Your House Has a Smell. You’re Just Probably the Last Person Who Notices It.

Every house has a smell.

I know that sounds a little weird, but think about it.

Have you ever gone away for a few days, walked back into your own house and suddenly noticed how it smells?

Not necessarily bad. Not necessarily good.

Just... your house.

It's funny because you probably couldn't have described that smell before you left. You were around it every day, so you stopped noticing it.

Then you come home after being somewhere else and there it is.

Apparently, while we were busy worrying about whether there were dishes in the sink, our houses were developing personalities of their own.

You Notice Everyone Else's House

I can still remember the smell of certain houses I went to when I was younger.

Somebody's house always smelled like laundry.

Someone else's smelled like whatever they had cooked that day.

There were houses that smelled like coffee, houses with pets, houses that smelled like someone's perfume and houses where you walked through the door and immediately knew somebody had been cleaning.

You probably have a few of those memories too.

What's interesting is that the people who actually lived there probably didn't notice any of it.

We get used to the smells we're around all the time.

That's why you can have something warming in your house for hours and eventually think, I can't smell this anymore.

Then somebody walks through the door and immediately says, "What smells so good?"

Meanwhile, you've been standing there wondering whether you need to add more wax.

You don't.

Your nose just gave up.

Yes, Nose Blindness Is Actually a Thing

There's a reason this happens.

When we're exposed to the same smell for a while, our brains basically realize it's familiar and stop paying as much attention to it.

It's called olfactory adaptation, but nose blindness sounds a lot less like something we're going to be tested on later.

It happens with home fragrance, perfume, cooking, pets and pretty much any smell you're around long enough.

It's also one of the reasons I don't think stronger automatically means better when it comes to home fragrance.

If you've ever added more fragrance because you couldn't smell what was already there, only to leave the room and come back later and realize WOW, okay, that's enough, you know exactly what I mean.

Sometimes the scent didn't disappear.

You just stopped noticing it.

Leaving the Room Is Probably the Easiest Test

If you're wondering whether you can still smell your wax melt or home fragrance, don't immediately add more.

Go do something else.

Walk outside for a few minutes. Go check the mail. Run an errand. Take the dog out. Even spending some time in another part of the house can help.

Then walk back into the room.

You'll usually notice the fragrance again almost immediately.

I've done this myself more times than I can count.

I'll think I can't smell something anymore, leave for a while and then walk back into the house and realize it was absolutely still there.

My nose was just ignoring it.

Rude, but helpful information.

Then There Are the Smells We Don't Want

Of course, not every smell in our homes is something we're deliberately putting there.

Dinner from last night likes to hang around.

Trash cans have opinions.

Pets live here.

Shoes happen.

And for some reason, one forgotten wet towel can make an entire room smell like nobody in the house has ever heard of a washing machine.

Real houses don't smell perfect every second of every day.

Mine doesn't either.

That's one of the reasons I love home fragrance, but I also don't expect fragrance to perform miracles.

If something actually needs cleaned, taking care of the source comes first.

A wax melt isn't going to negotiate with the trash can.

So What Should Your House Smell Like?

Whatever makes you happy to walk through the door.

Seriously.

I don't think there's one fragrance category that makes a home smell "right."

Some people love bakery scents because they make the house feel warm and welcoming.

Some want clean, fresh fragrances all year long.

Some love fruit.

Some want woodsy scents, amber, musk or something deeper.

Some people change their home fragrance every time the weather changes.

And some find one scent they love and would happily use it 365 days a year.

None of them are doing it wrong.

Fragrance is incredibly personal.

You're the one living there.

Maybe That's Why Certain Houses Stay With Us

When I think back to places from different points in my life, I don't always remember what was sitting on the coffee table.

I don't remember whether the kitchen counters were perfectly clean.

But sometimes I remember exactly how the place felt.

And smell is wrapped up in that.

That's pretty incredible when you think about it.

The fragrance you have going while your family is hanging out in the living room, while you're cleaning on Saturday morning, while everyone's getting ready for the holidays or while you're sitting alone enjoying five minutes of peace might eventually become part of somebody's memory of your home.

They may not remember what the fragrance was called.

They might not even know where the smell came from.

They'll just remember:

That's what home smelled like.

And I think there's something pretty special about that.