Just how dusty is YOUR house?

[LauraGB]

Disclaimer: This full moon has affected me in ways I dare not describe; suffice to say I may have just written people (in general - all of them) off completely. It's been a darned if I do, darned if I don't sort of last few days.

 

But, ds and dd were up north with mil/fil this past weekend. Ds commented to me that Grandma had "no dust up there - not even a speck!" and "I could breath again!" :001_huh::glare:

 

Now, to be honest, I do dust - weekly. I vacuum, on average 3 time each week (sometimes 2x, sometimes 4x, it varies). I have 2 air purifiers hard at work on cat and dog hair. I do not, however, do this to the kids' rooms; that is their deal, but I do remind them at least twice per week. My kitchen is spotless every night before I go to bed, even the floor. But, I do not dust the tops of things (like doors and molding, etc).

 

MIL has always had a house keeper. Dh doesn't remember when she didn't. Even when I met dh (and he was no longer living with his parents, and there were no children living with ILs), she had a house keeper. How in the heck am I supposed to compete with that? Yes, my house is quite "lived in", but we all spend most of our time here, either just living or working (as dh and I both do, here, in our house). But it is not "dirty". Messy - yes, occasionally, and more often than I would like it to be, but not "dirty". And dusty - sure. I really don't notice the cobwebs over doorways unless mil or my mother are present (and then I am completely mortified).

 

I clean, I cook, I do laundry, I shop and organize menus (both for my family and for work), good grief I even make our own cereal and bread! I educate my kids, I help dh with both businesses. Is there a mystery 25th hour I don't know about and you guys are holding out on me? :001_huh:

 

Tell me you have dust. Just some. And tell me you have some unfolded laundry to attend to (but at least it's clean, right?). And if you can't tell me these things, please, for the love of all things holy, tell me how you get it done.

 

Sigh.

[shannatheshedevil]

I dust once a week and laundry gets folded every night. The kitchen is clean when I go to bed. I mop (we have tile floors- no carpet, no rugs) maybe every week, sometimes not, but I sweep regularly (No one wears shoes in the house). My house is clean enough. I probably wouldn't eat off the floors, but who the heck eats off a floor?

If she has a housekeeper, kudos to her. I don't have the money to pay one and I'd rather have a life than a meticulously clean house. I grew up in a house with a horribly anal mother who listed housecleaning as a hobby. I do not have good memories of it and for a long time, I completely rebelled the other way. Now I have a comfortable balance for me. I'm proud of my house. It's comfortable, it's warm, it's inviting, but if you expect me to dust the tops of the doors every day, you're in the wrong house.

[freetobeme]

:lurk5:

funny you should ask. . .i thought about asking this just yesterday. i am not as on top of the housekeeping as you are, but seriously, where DOES all this dust come from???

[nono]

Don't compete.

 

Or if you must, compete with me. :D I keep my house fairly tidy, except I don't dust much. That gets done once every 3 weeks. It's a quirk -- I love to "get my money's worth" when I dust, and at 1 week, you can't see it. At 2 weeks, it's not gratifying enough. At 3 weeks, WOW! I feel like I'm really cleaning!

[Country Mouse]

I've always got dust. And laundry to be washed/folded/put away.

 

Is it really a full moon? That explains a lot for me.

[elise1mds]

I have dust issues. The worst part is that DS is massively allergic to dust mites, so if I don't stay on top of the dust and change the filters and vacuum all the flippin' time, he starts sneezing, which is the first symptom that tells me that if I don't get on the ball ASAP, he'll come down with a sinus infection. I hate dusting, though. It's so repetitive and I feel like nothing is being really accomplished. Unless company is coming over because inevitably they move the one thing I didn't dust behind/under.

 

My mom's house is like your MIL's house except without the housekeeper; my mom just has OCD. Maybe we can put them together and THEY can compete. ;)

[Kim in Appalachia]

I live an an old house, circa 1902. It's a huge Victorian, with plaster walls, and lots of cracks. There is a ton of dust. Even if I dusted the house house daily, it would be bad. And the spider webs, they reappear every morning.

 

I don't dust everyday. I could spend every minute cleaning this house, but I don't have the time. I'm lucky if it gets a half-decent dust once a week, and that's on a good week. I vacuum once a week, sometimes the living room and entry area get it 2x's. My kitchen is always decent, but not spotless. I would like my kitchen floor washed once a day, but it gets done once a week. Some weeks I get a swifter to it midweek.

 

My mom's house is spotless, all the time. It was that way growing up too. But my mom doesn't care that it's spotless. She just is the type of person who is always cleaning. Once, when I complained I couldn't keep up with all of the housework, her comment was that her house is now always perfect, and that someday when my kids are gone my house can be perfect too. :) She had 2 kids, and a smaller, newer home. I have 5 kids with a house that is against me. It's ok that it's not perfect. My kids notice that grandmom's house is really nice, they also know that there are not that many toys there, and you can't play upstairs in the house (My parents have a huge basement the kids can run around in).

