By Trina Machacek
Finding a smell is a journey into madness. Fear and madness. Apprehensive fear and madness. A journey that is not as highly anticipated as say, going to Disneyland or taking a Caribbean cruise. Both of those journeys will have some delightful smells on their own. But. Yes, an odor filled “but.” Hunting for a smell, especially in the refrigerator, can be… Well let’s just take a whiff and see what we sniff up.
Trina Machacek
I expect some things to smell. A cat box should not be able to be smelled, but life happens. Let’s face it, we don’t all stand box side and wait for Fluffy to finish, so we can scoop and go. So yes, a cat box will smell. A bathroom will smell. Just because it is used as any bathroom, powder room, restroom, inside-outhouse is used, it will have many, many smells. Many, many! Then there is the refrigerator.
Leftovers are sometime met with happiness. Like that meatloaf from last night that will soon be a cold meatloaf sandwich. That smell will cause you to reach for the softest white bread, mayo, mustard, ketchup and whatever else you need to create that lunchtime or late-night devoured sandwich. Yes, leftovers are acceptable smells emitted by your fridge. All things considered, even the smell that your nose tells you needs to be found and destroyed, yes even those smells were possibly one-time yummy leftovers.
When do leftovers become, “Wow, what is that smell?” Sooner than you think they do. Before there was Tupperware, or any number of leftover designed plastic containers there were, the tubs from margarine or butter, whipped topping, a variety of chip dips, even pickle jars—with wide mouths, and bags with “zippers.” All things that were designed for one time use became staples of the kitchen as leftover holders. It sometimes was a hunt and peck to find the actual butter! Sometimes it looked like the grocery store cooler in the refrigerator when it was filled with so many name-branded containers.
A refrigerator smell is sneaky. It isn’t ever just an “in your face” smell when you first open the door. Oh, no my friends. It waits until you close the door. As you are walking away it will swirl around you, like an invisible ghost of meals past. Then you realize that your nose noticed and it will wrinkle at the attack for the first few times. Okay for the first maybe four times, you are busy, so you ignore the sign, the tap on your shoulder from that thought of “I gotta find THAT smell.”
At first, we seem to think and hope, it’s imaginary. By the fourth time, whew, you’ve got to go in and sniff it out. UUGGHH.
The first thing is to rule out what isn’t the cause. That cause and effect is actually very effective in this life event. One of the first things most people will do is smell the milk. There is an old joke where one guy will pour a glass of milk and ask his wife, “Taste this and tell me if it’s good.” Don’t do that! The smell of the milk is not a pleasant thing, let alone try it. The funny thing about this procedure is, just like when you find something you have lost. The item lost or the smell in question will be the last thing you find. Drawers of the crisper or deli are pulled out and sniffed as a whole. Then the path narrows. Is it the bologna sealed in the deli baggie? Nope. That “on the verge” tomato? Nope. Then you move to the main arena. Eventually the culprit is found. Whatever you find, you cannot get it out of the house fast enough.
For a while the smell will linger. It’s just part of life. That’s exactly what baking soda or a few bricks of charcoal were created for. Okay the charcoal is a stretch, but it works as well, if not faster than the baking soda. Uh, not the ones soaked in lighter fluid though!
There will be smells. The bag of potatoes that starts to grow before you use them all—worse yet if they get wet and then sit! The gym socks that missed the trip to the washing machine because they fell behind the hamper as a three-point shot was attempted.
Smells are signs of life, usually a life well lived. Perfume, aftershave, baby powder, lotion, toothpaste, furniture dusting spray, nail polish, grease and oil from working on a car, fresh baked bread. All are memorable. Yes, even meatloaf.
Wipe your chin and enjoy your journey, smelling at each stop along the way.
Trina lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka, Nevada. She loves to hear from readers. Email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com
