air fresheners and other frightening tales from inside the homeJuly 3rd, 2008 @ 11:41 am
I think I may have a problem.
I was making a simple shopping list for our big outing later this afternoon (Costco plus baby equals Big Outing) and I thought ‘hey I think I have some coupons in that drawer in the kitchen.‘ Then I OPENED that drawer in the kitchen and my life flashed before my eyes and after I unburied myself from all the stuff that flew out at me, I decided that maybe- just maybe- it was time to clean out the two aptly-named ‘Junk Drawers’ in our kitchen. That’s when I found- along with many other random, odd things and lots of expired coupons- those seven un-used plug-in air fresheners. Varying brands and sizes, and one even has a fan. However, none with an actual fragrance thingie to put in them to make my house smell nice.
The scary thing? THAT’S NOT EVEN ALL OF THEM. I’m pretty sure there’s at least one downstairs in the laundry room, not plugged in and also without a smelly-thingie, that has a nightlight on it. And there may even be 1 or 2 others randomly scattered around the house. That makes like 10 of them! Not even being used!
A couple of weeks ago, I bought two of those Febreze ones that are supposed to be ‘Noticeable’, hence the name. They have 2 scents in each refill and they switch periodically so your brain doesn’t get used to one smell all the time. I actually bought refills for both of them! One is plugged in behind our couch, and the other is in our bedroom. Our house smells good, mostly. Who knows if I’ll be able to keep up with refilling those.
Part of the problem is that our house always seems to have a FUNK. With a baby who poops a lot (hey, she does. Like 3 times a day sometimes!) so the garbage is always filled with diapers and two cats who have been regularly peeing on the carpet downstairs (OMG I SO WANT TO GET RID OF THE CATS BUT MY HUSBAND IS PUNISHING ME BECAUSE I’M THE ONE WHO WANTED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. STUPID RETRIBUTION.) there’s just a smell. And at times I become obsessed with covering it up. And since I can’t remember to spray a regular air freshener in the room eleventy thousand times a day (seriously, who does that?) I figure something I can plug in and forget about is perfect.
The problem? Is that I DO forget about them. I always forget to buy refills for the ones I have. They’ll sit there in the wall for months after they’ve emptied, all sticky and gross-looking, not emanating a pleasant scent like they’re supposed to. (SIDENOTE: Is that by any chance a fire hazard? I should probably Google that) Eventually I’ll unplug them and apparently throw them in a random drawer in the kitchen. Then I’m at the store and I’m all ‘hey look, plug-in thingie refills are on sale! but wait, which brand do I have? AirWick? Glade? Febreze? Smells-a-lot?‘ (okay so I made that last one up) ‘And where did I put them again? I don’t even know where they are in the house…‘ So I give up and just buy a whole new apparatus with a new refill.
And that’s how I ended up with 5 bazillion of them sitting in a junk drawer in my kitchen. And how I almost died this morning when I was buried under them. True story.
life
Candace
said,
July 3, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Hey Jen.. I just wanted to let you know to be really careful with ANY plug in air freshener. I’ve read a LOT of stuff online about them causing house fires and stuff. Just wanted to give you a heads up.. Google it and find some articles just to be safe. I’m too scared to use them anymoer.. and I loved them so much too :( Especially the night light ones.. Cause I HATE turning the BRIGHT LIGHT on when I have to pee at 3 AM.
Shamelessly Sassy
said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I share this disease. The worst part is that sometimes I will have intentions of getting refills, but I have so many of them that I forget which ones I have and am afraid I’ll purchase refills for the wrong kind. But I love the Hawaiin Breeze scent that comes with the Glade plugin. Oh, it’s fabulous.
janet
said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:47 pm
are you sure you weren’t meant to marry MY husband? He is addicted to air fresheners too! OMG, it’s out of control at my house. Those things are expensive, too!
PS we are also having cat problems. It’s bad. Need intervention.
