Making scents of it all

Can I see a show of hands? How many of you are allergic to, or extremely sensitive to strong scents?

Ahhhh. I see....quite a percentage of you.

Perhaps you're like me. Not allergic, but starting to be bothered when you have just walked through a fog of someone's perfume, cologne, deodorant, or lotion. The office I work in has tried to become 'scent free', but I always know when a certain few are in the office that day because I can smell their trail even if they have walked through ten minutes earlier. (Picture a wolf....nose to the air). I kid you not. This could be amusing if it wasn't for others in the office who....if they catch that trail of scent....may end up leaving work and spending the rest of the day in their bed, lights out, blinds drawn, and dizzy with a migraine. Those same migraine-prone people have to sit out of meetings and listen in on their phone at their desks if the 'scented' ones will be attending the meeting. Several months ago, the smell of the perfume of a very sweet co-worker whom I love reminded me....seriously....of cedar chips. Every time that dear woman got near me, I was reminded of our dearly departed guinea pig.

A friend at my church can often be seen moving about to another part of the congregation because she is affected by scents as well. It makes it very difficult to be seated when you're not sure if you are going to react to the person next to you!

Since I have observed what these people go through, I've become more aware of strong smells. We've all walked by someone while shopping who takes your breath away and leaves you choking in a cloud. I've been served by a waiter whose very strong, sickening cologne overwhelmed me every time he attended to the table - at a place where you should be free to savour the aroma of the food.

When I was home from work with my first child I did some volunteer work in the evening tutoring adults who wanted to improve their literacy. One dear, kind man in his 50's (somehow that seemed old back then....sigh), came to our home some evenings and we sat down at the kitchen table to work on improving his reading skills. Unfortunately, he would wear strong cologne every single week and I would literally have to keep leaving the room wanting to be sick. Today, I would have no problem respectfully requesting that he not wear any cologne, however back then I was too timid to say anything.

I'm glad the government in this neck of the woods has banned the use of pesticides on our lawns. I've known people who had to lock themselves literally in their homes when their neighbour got their lawn sprayed because they would be ill until the residue had dissipated.

I love the scent of lovely candles and flavoured coffees, but there are those who can't enter lovely candle/gift shops due to those smells either.

I guess I say all this to make us all more aware of the affects we can unknowingly have on others or on our own health. And don't forget....what you may think smells wonderful and you douse yourself in it, might smell horrible to someone else (cedar chips or incense, anyone?). The next time you walk by a young guy and you think.....why does he smell like my grandfather?....you'll remember...... what's Old (Spice) and was shunned, is new again, thanks strictly to clever advertising and, dare I say, the gullible. (I have actually always liked the smell of Old Spice....my dad used to wear it!).

I have personally been on a mission within our home to eliminate products with chemicals. It's been an education! There has been an incredible amount of stuff gathered from our cupboards and taken to our city's hazardous waste disposal depot. It's been a challenge to find replacement products without harmful ingredients and it's still a work in progress. I will try any product once that someone has personally recommended to me or that I have read up on, and if satisfied, I love to share what I have found with others.

So, over the next many posts, I hope for your reading pleasure and education, to feature a different 'green' product each post that you might like to try in place of something potentially harmful you might currently be using on a regular basis. We all have to use cleaning and hygiene products (pleeeeeeease), so we might as well be supporting great companies who produce products that nourish and don't harm.

Makes scents.....don't you think?