What is something I could put in the oven to make the house smell really good for when this woman comes by?

Win win then!! I also love Febreeze, even my giant air purifier can not keep up with smoke iin here. I open windows and doors, they close them. they are always cold. I am also a fan of the Glade plug ins

Blannie I am dying here...I love the Febreze comment...

Re the topic, I am exactly like you about smells in my home. And like you, that is one reason I hate drop in company....it is one of my biggest pet peeves....I agree cinnamon and cloves on the stove simmering always helps...also baking apples and cinnamon in the oven is great...and vanilla is always a welcoming scent...we usually have all those things in the house....

You know, as a sidenote...I am always of the belief that my drop ins are on a spy mission...I recently pulled the only carpet we had left simply because I was convinced it was retaining musty odors no matter how often I cleaned it..so out it went. And I do think it is a "woman" thing...men couldn't seem to care less...

As an additional note....my cat seems to have a knack for watching and waiting for approaching company. No matter how delightful the house smells, once the cat sees someone coming, that is exactly the moment she decides it is time to use the litterbox.....and it's usually a good one.... :)

Lysol now has spray for everything including fabric! It blends very well with "eau de dog" and "Ol'fart" plus it kills 99 percent of the germs!!!
YAY!
I have 2 big dirty dogs, a farmer hubby, a ol'Ma (94) and I can vouch for Lysol.
Best proct on the market for the harried housekeeper.

I found some Lysol cleaner the other day called clean and fresh peach blossom and something I can't remember but it was in a pink bottle and it is the best and freshest smelling cleaner ever!!! I actually enjoy cleaning just getting to smell that stuff...except for today...nothing could seem to make me move today....but the Lysol is great!!! funny post olmaandme

hope22, I know what you mean.... one of my cats will decide its a great time to deposit a hairball on the foyer rug.... oh dear.

As for the delightful smell of apple pie or chocolate chip cookies, visitors will know it came out of a spray can because anyone who knows me know I don't cook :)

Texa. i just love that comment "even something CSI wouldnt be able to identify" i laughed my head off!
Bake a chocolate cake the smell will make even you forget the other smells!!

anywhoo dont get yourself in a state it could be worse as my mum is throwing her colostomy bags out the front of the house now! so no matter how clean i keep the inside i have to pick up what CSI would REFUSE to pick up outside!

Coffee and chocolate cake is what i recommend and stuff her the cake is for you after shes gone!

Isnt it silly just how little things can stress us as we dont want "them" to think we are the dirty ones??????????

I invited the new neighbours in for dinner over easter lucky i didnt give a specific date i then decided to not "bother" as the smell of urine was just too much hassle to get rid of and "they wouldnt understand".

Yep you can tell people they are not right in the head but some people just dont get the hygiene part so i just dont have anyone who wouldnt understand in this house. lucky my friends have looked after their parents at some stage and "understand".

Just think one day we will look back and laugh at this! GULP! and everytime i see a colostomy bag i will smile and think of "mother". LOL

Just to add when the district nurse is calling round "to spy" i make sure the place "REEKS".
ONE........... she can see mum needs more help
TWO........she can see just what i have to clean up everyday
THREE......she leaves in quite a hurry as i hate her and how she patronises me and talks to mum like shes a dear old lady and im the big bully daughter!!

spray a little perfume, or better yet if you have any essestial oil, a few drops on the light bulbs will do it! also your air filter to the AC unit spray it and it will take the smell all over the house. If it were me, if you do not like the way we live, don't visit, it is what it is, I devote every waking hour to my husband, I don't have time for the things that can wait! I just groomed my two cockers yesterday, in the kitchen, as it became way too hit outside for them & me, easy clean up, then i use the dyson animal, everything sucked up & gone! I would have said another day would be better. Good luck & don't worry about it.

