One of the best things happened the other day!
I had three loads of laundry, but only two Tide Original pods left, and so I went to the store. I could hardly believe my eyes when I got to the cleaning aisle and the 16-packs of Tide Original pods were on sale — and I mean, really on sale! So I scooped up two packs — which means I was going home with 32 loads worth of cleaning magic for an incredible price!!
When I was checking out, I gave the cashier my frequent shopper number, and when she closed out my purchase, her register spit out this long receipt and she said, “Oh my goodness, Miss! You just got an in-store cash coupon!”
I felt like I just won the lottery!
Turns out the coupon was for the exact amount I needed to get one more bag of Tide Original pods, so I scurried back to the cleaning aisle and grabbed the last bag. It was so exciting when the woman took my coupon and said, “Have a great day! You don’t owe us anything!”
I just couldn’t believe how lucky I was to get such a good deal, and now to have so many loads of laundry covered in my future. I just felt like birds were tweeting more sweetly, and everything was right in the world! So I, of course, had to document my joy with a selfie. (I mean, you have to, right?)
But here’s where my high started to take a turn toward a low.
As I was staging my selfie, I emptied all 48 Tide Original pods out on the bed, and I instantly caught a slight whiff of a new smell I didn’t immediately recognize. It was a nice smell — but I could tell it was coming from my collection of pods and it didn’t smell like Tide Original. It smelled…extra. As if there was some kind of added cleaning fluid with its own scent in the swirly little pods. I know what Tide Original is supposed to smell like, and this was not the right smell. Don’t get me wrong. It was lovely and clean, but it wasn’t my Tide smell…
When I leaned back into the mound of towels I used to stage my selfie, the scent was really strong, and I felt my heart skip a beat because, at this point, I really knew I wasn’t dealing with real Tide Original.
So I held my breath and snapped my shot, and then I gathered up all of my pods and put them in the huge tub I still have from a previous Tide Original pod splurge. But I can tell you. It was totally bothering me that the smell wasn’t right. I hoped that perhaps it was just the fact that I was rolling around on the bed with 48 detergent packs, and collectively, the smell was maybe just more intense…and maybe not exactly right.
But I think I already knew something was up.
I had already started to suspect there was something going on with the last 16-pack I purchased a couple of months ago. Lou had recently complained about a T-shirt he put on. He said his T-shirt “smelled too perfumey,” and when I took a sniff myself, I had to agree. But at the time, I tried to dismiss his comments because I never deviate from Tide Original pods, so it had to be in his imagination. I hadn’t noticed the change in smell, so it had to be him, right? But now I knew he wasn’t wrong. I could smell it, too. Lou really had sniffed out a controversy!
My suspicions were confirmed after my first load of wash with one of the new Tide Original pods. The smell was different, and even though it was still nice and our clothes were amazingly clean (as always), the change of scent was really disappointing. One of the many things I’ve always loved about Tide Original is that it doesn’t smell too strong. It just smells clean and fresh, not all doctored up and synthetic.
Lou complained about the scent of one of his clean shirts yesterday, and he said the smell was giving him a headache. Oh dear… I had hoped that perhaps both of us would go “nose blind” to the different smell because I currently have 47 “Tide Original pods” with a different smell left in my tub, so that means a lot more headaches in Lou’s future, I guess…
Why do companies have to change things?
Why must they “improve” or “fool around with” things that already work so well?
Why are progress and innovation so darn important?
I still feel excited that I have a huge stash of laundry pods, and even though they don’t smell right — and Lou might bitch about his headache for several months — I’m thankful that the clearly “new original” brand still cleans our clothes really well. But for such a long time, when my life was feeling a bit off or wobbly, I could always count on my laundry days to get my mind right and to keep me going. Now, that reality has changed a little. The one thing I really counted on to be the same and consistent in my constantly changing life is no longer available.
That old chestnut of a cliché, “The only thing in life that’s constant is change” comes to mind for me today because it’s true. Even things that claim to be “original” somehow change over time. I know I’ll get over this big swing from a high to a low — because let’s just put this all in perspective here: I’m talking about my laundry detergent!
