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

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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

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 :)

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

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.

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.... :)

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...

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

Actually not bad, they brought a bunch more food.

How was the pie?

Place a pot on the stove with cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange and/or lemon peels and bring to a boil puts a nice smell through out the house of apple pie, it is comforting and warm plus puts moisture in the air, for easier breathing.

my renters dogs are gone now . her unfortunate son who has been keeping them was trying to describe his extreme distain for them to me one day this week . until hes reached over the baby gate and piledrove one of ems heads into the floor hes got nothing on my level of distain for them..
man , im just busting to be edited tonight, lol ..
oh well . ive been splitting massive hunks of firewood in the pouring rain all day . editing is the only thing that will calm me down..
ill stop harshin on your dogs and listen to some music , that might diffuse me. ( not )

Febreze!

i was fortunate enough to cop on a double oven when i was building . i could bake all eight dogs at one time. thats just how i roll ..

I wouldn't worry one bit about what these women say. They invited themselves over, at their convenience and not yours.

Someone, can't remember who now, always said: "if you want to see me, come anytime. If you want to see my house, call for an appointment."

Anyone who visits then goes back and talks about someone's else's house is in my opinion not someone I would ever want back. If these women do, then you'll know they were there on a spy mission. Some women are like that and do judge othes based on house status rather than on good deeds and more important criteria.

There are too many styles of housekeeping these days for women to be judgmental of others on that basis.

You're taking care of your mother; you don't need to be Martha Stewart.

And I hope your doggie feels better and gets over whatever is bothering her/him.

I'm so glad you got through it once! And now you'll be prepared on how to keep them from coming again, LOL!

Kexarkana, thanks for the update. Well, just think, you did your Spring Cleaning :) Really enjoyed reading your postings, thanks for the humor.

Next time my cat bring in whatever *fast food* he chased, caught, and brought it home to me as a present, I am going to laugh from now on.

UPDATE! Well guess what, at the last minute it was going to be 3 ladies coming instead of one! (my dog is doing well , could be seizures but is on meds) They have finally left after 1 1/2 hrs. I am emotionally spent , I know this sounds crazy but now everybody in this county is going to know I have 8 dogs in the house, the linoleum in my kitchen is peeling,I have multiple doggie pee pads(that are clean) around the house which the dogs do use.,six eyeballs looking over my house. I cleaned as best I could but I told my mother never again.I was told one person was coming over and then at the last moment mother informs that it will be 3. If they think they are going to just drop in on us any time they want they are crazy. I made the offer to mother to take them from now on to any restaurant they wanted and I would pay for it. But I am not going thru a cleanup lollapalooza like I just went thru, I can't live like that. We have dogs, horses, cat, I am constantly going in and out of the house and no matter how careful I am things get brought in the house, like hay ,grass , birds that the cat is still chasing, I once even had a goat get in my house. I live in the country sh--t happens and sometimes gets tracked into the house.We live in our house,it was never meant to be town and country magazine.Good Lord!

To complicate things one of our dogs is sick and we have to go to the vet in about 30 minutes so mother's hair appointment had to be cancelled. Oh brother that didn't go well. I have always dropped what I was doing for her dogs to go to the vet so I am not feeling guilty about her d---mn hair.I will bairly be able to get back and clean up some more for the "pie" lady.My back is killing me, my dog is sick and mother is worried about her hair(doesn't had AD or dementia,just a narcissist).I told mother after this if anyone wants to visit her I will gladly drive everybody to a restaurant,pay for everything but I am not having a bunch of other old ladies coming to the house,herd all 8 dogs into one bedroom with my poor husband to babysit so these women can ooh and aah over mother's china.Thank god the MD cleared her to go back to church,she had foot surgery and it is doing well.Keep your fingers crossed for me and hugs to everyone. Oh, I found an air freshner that is CINNABON smelling. I figured why cook it if I can spray it.

Be careful about using different scents.... what you may like someone else may not find it as pleasant.

I know this might sound weird to some but I really dislike the smell of vanilla and the smell of coffee. Do love citrus. Best bet is just let in some fresh air, or as Vegaslday mentioned above, bowl of vinegars [I need to try that].

Try using bowls of vinegar around the house to absorb bad odors. It really helps. Then try the positive scents. Don't put anything on a hot light bulb. It could explode. Use the vanilla or other liquid on a cold light bulb, then turn the light on to release the scent.

A pot of coffee can make the house smell good. But ultimately, I wouldn't worry. My daughter always freaks out before any of her friends come by because we have four dogs in the house and it smells like it. I remind her that she brought three of them home, and then remind her where I store the carpet cleaner. We've both noticed that the people who are cool with the dog smell tend to be much more worth knowing overall than the ones who are bothered by it. It's like a built-in meter that can tell you very quickly if someone is a potential bestie, or a superficial twit;-)

If it's nice weather, open the house up. If not, I like those little wax tarts that I melt in my little tart melting thing. Love the vanilla or cupcake smells. Makes me hungry, but oh well... :)