Haven't heard a peep from these women since they came. They don't even call mother. It was definitely a spy mission to get inside the house. They also probably miss all the money she was donating every Sunday that I will have to keep any eye on from now on. Donating is okay, but I feel the time is getting nearer that the money will have to be spent on people helping me take care of her at my house. I hope god will forgive me but it's not like I am out buying new cars vacations, clothes etc. I spend her money on Depends, gas to MD visits, MD visits, someone to help clean house a couple of times a week and so one, when I spend her money it's on her , to take care of her and stay out of a NH.

I love all of these recommendations but I find some odors or the places they occur nothing seems to help. I keep the windows open, air purifier going have numerous air fresheners various types and brands along with the Lysol spray, room sprays, fabric fresheners, carpet deodorizers, etc. nothing seems to help the smell of urine my mothers bedroom and on the clothes and linens no matter what I wash them with soda, pine sol, etc. Also the stains is also a problem I can't tell you how many clothes have been ruined by the stains. I feel that I'm losing this war and battle, there seems to be no wins.

A little vanilla on some cotton balls here and there will do the trick. And yes, cinnamon stick and cloves in simmering water on the stove will smell great--as well as freshly ground coffee in a saucer or shallow dish.

Ladybug, you might try the pet store. There are severa enzymel products that take the smell of urine out of clothing and furniture.

Slowly roast a big sweet onion in the oven at about 200F. It makes a pleasant domestic smell.

texarkana, Im glad you got through it! Some of these post made me laugh and all had great ideas. Im the same way you are, I worry about animal smells so during the summer I make sure the Air conditioner is on and use cheap body sprays. Another thing I do is to use a good scented tile cleaner or even Windex ( well it may not smell the best but I tell people Im in the middle of cleaning or if there visit was planned, that I just dropped something and it had to be cleaned. Or, you could boil cabbage/sauerkraut hehe.

We love animals a lot too, so I get it!

Old breeder trick... make a pot of coffee ; )

I like Garden Artist answer. Just don't let her in - Tell her everyone there has very contagious flu so she can leave the pie at the front door. Go to the door in an old ragged robe coughing your head off.

If you must make nice and pretty, I use bleach on everything that it's safe on and run a load of white clothes in the machine then dryer. That helps along with cinnamon. I buy gallons of pet deodorizer bc we have 3 cats that all vie for top cat position by spraying the furniture. Listerine does a good job too. Either mint or the old fashioned stuff kills the germs that cause odors.

Why in this great gods world wd you want or need eight animals in the house when you cannot take care of whats really important..thats just ridiculous. .call the animal shelter and get them adopted
Tell the owner of them you've become allergic. ..first of all this is not healthy..2nd of all you have much more that come first ...

Hold on their Stefani,just a minute. I take it you are not an animal person. I most certainly take care of what is important,And 2 of those little dogs are my mother's and she would call the police on me if I tried to take away her 4lb yorkie and 8lb shi Tzu. We live on a mini farm, also have 2 cats and 2 horses and 7 acres. These are little dogs and loved very much. I would adopt you out before them. Also studies have shown that children that grow up with dogs have less allergies, me being one of them.Just glad that people like you are in the minority. People that don't like animal,something just is wrong with them and in your case you seem judgemental and intolerant.However, I will give you a pass as I have no idea what your circumstances are. And lastly, some of the nastiest creatures on god's earth are human. I would never worry about getting HIV or hepatitis from a dog. If you continue to come to this site I am afraid you will be outnumbered by the animal lovers on this site. Sometimes these little fellows are all that help our sanity, and the sanity of our elderly loved ones. Sometimes my mother wouldn't even try to exercise if it weren't for her dogs that she insists on taking outside herself, they keep her motivated.Oy , some people in this world, glad you aren't my neighbor.This house is cleaner that a lot of NH where my mother would be exposed to MRSA and god knows what else.Good grief woman ,calm down, have a milk bone.

Bravo Tex, Bravo Girl !!

My little furbaby left us after 13 love and cheeseburger- filled years. I far preferred her company to some people I know ;-)

Stefani,

I think you're far too harsh on the original poster, and too quick to judge someone who has that many animals.

