A few years ago, I was standing in my kitchen and I faintly smelled something. Something bad. I said to Jim, “Do you smell that?” He says no.
Now I’m on a mission. “I swear I smell something bad. Where the heck is that coming from?” I mumbled to myself.
If you are anything like me, you know what came next. I searched every single corner of the kitchen looking for this smell.
I opened the dishwasher and sniffed around. I smelled nearly every item the fridge and the pantry, holding them to my nose. I ran the garbage disposal. I swept the floor to see if any food had fallen there. I cleaned the countertop. I sniffed around the oven and stovetop.
I sniffed over every damn thing in the kitchen. Where was it coming from? I was losing my mind. (Of course, that whole time, Jim smelled nothing, so I surely looked like a crazy person.)
Eventually, I had to give up. Maybe the smell would go away. I lit some candles and tried to think about something else.
The next day, I went to heat up some leftovers in the microwave. I opened the door, and inside, I saw raw chicken that I had put there to thaw. Two days ago. That I had forgotten. So gross!!
As an HSP, I am super sensitive to smells. Anytime something starts to smell in the fridge, I can smell it before anyone else, and I will go on a rampage until I find the source of the stink.
This sensitivity to bad smells in the kitchen (usually from the garbage bin) led me to what might seem a strange habit to some: I put all perishable garbage in the freezer.
So if I’m preparing carrots, the peelings go in a plastic bag in the freezer. Empty yogurt cups, egg shells, containers that used to hold raw meat, banana peels—anything that could smell bad in the garbage goes into the freezer so it won’t start to stink in the waste bin. Then we throw it out on trash day. It’s helped eliminate crazy stink searches.
It’s not just spoiled food that grosses me out. One smell that triggers me is fried eggs. Ever since I was a child, it has made me feel nauseous. Do you have certain odors that you really, really hate?
Oh-one more thing-SMOKE. I am seriously sensitive to cigarette smoke. If I’m staying at hotel and I walk into my new room, I will immediately know if anyone has ever smoked there (and request another room). In cases where switching rooms isn’t possible, the smell will bother me like crazy. Eventually I get more used to the odor, but every once in a while, it hits me again. I really, really hate cigarette smoke. More than just the leftover odor, I hate how even standing amidst smoke for a few seconds makes your hair and all your clothes reek until you wash them.
But what about good smells?
Right now, the orange blossoms are out in full force in my neighborhood. They are absolutely intoxicating. Whenever I walk by this one particular orange tree, I am blown away by how strongly it smells. I stand there, smiling, with my eyes closed, just taking it in. I didn’t grow up in a place with orange trees, so it still feels new to me. I can’t get over it!
Sometimes, after it rains (which is rare in Southern California) there is a faint scent of eucalyptus in the air. Anytime I can pick up that scent, it feels special—calming and peaceful.
Have you found that certain odors evoke memories? If I ever smell Tommy Girl perfume (do they even make it anymore?) it reminds me of college, because that’s what I wore. In fact, a lot of perfumes and colognes remind me of certain times in my life or certain people. And certain food smells remind me of places. (I bet you feel this way, too!)
When I smell lovely things, like orange blossoms, eucalyptus, or garlic simmering in olive oil (another favorite), it is more than just a smell. It makes me feel something. It’s like a moment of sensory bliss, and I just can’t get enough of it.
Note added a few days after posting this: Some people have commented about whether acute sense of smell in an HSP thing. I don’t want to give the impression that this means you an HSP, or that all HSPs have it. This post is a musing (not amusing-a musing), just talking about another way in which I am sensitive, and perhaps it is related to being high sensitive in general-I don’t have any proof of that, though. Just wanted to clarify. 
I know exactly how you feel! I also get very disturbed about bad smells sometimes that others barely notice and I have to figure out what it is. It has happend several times that I noticed the smell of a smoker in a house although there was none and it was just that someone who came to visit a couple of days ago happend to be a smoker or there was a jacket in the closet that was used in a pub. I smell that in the entire house!
I love the smell of fresh cut grass or of rain on a warm summer day and some smells remind me of certain places or people, too.
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t write anything about smoke-I detest it, too, and am super sensitive to it!! Thanks for the comment!
I totally relate to this article, but didn’t attribute my keen sense of smell to being a sensitive person! In fact, what I smell at night is the toilet bowl water! I have to shut the door to the bathroom. It’s clean, but I smell it anyway! My kids think I’m a bit nuts! This article validates some of my craziness!
Thanks!
So funny you say that, I have been commenting to my husband the past few days that the bathroom smells weird (not the normal…um, smells). I plan on cleaning it from top to bottom tomorrow….I can’t tolerate weird smells!
