Pay Attention to the smell of your home when you come back from a trip – that’s what it smells like to guests all the time, you just get used to it.

Wash your walls once or twice a year (end of summer and end of winter are when I do it) – I use a damp microfibre cloth wrapped around a swiffer sweeper, and it really doesn’t take too long. Vinegar solutions can be good for deodorizing, but I find cleaners with a bit of grease cutting ability can be better for kitchen areas that get a buildup from cooking oils.

Burn a candle or boil some herbs/spices and fruit whenever you cook. Lemon peels and rosemary smell very fresh, as do orange peels with cinnamon/cloves. You can boil the same herbs for a few days – I have a small, old pot that I keep on the stove. Bring to a boil, let simmer for a few minutes and then turn it off. Save your peels and buy cloves/cinnamon in bulk or grow and dry your own if you’re not cursed with a black thumb like mine.

Wash your sheets and deodorize your bed/bedding regularly. Bedrooms stink. They smell like morning breath/bodies/dirty hair in very little time, everybody is nose blind to their own scent. Sprinkle baking soda on your mattress and vacuum after letting it sit. If it’s sunny, take your mattress topper/pillows/duvet and let them sit in the sun for a bit.

Those little air sponge things are great to help keep house odours down during the winter when you can’t air the house out without having to reheat the whole darn thing.