10 Quick Ways to De-Stink Your Home, Stat

Keeping a clean house is an ongoing effort (we know!), but it isn't always about having the spiffiest gadgets or newest cleaning products in order to get things done. Rebecca Sullivan, whose handy new book, The Art of Natural Cleaning, leans on traditional cleaning techniques and brings them up to date to suit our modern homes. Many of her tips rely on a few simple ingredients you already have lying around. A clean, fresh, and odor-free home awaits!

Smelly socks, smelly shoes, smelly rooms. Not all smells are created equal and not all smells are easily disguised with a room freshener or some perfume. Try to remove them first before refreshing the room. It works much better than trying to cover it up. These tips and tricks below will remove smells so you can then add the fragrance you want in the air.

• For your shoes – sprinkle baking soda into them and leave them in the sun for the day. Hoover out when done.

• For the fridge – place a small dish of baking soda on one of the shelves towards the back. Replace every month.

• For the home – place a small dish of used coffee grinds from the coffee pot in each room in a discreet place.

• For the toilet – sprinkle some baking soda around the toilet pan and place a couple of lemon halves in the bowl. Leave to sit for a few hours, then discard the lemons and flush away the baking soda.

• For the washing machine – add a scoop of baking soda to your next wash. Not only does it removes smells, it brightens clothes too.

• For your hands – if you’ve been handling garlic or fish, rub a cut lemon over your hands and rinse off.

• For your carpet – sprinkle the carpet with baking soda and leave overnight. Hoover up the next day.

• For your rubbish bin – first, remove the bag if you use one, then sprinkle in some baking soda every time you empty the bin. Every third or fourth time, rinse and put your bin out in the sunshine to dry. Sun is the best anti-bacterial cleanser you can get.

• For the sink – pour 6 tablespoons of baking soda and 6 tablespoons of salt down the plughole, followed by a small pan or kettleful of boiling water. This is great for clogged drains too.

• For your sofa – if your sofa is one with zip covers, place bunches of dried lavender just inside the cushion covers (or in the scatter cushions on top), then each time you sit, a waft of lavender should come your way.