I do that as well with my sense of smell, drives my girlfriend crazy, I’m like a bloodhound. Do you really think it’s a hsp thing.? Interesting and cool. Burnt smells I can’t stand, cheap perfume, b.o.,etc. Obsession cologne can trigger my high school years, ex girlfriends.Some smells can trigger memories that you had forgotten. ..Love the podcast and anything related to this. Thanks, Jeff.
Hi Jeff, I have no evidence that it’s an HSP thing-but we are sensitive to so much that it doesn’t seem crazy to think so, ya know? Thanks for the comment!!
Wow…I usually can relate to everything you write… But this.. This is me 100%. Lol I’m nuts and everyone who knows me, knows my sense of smell is ridiculous… Something that grosses me out is leftovers. Like when someone opens a container from the fridge… Very gross! I just tell people I have a hound dog nose.
Ew!! I can see how leftovers could gross you out. We all have our own certain smells that set us off!
Pardon me if this is too gross, but I’ve found my acute sense of smell to come in very handy around my babies. I have always found it easy to tell if an unpleasant whiff was a soiled diaper or a random fart. Let’s just say that no one gets away with blaming it on the dog in my house!
Oh, and do you have instances when you link a particular scent to a past event? Or person? Sometimes, I detect a smell and it reminds of the past, though it’s frustrating when I can’t quite remember the time or place I originally smelled it.
I love the smell of cinnamon.
An excellent way to get rid of bad odours( after smell of cooking fish for eg) is to burn dried Rosemary. In a metal dish light it then blow out and let smoke.
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t tried that.
This is kind of gross, but I work at a public library and when someone comes in to use the adult computer lab, I can tell right away if they haven’t bathed, no deodorant, or they leave a potent trail of perfume in the book stacks.
The trash cans and litter boxes in our apartment have to be changed frequently because it’s such a strong smell for me, but not my boyfriend.
I also have an acute sense of hearing. I hear a car coming down our dead end lane way before my boyfriend does. He probably thinks I am a vampire or something, haha.
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Hi Kelly, As always I find a piece of me in all of your posts and podcasts. Cigarette smoke is so hateful. Even some “smoke free rooms” can have the dreaded scent in the pillows, curtains and carpet. There is no escaping it! Another scent I’d like to mention is fragrant laundry products. My daughter is obsessed with them! From the soap to the fabric softener to the dryer towels!! Even when she sends the grand babies over, the smell on their clothes is so stong it makes me feel sick. I hardly go to my daughters house because in addition to the laundry scents, she uses those “plug in” air freshener all over the house. I hardly can be in her house at all. My 3 year old granddaughter is also an HSP. She hates smells when I cook. She actually will gag if it’s very stong. It’s nothing she learned, it’s just how she is. She also asks to watch cartoons on a very low volume. On the upside the good stuff is magnified and it is wonderful to witness her delight in something a simple as white twinkle lights and the smell of gingerbread baking. The highs and lows of being an HSP. I only wish I’d know when I was 3 years old. Life would have been much clearer. Thanks for all. I alway look forward to your Tuesday podcasts. Cheers, Joni
I once woke in the middle of the night to take out the trash because I could smell the chicken remnants, I do live in a small apartment but still. I also had to downsize my garbage because being one person I couldn’t fill it fast enough to avoid odors. Though I am loving the freezer idea and will be doing that from now on.
Actually, this podcast got me thinking about all the GOOD smells that trigger my emotions. I love the smells of the seasons, especially spring and fall when things are changing. I love the smell of freshly-cut grass in the spring, cinnamon and apple in the fall, and pine at Christmas time (my wife and I burn a lot of Yankee candles). I also love the smell of Thanksgiving dinner and baking holiday cookies. All of these smells trigger good memories from my childhood and my past in general.
Not many smells really repulse me. I do hate the smell of liver cooking, and as a result, I’ve never eaten it (my wife was cooking it one day, so I stepped outside for a bit). I grew up around smokers, so I don’t have the aversion to it that others may experience. Granted, I’ve probably inhaled enough second-hand smoke to require an iron lung, but strangely, smoke is also a childhood memory trigger for me - not a bad one….just a subtle reminder of people and times gone by.
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Hey Kelly The smell of the coffee when I first open up a new bag reminds me when it use to smell my mother’s coffee standing in her kitchen at the counter by the kitchen window . I would stick me nose in the bag and inhale a big breath. So when I open up a new bag now as an older person and stick my nose in it I am taken back and feel like I am standing in my mom’s kitchen smelling her fresh ground coffee. Its an unbelievable feeling.
As I was reading your comment I felt like I was right there with you, smelling that great smell!
Yep, cigarette smoke has always been a trigger for me, I hate it. My eyes hate it, my throat hate it, my clothes hate it…
Luckily very few of my friends smoke, and in Australia there’s very few public places it’s allowed now. Thank goodness!
Oh, and I hate the smell of coffee. Unfortunately that one is rather more common!
