The atmosphere of your home is one of the ‘unsaid’ aesthetics that keeps you loving your home. When you are in it day in and day out, the way your home smells and feels will actually have a stronger impact then the décor in your space! So what factors keep your home smelling fresh and which one’s contribute to their bad odor?  Musty odors, Pets odors, food odors, poor air circulations and smoke are the major culprits.  How to keep these odors in line all depends on you and what you’re willing to do.

Here are some tips in keeping your home fresh year round:

Deep clean at least once a week.  The winter months requires deep cleaning more often in order to get rid of the odors that tend to accumulate.  Deep cleaning means full blown cleaning with bleach and disinfecting your home from floors and counters and bathrooms.

Take your garbage and recycling out daily.

 Clean out your garbage disposal weekly.  Running the disposal with baking soda and vinegar once a week can turn your sink from stinky to sweet.

 Use baking soda as a carpet refresher.  Sprinkle baking soda on your carpet before you vacuum, let it sit for about ten minutes, then vacuum it back up. This will remove odors that tend to get stuck in the fibers.  Make sure you do not overdo it with pouring baking soda into your carpets.

Change out your air filters once a month to keep your air circulating.

Open your windows and let the fresh air in as much as possible.

Vacuum your home on a daily basis if you have kids and pets vacuum daily to keep danger and food particles down.

Mop your floors at least once a week with bleach.

Wash all pet bedding once a week with a little bleach

Wash all sheets once a week with a little bleach.

Use plug in home fresher’s and use odor removing sprays as needed.

Spray counter tops with bleach and disinfecting sprays every night to remove any food particles.

Make sure to keep your kitchen sink free of food and clutter.

The most important tip I can give is to get your carpets cleaned. You must hire a professional carpet cleaning company to come in 3-6 months out of the year depending on your active household.  If you have pets and kids you definitely need it more frequently.

Your home can be a sanctuary but you must keep it that way to keep your home fresh year around.