stinky garbage in the trash bin instead of down the disposal. So as soon as I feel better, I am going to empty it and soak it with clorox. He has gone to Kansas with part of the Bishop calling committee to interview a prospect. So I have to get out of my sick bed and walk the dog and do the clean-up.

Deb R said...

Yay Claire - pretty rainbow!

Hope you killed the stink Deborah.

Deb Lacativa said...

I am the only one in my house who seems to make a distinction between "smells" and "stinks". Early this summer, there was as smelll that drove me crazy for more than a week. I cleaned everything and never found the source as the smell faded. For some other reason, I had my eldest tip the chaise chair back and found the now-mummified corpse of a large rodent .SO disgusting. Another pair of salad tongs sacrificed.

Sonji Hunt said...

Claire is SO SERIOUS. I like a girl who takes her art making seriously.

Terry Grant said...

I am laughing out loud at everyone's stinky house stories! I am paranoid about how my house smells--it's old (1914) and prone to that oldy-moldy smell that I just hate. I always wonder if my house has "house-i-tosis". (remember that old commercial?) I don't like air deodorizers, but I like to toss orange peels or lemon peels in the garbage disposer--churns up a nice fresh smell.