And hot cross buns, especially when they’ve been heated up.
Yes, I am sooooo grateful that smoking is rare now. I remember when I was younger and going to the bar/pub meant stinking up my entire outfit (and hair) with smoke. Ugh!!
I actually love the smell of coffee, so we differ there.
Just found your blog and read this. I too am super sensitive to smells that no one in my family of seven can smell! I hear it several times a week-that I’m a bloodhound, that I have the nose of a wolf, and that I should get a job with the police department as a bomb and drug sniffing DOG. (I will not work just for free meaty bones!) This has saved us sometimes, as in the case of the gas stove being left on or a candle that has black smoke coming out of it. I have also been looked at as a freak because I can tell when someone the car in front of mine is smoking. But at other times, I am the only one that can smell the pine trees still, the smell of great perfume, or the lavender flowers wafting in the breeze. I also have super sensitive hearing and have shocked people when I could hear every word they were whispering across a room.
omg Amy, we should hang out because we have such similar stories and sound alike in many ways, ha ha! My dad called me a bloodhound, too!
I have the hardest time with perfume-type smells—cologne, laundry detergent, shampoo, etc.)—causing runny eyes/nose and migraines/nausea if bad enough. Has anyone figured out a socially acceptable way to alert someone that their perfume is bothering you?
This is a HUGE thing for me, and I live in New York City so I am CONSTANTLY smelling things that other people allegedly cannot smell. The weirdest thing - despite the fact that I am very sensitive to individual smells, I do not recognize the “New York smell” that people talk about. I just don’t. But individual smells - it drives me crazy some days. I also get confused about smells and sometimes think they are something other than what they are - something dangerous - but that is my anxiety mixing with my sensitivity. Sigh. One day recently I decided to pay close attention to every smell I noticed while walking down a block and I just got so overwhelmed! I’m glad to know I’m not alone!
When I see someone smoking on TV, the big screen, whatever, I swear I instantly smell it and curdle my nose. My parents smoked five packs a day between them so I desperately hate second-hand smoke. Mom passed just after aged 50 from it. So gross. But: good smells from aged 3 when our neighbors had their yard or something filled with bark/mulch. That fresh bark smell comes back now and then when opening a bag of mulch (not all mulch, actually, very few types). My only good memory from “that house” that I still hold.
Hi! I just woke up feeling crazed! Is that normal? I went to bed fine with this pillow but as I was awaking the smell immediately made my brain feel awful! It is highly potent fabric softner. I drive everyone around me crazy because most smells drive me crazy, from perfumes to coffee to other people’s house smells to clesners to…. It can make me angry & sick! I am highly sensitive! I thought it was getting better but this smell is making me nuts lol! I tell people I think I was a drug sniffing dog in another life! lol Oh well a cross to bare what can I do! I am very sensitive person others feelings even affect me even if I don’t even know them! I guess i am an extreme HSP!
Again-I am so happy to hear I am not alone. My keen sense of smell often has my husband worried if I am human or K9. He jokes “my wife should sniff for drugs at the airport”. Everyone laughs, except for me. I can be inside our house and I can tell you if the neighbor next door is smoking, and where they are smoking (front porch or back porch). We live in house, nothing joined, yards separate us and yet I can still smell cigarette smoke. I can also tell you when the other neighbor is drying their clothes, they MUST use at least 5 downy sheet with every load. Literally inside my house and I smell the downy sheets-how is this possible? Smells trigger great emotions in me, and usually not good ones. I can’t clean with anything that has an odor to it. Its Tide Free for me! I have a co worker that microwaves awful meals, my boss lights her maple vanilla candle to cover the smell. My office then smells like hot road kill in a vanilla field! I cringe when people use the bathroom and spray pine scented air freshener. It smells like they crapped a pine tree! I could go on and on but I won’t. Thank you for sharing your message and info, I feel somewhat normal now.
haha, Christy, “hot road kill in a vanilla field!” Your comment made me chuckle. I can totally relate! I am crazy sensitive to the odor of cigarette smoke! You are definitely not alone. Do you at least get to appreciate the positive side when it comes to flowers and stuff like that??
I’m glad I’m not the only one who goes on “stink” searches…I feel doubly cursed because I’m a dog walker who has to pick up shit all day and when a dog gasses ione in the back of my truck, I literally know which dog did it and what the hell they ate! I need to get a new job
lol!!!!
