House cleaning vs. swimming pool

I spent most my Saturday cleaning house. Why spend a glorious Saturday cleaning, you might ask? Well, during the summer while the kids are home, I find I have a hard to keeping up with house work. So, my beloved took the kids to the pool (which I loath) while I mopped the kitchen floor and did laundry. Yes, I must be a tad bonkers to choose laundry over the pool, but that is how much I hate going to the pool (it’s not the pool per se, it’s the bathing suit and all the woman-scaping I must do to prepare myself for the pool – I long for the return of a bloomer bathing suit of the 19th century!)

While I waited on my last load to dry of the day, I thought I would add to my favorite things list.

I blogged on another site about my OCD obsession with laundry…but I didn’t specify what tonics and tools I can’t live without to make my laundry AWESOME!

We live in the South – and the humidity here is overwhelming. Over the past several years, I’ve noticed that I can’t keep my towels fresh. They always smell musty and mildewy. I searched endlessly for a product that would rid my towels of their stench. I tried every product on the shelves, but nothing worked. Or so I thought. Until, I made a trip to Sam’s and discovered this:


What caught my eye was the tag line – “laundry refresher.” Had I stumbled across my towel-stench solution? In addition to laundry refresher, it was also marketed as a disinfectant and air freshener. Who knew? I had to find out so I bought it

I took all my towels out of the linen closet and started in. Three loads later I was convinced: Odo Ban DID IT! For the first time in many years, my towels smelled like towels! Not nasty, old, musty rags. They true test was letting them dry on the rack after a shower. Eureka! My towels dried fresh!

I now use Odo Ban everywhere. It can be used on counter-tops, floors, curtains, rugs and upholstery. I had a sippy cup with milk “disappear” in my car. I found it several days later once my car started reeking. I cleaned the contaminated area with Odo Ban, sprayed the car’s interior, and the sour smell was completely gone. It truly is a miracle product. Hey Odo Ban are you out there? I love your product! Do you need a spokesperson? You’ve found her!

My other “can’t live without” items are dryer balls.


I discovered these quite by accident as well. My father in law gave me a gift certificate to an on-line “green” catalog and this was the only item listed that I either wanted, or I could afford. So I bought them on a whim.

I can honestly say that I love them! My clothes come out of the dryer static free and I do think they have cut down on my drying time. My mother was visiting me last weekend and didn’t have a clue why I had blue rubber, knobby balls in my dryer. But they work, and I will never go back to dryer sheets. I have since found out they have "updated" their dryer balls to include special recipticals where you can insert fragrance sticks. Hmmm...I may have to get the upgrades!

It’s now Sunday, and I am again staring at several more loads of laundry – why does it seem to multiply like rabbits? So, tomorrow, when I start in again, I will be so thankful for two of my favorite products, and even more thankful that the pool is closed on Mondays!