I Just Discovered a Brilliant Trick for Keeping My Trash Can Smelling Good, and It’s a Game-Changer

As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), my sense of smell can be an avenue for joy or complete chaos. Cleaning supplies that smell good make otherwise tedious tasks so much better. In fact, ensuring that unpleasant odors don’t assault my senses (truly, this is what it feels like for me) is a big part of making my home comfortable. 

I have a whole routine for washing blankets to keep them smelling fresh even though the dogs use them. And I supplement cleaning with a Homedics fragrance diffuser to try to make sure our house smells nice. To combat kitchen odors, I have a heavy-duty garbage disposal. This drastically reduces garbage smells — but it doesn’t eliminate them entirely. 

Needless to say, taking out the trash is not my favorite. So when I saw a super simple but brilliant tip by Briana Jean of @thismessielife, I knew I had a way to make this odorous chore a little less icky. In this video, Jean shares different ways to use dryer sheets at home beyond the dryer. In her caption, she lists a couple more tricks to try, including throwing unused dryer sheets in the bottom of your trash can to keep it smelling fresh.

Although I never use dryer sheets in my laundry, I keep a box of Snuggle dryer sheets for cleaning. Mostly, I dust baseboards with them because they not only pick up dust but also help repel it. So once I came across Briana’s tip, I just grabbed a dryer sheet and tossed one in the bottom of the garbage can underneath the bag. 

It’s a much more subtle scent than the scented garbage bags, but it still emits a soft, pleasant scent while I’m emptying the trash and putting a new trash bag in. It’s one of those little tiny things that makes life at home just a bit nicer and I enjoy it every day.