Clean

Maybe it’s because we cleaned the house every weekend growing up; maybe it’s that my nose is extra sensitive to scent.  I love the smell of Clean.  Yes – Clean has a smell.  I think that it’s different for everyone, but Clean is definitely a smell, and lately I cannot get enough of it.

Due to time constraints… priorities, really… I don’t clean as often as I’d like or as often as I used to.  That was until about 4 weeks ago, when I finally regained my sense of smell after a few months of colds and different things.  It wasn’t that my house smelled bad that pushed me back into cleaning hardcore and more often, it was that I wanted to smell Clean.

Occasionally I’ll spend 5 – 7 hours straight cleaning and scrubbing the house so that the whole thing is spotless and smells amazing.  Lately it’s been 10 – 15 minutes here and there of cleaning a tub, vacuuming a set of rooms, scrubbing a toilet, or wiping down every horizontal surface in my path.  It gives me a lot of joy to see the Clean… but even more so, I love the smell of Clean.

Take this morning, for instance.  I had a good night of sleep, was feeling fairly good, and I was suddenly struck to spray down and scrub the tub.  In between makeup and hair and getting dressed, I cleaned that shower good, and I was blessed with a fantastic smell afterwards.

It’s not just a Clean house that does it; part of the reason why I love doing laundry so much is that I love the smell of Clean laundry.  I do laundry frequently to keep the scent alive and to keep the funk away.  Throw a piece of laundry on the floor?  Watch out!  Even if it doesn’t belong to our family, if it lays there long enough, it’ll end up in the washer, guaranteed.

Today I set the washer to wash the towels and shower curtains while I was away.  As I pulled each piece from the washer to place it in the dryer, I sniffed it. After the laundry was dry, I pulled each piece from the dryer and buried my face in it.  Ah, Clean.  Maybe I’ll just sleep in there tonight.  Where’s the cot?

Call me weird.  It’s okay.  But, for now it’s the small things, things over which I have some little bit of control, even if it’s just producing Clean in my house.  Beyond excited to do four loads of laundry tonight, simply because of what smell I look forward to each time I walk into the laundry room.

And soon?  The smell of a new baby.  My life is about to get even better.

erin