Hi there,

When I opened my fridge on Saturday morning to retrieve a couple of Eggland's Best, a wall of stench shoved me into the kitchen island.

"Ohmygodwhatisthat?!" I cried.

"I dunno, but it's not good," Prince Jack replied. (This man can't smell anything, so it was clear we were in trouble.)

We had a Mystery Smell™️.

I cannot handle Mystery Smells. They drop me to my hands and knees and transform me into a bloodhound—aggressively sniffing anything and anyone in my path.

Bravely, I stuck my head all the way in the fridge and inhaled sharply enough to flutter the plastic wrap on the butter dish. I sniffed every shelf. Every bag and bottle. Every everything. I could find no obvious culprit.

"It's gotta be the cantaloupe, right?" Jack offered.

Melons are, indeed, a common bringer of the stink. So although this one had no obvious mushy bits or foul aroma, I cut it up, stashed it in an air-tight container, and pitched the scraps in the outside can.

The stink persisted.

On Sunday morning, I decided the leftover broccoli quiche must be to blame. But on that afternoon I finished said quiche and the smell held on.

I checked expiration dates. I looked for spills. I inspected the air filter. Nothing.

So last night, I gutted the fridge.

I wiped down the outside of every container. Could it have been a random smudge of Ranch?

I washed the drawers and shelves in scalding, sudsy water. Could that tiny scrap of sugar snap pea do so much olfactory damage?

I pitched everything even remotely questionable: "Hmm, that Worcestershire sauce seems to have separated," "Does vegetable broth go bad?" "I think I can almost smell this chicken through the package."

Finally, I found a tub of hummus holding a tiny sign that read, "Better than penicillin! Try me!" So maybe that was it? Doesn't matter. The stink is no more.

Here's the real bummer about this whole Mystery Smell Saga...

Over the holidays, as I struggled to shove several meals' worth of leftovers into every nook and cranny of the Whirlpool, I thought, "I should take a quick peek to make sure I even need or want the stuff in here."

But I didn't. And the stuff I didn't want? It stank up the place.

Pep Talk #057: Check your "fridge."

If you ever find yourself thinking, "I wonder if I should take a few minutes to assess if I even still want this stuff that's taking up room in my fridge life," do it. Your intuition's trying to protect you from a Mystery Smell of one kind or another.

And definitely don't wait three days (months, years) just hoping the stink will go away. Do the hard thing today.

Watch out for rotten potatoes and wet newspaper,
Kelley

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