I like a clean house. I have been brainwashed by Pinterest, Instagram and the “cleanliness is next to godliness” mantra into thinking I need a pristine house at all times. Unfortunately those dreams of immaculate, crumb-free rooms are destroyed on a daily basis by my roommates.

Don’t be fooled by their size, those three pack the punch of a small army when it comes to mess-making. I think if they had Instagram, “mess maker, snack eater, mischief manager” would be on each of their bios. It’s really a core component of who they are.

Which is why whenever I walk through my house, the following questions rattle through my head.

• Where is that smell coming from?
• What is that ground into the {carpet/couch/sheets}?
• Why are there crumbs in here?
• What’s not what I think it is, is it?
• He’s only 7, surely that can’t be coming from his shoes?
• How can someone so small have that much laundry?
• No, but really, where is that smell coming from?

Thankfully, Febreze ONE means I don’t have to ask myself that so often anymore! These air and fabric mists have been a lifesaver – they smell fresh and clean, but don’t have heavy perfumes or dyes, or any aerosols. The mists have totally changed my approach to clearing the air. Keep reading for my guide to getting rid of those weird smells in the stinkiest parts of the house.

Add to their general mess making the fact that our garbage disposal broke last week. I can assure you that there are few things grosser than dealing with a backed up disposal. It’s terribly unpleasant and just thinking about it is making my nose curl up remembering the smell. It’s gross.

When the plumber left after fixing it, he reminded me that you’re not supposed to put food down the disposal. Wait what? Isn’t that what they’re for? Isn’t that their sole purpose? All at once I was transported back to my grandparents kitchen where my grandfather would constantly admonish me for putting food in the sink. “You can’t do that!” he said while I simply ignored the warning. You were right Papaw, you always were.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well I’ve recently identified my five stinkiest areas of the house and begun my war on weird smells with a little help from Febreze. What are those stink zones, you ask? Well, whether you wanted to know or not, they are (in no particular order):

• The garbage can – It’s like a science experiment in there now that our disposal is off limits.
• The washing machine – Does anyone else start a load of laundry and then promptly forget about it for the rest of time? Hoping it’s not just me. I’ve had to rewash the same load of laundry four times before getting it into the dryer in an acceptable amount of time. Laundry is my achilles heel.
• Drew’s room – He’s a gross boy. End of story.
• Blake’s room – Little lady can’t get out of diapers fast enough.
• Laundry hamper – Working out is great for the mind, body and soul. Work out clothes are smelly and nasty but that hasn’t stopped me from wearing them for far too long post-workout.

You guys, Febreze is my jam and I’m not just saying that because we’re partnering on this post.  No lie, I have legit Febreze-d myself, spraying it like perfume on my clothes rather than changing out of my gym clothes to run errands. Gross? Yes. Effective? Definitely.

I’m tempted to do it more regularly with their new ONE products since it works just as well to remove wonky smells from fabrics as it does the air. Plus there are no aerosoles, no dyes, and no heavy perfume smells. They’re also fully transparent about the ingredients so you can see exactly what you’re spraying here, there and everywhere.

And while I appreciate the commitment to safe ingredients, I’m just as jazzed that it doesn’t smell like a foot in Drew’s room 24/7 anymore.

Want to try it out? Grab a coupon to save at Target  here: spr.ly/ddcartwheelblog.

Photos by Tabitha Booth

Thanks so much to Febreze One for partnering on this post.