Noseblind. Have you heard this term? Brought to us by Febreze (at least, this is where I first heard it), this phenomenon occurs when you are around something so often that you no longer notice its smell.

This is a nightmare for me.

I inherited my dad’s weirdly strong sense of smell; I swear, we were a bunch of blood hounds in our previous lives. I can smell things from quite a distance; as you can imagine, strongly smelling places (the seafood department at grocery stores, Crabtree & Evelyn stores, public restrooms) hit me like a ton of bricks.

I’m sure that my house, full of kids and a stinky dog, gets smelly. I am pretty much always overwhelmed with the kids and their stuff (homework, activities, behavior…), so the housework often takes a backseat. Yes, gross, but what can you do? I am a huge fan of Scentsy and Febreze, baking soda to deodorize the couch, and vinegar. One of my goals in life is to stay ahead of the stink. I’ve been known to ask people if my house “smells like dog” when they come to visit. I’m hoping they tell the truth, because I know that noseblindness is a real thing.

So, do me a favor: if you’re ever at my house and smell dogs (or kids), please tell me. I’ll conquer it quickly with my arsenal of air fresheners.