 

Don't worry about the house, and your son's breathing is not likely due to the dust, not for the amount you clean. Maybe there is something else different about your mil's, either plants, or materials, or something.

[shalom22]

At times my house is embarrasingly dusty. I have a dog and a cat and the four of us to contribute to the dust factor. I had to clean all the ceiling fans this last week because of the dust build up on the blades. We seem to have lots of dust here. Even shortly after getting everthing dusted, there will be a new layer beginning. It is almost a losing battle here. But we try.

Oh, and I do have a load of clothes that need to be hung up.

[LauraGB]

:lurk5:

funny you should ask. . .i thought about asking this just yesterday. i am not as on top of the housekeeping as you are, but seriously, where DOES all this dust come from???

 

No idea. But come it does. What the heck? It's not even fair. At first I thought it was our ducts, but I change the furnace/ac filter monthly. Then I thought it was maybe blowing in from the fields around us, but many of them have since been built up with homes since we've lived here, and there's no break with the dust factor. I mean, I know most of it comes from us and pets, but that much? Gah!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have dust.

 

I would have told your son (as I have my dc) "Great observations. Here are some dust rags. Get to it!"

[Daisy]

I live in a place with less than 19% humidity. We actually get dust storms here. Yes, I have dust. I have resigned myself to my fate.

[novagirl]

Dust bunnies reproduce rapidly at my house.:001_smile:

[Rebel]

I haven't dusted in at least 6 months. I do all the other household chores regularly, but I hate dusting. We have forced air heating and cooling so dust collects back on surfaces within 24 hours of me dusting, so why bother? I change my a/c filter every 3 weeks, but still have dust.

[LauraGB]

I have dust.

 

I would have told your son (as I have my dc) "Great observations. Here are some dust rags. Get to it!"

 

 

Lol! That's exactly what I did say...and then I felt bad because I didn't know if it was my full moon psychosis talking or my hurt pride or my motherly logic. And then I came here. I'm going to go with Motherly Logic. Thank you. :001_smile:

[freetobeme]

is there a difference in dust if your house is on a slab vs. a crawl space? i have always wondered. . .i have always been on a crawl space. . .

[Sophia]

I hate dust. But it loves my house and won't leave.

[MamaT]

I dust once a week, but it seems things are always a little dusty. I have decided not to worry too much about it. There are only a limited number of hours in a day and dust is not near the top of my priority list.

 

I am much more diligent about my laundry. It is folded and put away the same day it is washed. I guess it is more of a priority because it becomes a monster if I don't stay on top of it.

[Miss Peregrine]

Our windows are open all summer long. We've got dust. :)

[justamouse]

it's the animals. It is. When we were between dogs, had no cats and no bird, I remember being AMAZED at how clean the house stayed (esp if you did things like take off your shoes before coming in and such).

 

I mean, I went from never putting the vacuum away (It just was left out on the floor somewhere to pick up again the next day) to pulling it out once a week.

 

But, I am unwilling to live without a dog, and so I dust and vacuum.

[AndyJoy]

I dust when I notice it's really needed or when company is coming. I dread it, however, because I am very allergic to dust (but not mites), so dusting is actually more uncomfortable for me than just letting it lie :D. We live in the desert, so even without pets dust is a constant battle.

[LauraGB]

Don't compete.

I'm not really competing, I don't think. Or maybe I am - I really don't know. It's always been like this with the ILs, where they/she constantly challenges our parenting, but in keen and unobtrusive ways; the dc get a certain amt of time at home for video games and tv (fair daily amts), but at Grandma's they get all they want. Grandma let them watch highly questionable pg-13 movies at 8 and 9. We don't do fast food, but mil would be absolutely certain to run through the drive through at McD's when they kids were over (she would, of course order a salad because of her heart attacks, but...Anyway, the kids hated the food and just did it because Grandma seemed bent on taking them, and then they ended up throwing it out). When the dc were younger it was a constant battle to keep mil from giving them tons of sugar (sure they got some occasionally, but not a constant barrage in every capacity all day long). She just spent $24 at the candy store this weekend :001_huh:, and almost 12 years into this thing, all I could think was "Sugar 'em up, Granny. Good luck with that." And now the dust thing. Grr. I'm quite sure she doesn't keep her house clean to spite me...but maybe she does :sneaky2:. ;)

 

Or if you must, compete with me. :D I keep my house fairly tidy, except I don't dust much. That gets done once every 3 weeks. It's a quirk -- I love to "get my money's worth" when I dust, and at 1 week, you can't see it. At 2 weeks, it's not gratifying enough. At 3 weeks, WOW! I feel like I'm really cleaning!

