The Smells of the Holidays

There's no way to sweeten the ideal, we are pig farmers and have three rough and tumble kids under 7. That means I do a LOT of laundry and deal with a lot of really bad smells. Those of you with kids and or pigs probably know that the majority of these smells come from the kids!

But there is a catch, everyone in our house is allergic to commercial chemicals, deoderizers, and fragrances and it is a range of reactions, from severe skin blistering to headaches to sinus irritation. It is easy enough to switch to hyper allergenic clothes washing, pure soaps, and natural cleaners but what about getting smells out of unconventional places and what about pleasant scents?

My first step is always to clean, but that's not always enough.

To start with, white vinager is a great deoderizer. Works the same way that Febreeze does, it pickles the stink and kills the bacteria. I used to demonstrate Febreeze and had to study the product before hand. Basically the same idea. I add a little peppermint oil to the bottle so when it dries it smells minty fresh! My oldest daughter calls this Peppermint Pickle spray. I works as a first aid spray too (all be it a painful one) and a quick hand sanitizer. I use a mix of this as a rinse in my clothes washer too.

Then to make the house fragrant if company is coming I collect the orange/clementine peels and mostly eaten apples that are abundant this time of year at my house. Through the day the girls add them to a stove pot, I cover with water and add a cinnamon stick or two and simmer; add water as needed. Ta da! It adds humidity we need right now and smells amazing with no allergic reactions. I have also done this with just mint, but it is not as strong.

How do you combat stink at your house?