Mel
said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I have heard that they can be fire hazzards. But I think this is mostly after they are empty.
I have been using them for YEARS. In my studio apartment?? I’ve got THREE of them. :)
Mels last blog post..Flip Flop
sheasy
said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Guilty. I have two in my office desk drawer alone. Yikes.
sheasys last blog post..So, this zucchini walks into a bar…
Priscilla
said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Oh we have about five of them. We always stand in the aisle trying to remember which kind we have…I think we probably have at least one of each kind.
I just recently bought wallflowers at Bath&BodyWorks so now I have another one but I do have two refills for that one!
Allison
said,
July 4, 2008 at 9:55 am
Haha, that’s hilarious! We have two, one in each bathroom. I could not for the life of you tell you what the brand is, though. I just got them a few months ago (how come men sink up bathrooms so much?!) so they still have the wonderful smelling oil stuff, but when it comes time for refills I’ll probably do what you do: buy new ones on sale!
I have heard that they are a fire hazard. They can get really, really, hot. So, it could also be a burning hazard (for Maggie. Or you, if you haven’t learned not to touch hot things yet ;) )… but, like I said, we have two.
Allisons last blog post..Thursday Thirteen #5
Bobbi
said,
July 4, 2008 at 11:02 am
I have this problem, except we only have two because I live in a dinky apartment. I finally just gave up (because I would never remember to buy the refills) and got one of those reed diffuser things. Those actually work, too!
Bobbis last blog post..America
Julie
said,
July 4, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I have a ton too…not as many as you, but several. I really like the Yankee Candle ones…but I think I have a couple Glade and Renuzit’s too. You’ve just reminded me to check in the ones I have plugged in…and make it smell all nicey nice!
You have no clue how funny I thought this was!
Julies last blog post..We know what we’re having!!!
Melissa
said,
July 4, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I only have three (now sitting unused in our master bathroom closet), but that’s how I got those, too - couldn’t remember which kind of refill to buy, so ended up buying a new kit each time! :P
Karen
said,
July 4, 2008 at 8:47 pm
My house has a funk, too. It’s called too many kids and dogs. I’m forever burning candles and refilling air freshners. Maybe I could take the ones you have leftover.
Karens last blog post..Oh, Starbucks, How Do I Love Thee?
Jen
said,
July 4, 2008 at 11:15 pm
@Karen: hehe I’ll drop them in the mail! lol My husband read this post and said All those plug-ins and not ONE of them is downstairs in the laundry room by the cat box, where it REALLY stinks. Guess I’d better refill at least one of them soon! :)
Jen
said,
July 4, 2008 at 11:19 pm
@Julie: Glad I could entertain :)
Jen
said,
July 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm
@janet: Maybe we can put all of our cats in a box and ship them somewhere far, far away!!!
sparkyd
said,
July 6, 2008 at 9:47 am
Not to be a plug-in party pooper, but they aren’t just a fire hazard, they are actually a health hazard. There are some nasty chemicals in these and other air fresheners and you might want to think twice about using them at all. A nice deep breath of that great scent is bringing formaldehyde, phthalates and other nasties right into your lungs. Not good. A quick google will turn up lots of info.
Ashley @ Front Porch
said,
July 6, 2008 at 5:54 pm
This has nothing to do with air fresheners but when I cleaned out our junk drawers I found 12 pairs of scissors. 12! You collect air fresheners, I collect scissors.
Ashley @ Front Porchs last blog post..Roundup
Gina
said,
July 6, 2008 at 8:02 pm
This is my life. I have a bajillion of those things. And I also let them dry up and then buy another kind, instead of getting refills. I’m not sure about the fire hazard, but I wondered the same thing and have actually quit using them for fear of it. And I can not tell you how glad I am to hear someone else worry about their housefunk. I swear my house is clean, but I can always smell…something. It makes me insane. It’s like my own personal “telltale heart”
Ginas last blog post..Annoyed