My nose is so sensitive I know everyone’s “scent” One sister has this one the other a different one similar but not the same, brothers very different but I can tell them apart by their smell. Perfumes and colognes mask it somewhat but I can always “smell” their scent. The worst is I take the NYC subway and the MULTITUDE smells I encounter is Mind-boggling (smell-boggling?). I know who did put on a deoderant or not and even then I can smell them underneath. For some reason these smells come to me like baloney. The processed meat I am talking about — sometimes with a hint of garlic in it. or sometimes a smokey flavor to it. I just learned to grin and bear it. Or just put my hand to my face. It’s just one of the situations you have to deal with taking the train with 6M other people. I am also a dog walker that smell doesn’t really bother me that much because I am outside and in the fresh air I clean it up IMMEDIATELY. Maybe because it is expected and it’s (supposed) to be outside.. But stuck on a train OMG, the poor animals have no control over that (crap) but humans do! Just ranting but something I’ve always kept to my self because I thought It was just me. I just grin and bear it. And if the the bad breath s incredibly overwhelming I ALWAYS HAVE GUM OR COUGH DROPS ON HAND to offer the offending person!
Another thought it’s not the WORST thing a person be doing to you……
Hi Dennis, thanks for sharing your experience. It’s so interesting what different experiences one human can have compared to another. Most people probably have no idea that the odors are bothering you immensely. It’s things like this that have made me soooo much more open minded to the things other people go through. We just have no idea, do we??
I just keep reading and reading….and each topic is more and more identifying to my HSP”ness” than I have ever found before! Thank you.
When you mention smells, odors, etc., I completely agree! I have many different perfumes I use for different days/events/feelings I have, plus the great memories certain smells trigger. A particular scent can instantly transcend time and plop me right back to my grandmothers house, the hallway in my junior high as I crushed on a boy wearing Polo (lol), or disgust me as quickly as it did the first time (cigarettes are HUGE for this one…).
I grew up in Arizona, and the scent of orange blossom is my all time favorite - which is why I am writing you now. Not only to thank you for shedding some light on this, but to give you a little fun tidbit. I continually search for things that smell good, and each room in my house is “scent themed”, much to the eye rolling of my non-hsp family (which I will now be looking for a topic in regards to feeling like those around me may love me but may “tolerate” my sensitivity…sadly). I am constantly seeking things that pique my nasal awareness, and have narrowed in on some faves.
Since you are a lover of orange blossom, I highly suggest Gold Canyon Candles “Orange Blossom” scent that only comes out in the spring. Gold Canyon is made here in Arizona, and they have perfected the sweet, vanilla tinted, citrusy aroma you well know comes around only for a short time in the spring. When driving around Phoenix during this magical time, I will roll my windows down and breathe so deeply! Now, I order the candles by the case to extend the wonderfulness of it - even if it is only through the spring and summer.
Don’t worry - I don’t sell them and have to seek out people who do, and this is the only scent I buy from them. Being all HSP and all, I felt the urge to share this tip, along with my thanks!
I certainly am experiencing a ton of “a ha’s” having discovered your site, but won’t bug you with commenting on every one that hits home, I promise! Keep up the great insight, as I have been needing this type of understanding for a long, long time now to help me understand myself.
Hi Colleen! Thanks for the comment. I am checking out that candle right now. Oh man, orange blossoms are the best!….OH darn, I just realized it is a seasonal scent online and isn’t available for purchase! Remind me when it comes back, will ya? 😀
I have not heard of scent-themed rooms before!! I think that is so cool!!! I want to visit your house
Ha ha!
(If you are so inclined, and would like to support the site, please visit this page! https://www.patreon.com/hsp)
I most definitely will! I promise you will be addicted!
In fact, I WILL go to your patreon link and your first candle is on me 😉
That is awesome-thank you, Colleen!
OMG Kelly! Your gross-chicken-in-the-microwave story cracked me up! I had a very similar experience a while back. My husband thought I’d lost my mind when I practically tore the kitchen apart in search of a rank smell that he was unaware of. We have these old kitchen drawers, two of which pull out at the top & are hinged at the bottom - probably used ages ago for flour & sugar. For us, they function as storage for things like dry beans, rice, onions, etc. It turned out that the nasty smell was coming from a single potato that had found it’s way to the bottom of a bin & gone totally rotten. So gross! Rotten potatoes are SO stinky!!!
And I have to add this: just about everything smells too strong to me. It can be quite maddening! I don’t go in department stores where there’s a perfume counter. I sprint down the soap aisle in the store, grabbing what I need without stopping. I avoid the butcher counter that’s too “fishy”. I open the bag of dog food & let it “breathe” before scooping it into bowls. The list goes on!
On the other side of things, the good smells are GOOD! I grew up in Denver & live in So. Cal. now, so I can relate with you on the orange blossoms. The occasional jasmine is great too! I also love having the ability to create my own smells with oils, incense, candles, etc. Love mixing lavender & sandalwood, and have always been a fan of patchouli - good stuff.
Thanks for writing & sharing your experiences… and that goes to everyone posting comments as well. It’s great to know that I haven’t lost my mind!
Susan, your potato story is funny, too! Thank you for your comment. I like jasmine, too!!