The first thing you likely notice when walking into someones home is the smell. Whether it's what's cooking in the oven or what cleaner has been sprayed, your nose picks up exactly what's been going on in that house. Perhaps it's because when you come from outside, where the air is so open there is no one overwhelming aroma, your brain quickly registers a change in air odor before it picks up on anything else. And even the cleanest of homes can have odors from time to time. How can you prevent odors from building? And how can you make your home smell more inviting?

There are many common causes of odors in your home. If you have children, it's poop and vomit. And if you have pets, it's poop and vomit. Food is a great source of smells, both good and bad. Most other causes can probably be traced to cleanliness. Uninviting odors are generally caused by bacteria in your home. Your kitchen and bathrooms harbor the most because bacteria thrive in moist environments with food or waste.

You don't need to live in a sterile environment for your home to smell good. Even a clean house can smell bad from time to time. The key is to find the source of the odor and then get rid of it. If you attempt to cover the smell with another scent, you'll just end up with a bad mix of odors. Think of cooking fish and then spraying your kitchen with air freshener. You end up with a flowery fishy smell, which is no better than the fishy smell you started with.

Here are some tips that you can use on a daily basis to keep odors at bay:

• Downsize Your Kitchen Garbage Can. Think about what you throw out during the day in your kitchen. As it sits at room temperature in your garbage can, odors become inevitable. Convert to a medium or small garbage can and get in the habit of changing the bag several times a day.
• Get Rid of Your Diaper Pail. Come on, think about it. Even the so-called odor free diaper pails stink. I know because I went through three of the major brands before realizing it was easier to toss the stinky diapers in my kitchen garbage can which gets changed 2-3 times a day. It would take a few days to fill my large diaper pail, so all of that waste would just be sitting in my nursery. Yuck.
• Prevent Odors Before They Happen. Wipe up spills on the kitchen floor as soon as you can. Wipe down the toilet seat every night before bed. Empty your kitchen garbage can, even if it's not completely full, after the last meal of the day. Food that sits overnight in your garbage will smell really bad by the next morning.
• Use Your Exhaust Fan When You Cook. Especially if you are cooking fish or frying anything.
• Clean Your Oven Regularly. If you can smell your oven when it's preheating, before you even put your food in it to cook, it's time to clean it. If you think something will spill during cooking, use a pan to catch the drippings or wipe them up as soon as you're done cooking. If left on your oven floor, you will smell them each time you use the oven until you clean it. You should only need to clean your oven 3-4 times a year, depending on how often you use it.

When you think of how you want your house to smell, do the words warm and inviting come to mind? Maybe you like the smell of baking and prefer vanilla and cinnamon aromas. Perhaps you enjoy the sweet smell of flowers that spring brings. Whatever your preference, there are a multitude of products available in most home stores to entice your olfactory sense. The key is to find a product that smells natural, does not overwhelm your nose and does not smell too perfumey.

The Febreze product line of air fresheners boasts the ability to eliminate odors and not just cover them up. I personally own the fabric spray and air spray. I like the fabric spray for really bad odors (think potty accident on your rug), but you have to make sure the fabric is cleaned as best as you can, otherwise you are just covering the odor. Their air freshener is good as well because it's not overwhelming and it comes in a bunch of different scents.

Candles are another way to invite good aromas into your home. They come in all different shapes, sizes and scents. While you can find some relatively inexpensive brands, it's sometimes a better investment to go with a mid-priced candle, like Yankee Candle. I enjoy their large selection of scents and they are not perfumey.

You can make your own homemade concoctions using some ingredients you can find in your spice cabinet. Mix together some cinnamon and other spices in a small pot of simmering water for a natural home baking smell. I have added some links below to some good "recipes" you can make at home.

My newest purchase is a lavender-vanilla fabric spray for pillows made by Bath & Body Works...except I use it on more than pillows. I particularly like it on curtains and rugs, and especially my fabric shower curtain. It's nice because it gives a subtle and clean aroma to the bedrooms and my bathroom. Bath & Body Works advertises it as aromatherapy - good for sleeping - and while I can't prove that it does help my kids sleep, I can't disprove it either. But that is information for another hub.

Let your home make a great first impression. Invite people into your home and let their noses lead the way. With these easy tips, you can be sure that your home is as warm and inviting as you are.