Did you know that exposure to scents can affect your mood and productivity?
With many of us working or learning from home, we have seen the need to make our homes more comfortable and conducive to optimal work performance.
Odors do affect how we feel and how we work, primarily through how we associate events and experiences with them. Scents that we associate with good experiences (such as the aroma of freshly baked bread) tend to make us feel good, while scents that we associate with unpleasant experiences (such as the sterile smell of a hospital operating room) tend to make us feel bad.
Odors can also affect how we think and how we behave. For example, people exposed to pleasant odors tend to exhibit higher levels of prosociality, self-efficacy and work efficiency.
With these findings, it is important to ensure that all rooms in the house are clean and sweet-smelling so we can function as we should.
Living Room
The living room is where we hang out with our household members to relax and unwind. It is also the place where we receive guests and make an impression on them.
To keep your living room smelling good, be sure to check the carpet from time to time. Carpets and rugs tend to trap odors from pet dander, sweat, smoke or mildew. Make sure these are cleaned and deodorized regularly.
It also helps to keep this room ventilated. Open a window to let fresh air in. Avoid overcrowding furniture to give the air some space to circulate. Using fans or air circulators also help to keep the air moving and dissipate most unpleasant smells.
Kitchen
The kitchen is where food preparation and post-dining clean-up occurs, both of which produce food waste which could contribute to foul smells in this area.
Make sure that food waste is properly put away in sealed trash cans and take them out of the house as soon as you can.
Ensure that your cleaning materials themselves – such as kitchen towels, sponges and brushes – are clean. Dry them after use as they will develop odors if they stay damp.
All kitchen surfaces should be cleaned and wiped dry after use as moisture can cause unpleasant smells.
Clean under heavy furniture or appliances such as the range hood, stove or refrigerator regularly as well. These can accumulate dust and grease which can trap bad odors.
Also, make sure that air can circulate when you cook by using fans or opening a window.
Wipe down drawers and shelves in your food storage areas and refrigerator at least once a week. Throw out any food item that may have gone bad or past its expiry date.
Dining Room
As the place where the family converge to share meals and converse during breakfast, lunch and dinner, the dining room should also have an atmosphere conducive to a good appetite and happy conversation.
Before and after every use, the dining room should be swept and wiped clean and all surfaces disinfected to minimize any possible contamination or possible sources of unappetizing smells.
Bathroom
As the place where we spend a lot of our personal time, the bathroom should have a relaxing and revitalizing atmosphere.
It tends to be a humid room, so keeping damp towels here is not a good idea. It would be best to dry your towels outside in the sun after use, and store them in another, drier part of the house when not in use.
Ventilation is also key to keeping your bathroom smelling fresh and clean. Open the door and windows to let the air circulate for at least 15 minutes everyday.
Bedroom
As our haven for rest and recharging ourselves at the end of the day, the bedroom has no room for dank or musty smells.
To ensure a good night’s sleep and the restful tranquility that make the bedroom your place of respite, banish unpleasant odors by changing your bedsheets and linens to freshly washed ones at least once every week and ensuring that your bedroom rugs are vacuumed and deodorized.
As with all parts of the house, proper ventilation and air circulation greatly help in keeping the bedroom smelling wonderful. Allowing some spaces in between furniture and opening the window from time to time to let fresh air in will surely help.
With these tips in mind, you will find it easy to maintain a sweet-smelling home you and your family members can comfortably live, work and study in.
Aside from these practical steps, we also have tool that help us in keeping our home smelling clean and fresh
Albatross deodorizer blocks and scented gels help in eliminating any home malodor in any part of the house. They also come in various scents and colors that suit our preferences and home decor. Shop now at Lazada through the links below to stock up on these for your home.
Albatross Deodorizer Blocks.
Albatross Scented Gels.
Venue for home interior photos courtesy of Alyssa Tuangco.
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