Ever sold a house and been told to bake bread or brew coffee before people come for a viewing to disguise the smell of last night’s supper or the family pet? Perhaps there’s another reason. 

I learnt the hard way that a house only becomes your home when it smells familiar.

By the time she moved in with us, aged just two and a half, our now teenage adopted daughter had already lived in three different places. Her life was packed in three black plastic bags.

We’d painted her new bedroom in her favourite colours and stacked the shelves with toys and books we’d loved reading with her soon-to-be older sister. She couldn’t fail to love her new home and we couldn’t fail to love being an extended family in the home we loved. 

The black bags were unpacked and homes found for most of the toys. Pride of place was given to the few treasures from her very first home. Some of the clothes, especially those with her favourite cartoon characters on, were also put away in the cupboard. But first they had to go through the wash to remove the smell of fabric conditioner and cigarette smoke. It was a strong smell, but the real problem was that it was a smell that didn’t belong to us or our home.

Other possessions from that other life were stuffed back into the same plastic bags and stowed away in the loft room. And there they stayed until the day of the big clear out before we moved house.   

Something must have attracted the attention of  our now five-year old. She was later found, all alone surrounded by tiny clothes and toys, systematically moving from one thing to the next, slowly and very quietly smelling each.

Only then did we realise that when we washed away the pungent smell of someone else’s home, we’d also washed away a small child’s important and quite possibly very comforting memories. She was smelling her history and remembering other homes.

For us it was a lesson learnt the hard way. Some 10 years later I still feel guilty when I think about it.

Anon, London

Further information

What makes a house a home and why does it matter so much? Our new series, 'Moving Stories', inspired by Savills new advertising campaign, explores the complex relationship between home and home-owner with funny, sad and bittersweet reflections on moving out, moving in and moving on.

We invite you to submit your own Moving Stories and we will donate £50 to Dreams Come True for every one we publish on Savills UK Blog. We'll also make a donation for every story submitted for consideration.