Grossest smell of entire week: I hosed out the yard waste cart today. Here in Seattle we get to throw food scraps into the yard waste as well, and we haven't cleaned our bin all summer, so you can imagine the grossness. There was this *sludge* formed at the bottom, which gave off noxious gases as I hosed it out and dumped it on the garden. The cart and the whole yard smelled like the stinkiest of garbage trucks.
So--scent therapy. After burying the sludge in dirt, I threw handfuls of fragrant plants into the yard waste cart: rosemary, lavender, thyme, sweet woodruff. Put my clothes in the wash and had a shower with lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit essential oils sprinkled in the tub, and peppermint soap to wash up with. May have to follow up with a spritz of something clean like L'Eau de L'Artisan.
So. Yes. May your day not involve anything as gross.
So--scent therapy. After burying the sludge in dirt, I threw handfuls of fragrant plants into the yard waste cart: rosemary, lavender, thyme, sweet woodruff. Put my clothes in the wash and had a shower with lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit essential oils sprinkled in the tub, and peppermint soap to wash up with. May have to follow up with a spritz of something clean like L'Eau de L'Artisan.
So. Yes. May your day not involve anything as gross.
Comments
But yesterday I was working in the driveway and actually had to move the trash can because the stench was unbearable. I have no idea what we put in it that gave rise to such a demonic presence, but even after the trash guy came today (the poor guy) it was an assault on the nose that had to be vanquished with extreme prejudice.
There was some manner of noxious... sludge at the bottom, there were creepy crawlies that were loving it. I hit it with the hose from about 10 feet away, which made it tolerable. I plan to go in for a second round of exorcism tomorrow with Simple Green, maybe bleach. If that doesn't bring it back under control, I may have to use fire.
These demons must be purged!
I know--I really have no idea what some of the sludgy lumps even *were* in a previous incarnation. Decomposition, so mysterious and terrifying.
The fragrant herbs, and leaving the cart open all night to dry out, did seem to work wonders for mine.
My city has an excellent recycling service, and one of the things they take away is food waste. So we have a bin for that. But it has smelled suuuper gross in the summer. I feel bad for the bin men.
I also have a new perfume which I love which is " combines top notes of pepper and purple freesia accords. In the middle white heliotrope and jasmine accords go beautifully with hibiscus blossom and rose. Precious cedarwood and sandalwood create a delicate base fragrance, which expresses the essence of feminine beauty." Whatever. It smells nice and makes me feel better and less tired when I smell it.
Hurray for the healing powers of scent! I do love a cedar/sandalwood base. If you can enjoy perfume while pregnant, so much the happier. My nose was too sensitive for it, which was heartbreaking. But luckily my sense of smell went back to normal after delivery. And second births are usually much faster than the first ones, so you might not have a lot of time to enjoy candles or other distraction techniques during labor (I sure didn't)--but that's a good thing on the whole! :)