My cute little pink flower.

Every time I get inside my car, I notice a cute little pink flower looking back at me.  It brings a smile to my face and a giggle to my heart.  Why does this flower bring so much happiness to me?  I would love to share how this simple air freshener came into my life.  One morning, I jumped in my car and smelled a strange odor.  I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.  The night before, I had thoroughly cleaned the inside of my car.  I vacuumed it.  I cleaned the inside and outside windows.  I wiped down the dashboard, seats, and the doors with these awesome leather wipes. The outside was washed to perfection.  My car looked spectacular.  

So…where was this odor coming from? 

I knew that there wasn’t anything inside my car causing this strange smell.  I rolled down my windows and went about my day.  After work, I got back in my car and noticed the same odor.  I looked under my seats and found nothing.  Every day for a week…yes, a week, this smell kept getting stronger and stronger.   I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.  I wondered it was the wipes that I used.  I opened the container and smelled them…they smelled simply delightful.  The odor was not coming from the wipes.  Where was it originating? 

Throughout the week, I had friends in and out of my car.  None of them had commented on the smell.  Am I the only one that could smell this weird odor?  As the week progressed, the smell (at least to me) was getting worse. 

Fast forward 7 days…

I was at my parents home and we decided to go grab a bite to eat.  Since my car was in the driveway,  we decided to take it.  I get into the drivers side (and I notice the smell) and then, my mom gets in the car, she immediately  asks what that smell is.   I told her that I cannot figure it out.  I explained to her that I had been smelling something all week long and I can’t figure out what it was.  A few minutes later, my dad gets in the back seat and asks what that HORRIBLE smell is.  I told him that I cannot figure out where it is coming from.  He said it is coming through the vents.  He checked under the seats. He looked all around the back seat…nothing.  I felt bad for my dad because the smell was worse in the back seat.

Later that evening, the smell was driving me crazy.  I checked the under the seats again.  I checked every where inside the car.  I couldn’t figure it out.  THEN…I opened my trunk!

I almost gagged.

I couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from but it was AWFUL!!   All I  have in my trunk is a emergency backpack and a blanket.  I looked closer.  There was a plastic bag sticking from beneath the back-pack.  I grabbed it and looked inside…it was full of hamburger.  YES…HAMBURGER.  The week before, I had gone grocery shopping.  I thought that I had purchased some hamburger but couldn’t find it when I was putting my groceries away.  I had checked my trunk and didn’t see it.  It had been sitting in my hot trunk for 7 days smothered underneath my backpack.   SEVEN DAYS!!!   

I almost lost everything that I had eaten.  It was SICK!!!  The smell was HORRENDOUS!!!   I gagged all way to the dumpster.  I cannot believe that I had been driving around in my car with raw hamburger in my trunk for seven days. Seven warm days.

After a couple boxes of baking soda and vinegar…the smell finally went away.  It was awful.  Now…it was time for an air freshener.  I was walking down the isle at Target and this adorable little pink flower smiled at me.  It was perfect.  It smelled amazingly delicious and it was happy. HA HA   I needed a little bit of happiness after dealing with that disgusting mishap. 

Note to all…make sure that you don’t leave any hamburger in your car. 

~Michelle