That smell.

"Shewww!" was my disgusted response every time I opened the coat/shoe closet.  "What is that smell?"

I diligently checked the bottom of all the shoes and shook my head as I closed the closet door after no poop had been discovered.  "Where is that horrible smell coming from?"

The smell was even worse than this one.

This went on for about a week and half until it finally dawned on me as I was putting my running shoes in the closet - the smell was coming from my shoes!

During the summer I would go out for my runs around 6:15 AM.   I always walk through our back yard and two neighbor's yards to get to the street where I start my run. All summer the grass has been heavy with dew. So heavy that when I started my run I could hear a squishing noise.  It was quite gross, this running with wet feet, but I had no alternative.  So I suffered through my run with wet feet and of course, walked back through that same wet grass to get home.

I would leave my shoes outside to dry and the whole process would begin again the next morning.  This worked fine until I left my shoes outside overnight and they got rained on. After that I began putting them in the closet wet. 

And that's where the problem began.  The shoes stunk up the entire closet and left me blaming my kids and their stinky feet.

After I discovered the problem, I began to leave my shoes in the garage overnight to dry.  The closet has finally aired out, but now every time I go into the garage, I end up saying, "Shewww!  What is that smell?"

And then I remember.

The culprits.