It's been proven that animals provide therapy to humans. And humans in turn affect animals' health - petting is helpful to animals.

My sister had several cats and took excellent care of them, all while holding down a demanding job in psychiatric nursing and doing volunteer work. Her house was immaculate.

I would ask if you feel that some people have far too many children, which constitute much more of a resource drain on renewable resources? Would you also think that Octomom with her 8 children should give some of them away for adoption because she has too many?

There most certainly are cases in which a person can have too many animals, but I would ask what evidence you have to make the conclusion that the original poster "can't take care of what's really important"?

She's doing her best to balance care for her mother and their collective animals, as well as extend courtesy to people who have just invited themselves over.

I totally agree with Garden Artist and Texarkana on this one. I have pets and my Mama loves them. I take excellent care of Mama AND my pets and they are enormous company to both Mama and me. I also keep a very clean home. On another note, there are way too many animals in shelters now because of people who just think the answer is to "dump" them in a shelter so they'll get adopted out.....which, by the way, rarely happens...most animals entering a shelter never make it out....how horrible to even suggest to get rid of beloved pets which are a comfort to those who love and care for them...way to go Tex and Garden Artist I absolutely agree!..

thanks for the support. I guess this "lady" never heard of pet therapy. Really, if it weren't for my mother's 2 dogs she would drive me crazy. We never got along but on pets we agree. Your pets love her unconditionally and I would never dream of removing them from her unless I though she had become a danger to them.

Peppermint oil is another good refreshing scent. Get a small bottle of peppermint essential oil (the real thing, not the supermarket kind). You only have to use a couple of drops at a time so it lasts a while. I put a few drops on a little piece of cotton ball and suck it up in the vacuum; makes the whole house smell great. A couple of drops in the washing machine will take the urine smell out of clothes (white vinegar in the rinse cycle is good for this too- it only smells vinegary while the wash is going). A drop on a cotton ball or piece of paper towel and thrown in the trash will keep garbage odors at bay. And I use a few drops in my carpet shampooer when I'm cleaning up accidents. Just don't let the undiluted oil sit on finished furniture; wipe up any spills as the undiluted oil can harm paint and finishes. If you have fresh mint growing, you can crush a few leaves and throw these in the garbage for a nice aroma too.

Oh ,just wanted to mention, for those that use pee pads in the house, I highly recommend the Publix brand of pads. Of all the pads I have used, my house could be a test center, these are sturdy, absorbent ,fairly large.There are also pad holders on the market where you just place the pad on the plastic bottom part and a top ring locks the pad in place. Again, Publix ( the grocery store ) brand pads rock!

I am going to get me some peppermint oil! Thanks Cricket....just thinking of that minty freshness makes me happy....great idea!
Tex....I find that in general, the store brands always seem much better than the much higher priced items...ain't it the truth...I bet a lot of caregivers could be paid testers for all these products...

Mint products can also be good for topical application; I use a mint lotion I bought from an organic small business owner for dry skin and itching, especially from mosquito bites.

I do grow my own apple mint but have to harvest it before the bugs get to it, which is surprising since herbs can repel bugs.

Mints are notoriously invasive, but they can't compete against the weeds, so I never have enough mint.

And don't forget the pleasure of mint tea.

All of this sounds great GardenArtist....I so much prefer the natural things to any of the OTC stuff. I have some of the Peppermint Swirl lotion from bath and body that I know is not nearly as good as what you are talking about but I had forgotten all about that and how cooling and soothing that little zip of mint feels , especially on summer skin. Are mint plants toxic to pets? If not I think I am going to go and get me some of this...so I will not be running out...I am energized thinking about it... thanks!

Will the mint lotion keep mosquitos off? Would that not be soooo much better than that horrid Deep Woods off...that stuff almost does me in when I use it but I can't mow the yard without it for being eaten alive by the mosquitos...