Today I have a quick post for you on looking for dust in all the right places…And now that song is in my head…(I blame over-tiredness..) Okay, we all have dust, and I don’t know anyone who is wild and crazy about breaking out the furniture polish and getting rid of it. Dusting is one of those necessary evils that we all probably avoid until we can’t take it anymore. I don’t know about you, but once I can spot the thin layer of dust on something from across the room, I grab my dust rag (albeit begrudgingly) and get to work. However, there are a few places that you probably don’t think to dust, and can go overlooked for months (years even.) Getting your home as free of dust as possible is not only healthier for your lungs, but really, don’t you just feel better knowing you have a TRULY clean home? I do! Why not check out a few of these potentially very dusty areas in your home today!
1. Ceiling Fan blades – I usually remember to do these at least 2 or 3 times a year, but wow, they could use it more often! I don’t like to think about how much dust they are spinning into the room each time we turn them on. Stand on a chair, get out your rag, spray it with a bit of furniture polish, and CAREFULLY wipe the blades, one side at a time (use the rag like an oven mitt.) Don’t wipe too fast, or with a dry rag, or all of the built up dust will go flying down below. Regardless, plan on vacuuming your room immediately following this procedure! You will likely be sickened by how much dust accumulates on those blades!
2. Molding – This is a great one to get your kids involved in as well! Take a damp rag, and simply walk (scoot really) around each room in your house, wiping the top of your molding. We don’t look at the tops of our molding very often, so again, this area can often go overlooked. I suggest using water on your rag (and using a washcloth works well), as this area can often get a bit grimy and hard to clean.
3. Door Tops – This is a fun one. (Okay, maybe I have a weird and distorted sense of fun.) I just like feeling like I really cleaned something…Clean = happy for me. Walk around your home, again with a damp washcloth, and simply wipe the tops of each of your doors (the wood molding or door frame that is.) The first time I did this at my house, it was quite shocking. Now that I am aware, it is easier to stay on top of, and it doesn’t gross me out anymore!
4. Stairs – You may be thinking, “dust the stairs?? Yeah right Bekki.” Yes, you heard me right…dust your stairs! Of course, it is important to vaccum your stairs regularly, and we’ve even carpet cleaned ours once or twice, but I recently dusted mine for the first time. I use the word “dust” here a bit loosely, but the results will amaze you (or maybe we just had really gross stairs.) Take a damp rag and wipe your stairs where each stair meets the next (that crack at the back if you will.) I took my rag and almost dug under the crack, pulling out a myriad of “treasures.” I was able to clean large wads of dust, pet hair, crumbs, etc. out from the cracks in my stairs. It was very freeing to get rid of all that dirt we had been walking on!
5. Lamp Shades – You may need to play around with these to see what will work best for each type of shade in your home, but these are not as easy to remember to dust as say the table they are sitting on. I’ve found that a slightly damp cloth works best (no furniture polish). Complicated lamp shades (like my flower Ikea shade) take some work, but the evidence you collect will let you know it was worth the effort.
Have “fun” seeking out the dust in your home! Once you see what you have been missing, you will be glad you put the effort in!