 

See, now that I can appreciate!!

[DaffodilDreams]

I have dust issues. The worst part is that DS is massively allergic to dust mites, so if I don't stay on top of the dust and change the filters and vacuum all the flippin' time, he starts sneezing, which is the first symptom that tells me that if I don't get on the ball ASAP, he'll come down with a sinus infection. ;)

 

Same thing in our house. Dd is also allergic to dust mites. I'm supposed to wash the bedding and stuffed animals on hot at least twice a week. If I don't, she gets sick. Her bedroom is the only one that has regular dusting of the door tops and other woodwork. If I had to be as thorough as often with the rest of the house, I'd never get anything else accomplished.

 

Why couldn't she be allergic to rain?

[Tree House Academy]

I have my share...especially on top of things. Funny story...I dust fan blades every, oh, 6 MONTHS or so...because I truly forget they are up there. We had a friend over who is 6'7" tall and I was mortified...he could see my dusty fan blades!! LOL That night, after he left, I scrubbed every fan blade in my house (and we have 8 fans!).

[LauraGB]

Same thing in our house. Dd is also allergic to dust mites. I'm supposed to wash the bedding and stuffed animals on hot at least twice a week. If I don't, she gets sick. Her bedroom is the only one that has regular dusting of the door tops and other woodwork. If I had to be as thorough as often with the rest of the house, I'd never get anything else accomplished.

 

Why couldn't she be allergic to rain?

 

How long does this take you? Ds has allergies, but he was tested and it seems to be pollen and cotton. However, he doesn't have issues at the cottage. I wonder if I should try to schedule this in for him weekly.

[Firestar Academy]

I haven't dusted in at least 6 months. I do all the other household chores regularly, but I hate dusting. We have forced air heating and cooling so dust collects back on surfaces within 24 hours of me dusting, so why bother? I change my a/c filter every 3 weeks, but still have dust.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

plus I have 2 loads of laundry to fold and put away at the moment....But I am getting ready for a consignment sale this week so a ton of stuf (over 300 items) are leaving this house.....

 

I was over at a good friend's house yesterday taking a shower (pump died) and her bed was filled with stuff. her daughter was embarrassed. I told her about what i read here yesterday:

 

the people that matter don't care and the people that care don't matter.

 

so, dust, I welcome you...you will tell me who my true friends are!!!

 

robin in nj

[Amy loves Bud]

Tell me you have dust. Just some. And tell me you have some unfolded laundry to attend to (but at least it's clean, right?). And if you can't tell me these things, please, for the love of all things holy, tell me how you get it done.

 

Sigh.

 

I have a housekeeper and I still have all these things. And I buy my bread at the store. You are practically Martha Stewart in my book. :001_smile:

[Celia]

I say, embrace the dust :) Get the kids to practice their letters in it!

[Joker]

I have tons of dust! I cannot get rid of it - it seems to mulitply. I have a dd with asthma, allergies and an airway abnormality and it seems her body has adjusted to it as well because it doesn't really cause problems anymore. She only seems to get sick now when outside forces are at play. Life is too short to worry about the dust bunnies - make friends with them instead.:tongue_smilie:

[Crissy]

I thought I kept dust fairly well in check until today. My husband--the only person who uses the sugar bowl in this house--has been gone for a week. I just found a cobweb from the bowl to the shelf directly above it.

 

I now realize that I need to rethink my dusting strategy.

Edited September 27, 2010 by Crissy

[DarlaS]

Tell me you have dust. Just some. And tell me you have some unfolded laundry to attend to (but at least it's clean, right?). And if you can't tell me these things, please, for the love of all things holy, tell me how you get it done.

Sigh.

 

I can bet you I have WAY more dust than you...

 

 

 

..and I just don't care that much. There. I said it. :leaving:

 

I also have unfolded (clean) laundry on my sofa right now and more drying. We had a good dinner, my kids are getting educated, and my husband is not getting ignored. ;)

 

Dust is not important. Six people and a Suberian Husky live here, and there is just not much hope of keeping up with it anyway. I dust a room when it really starts to bug me. That's it. I have no idea how often that is, but it's far less often than you do!

[DarlaS]

I have my share...especially on top of things. Funny story...I dust fan blades every, oh, 6 MONTHS or so...because I truly forget they are up there. We had a friend over who is 6'7" tall and I was mortified...he could see my dusty fan blades!! LOL That night, after he left, I scrubbed every fan blade in my house (and we have 8 fans!).

 

You do realize that by the time he comes over again, they'll probably be dusty again right? :D

[Crissy]

You do realize that by the time he comes over again, they'll probably be dusty again right? :D

 

My mom used to scrub the top of her refrigerator in the hour or so before her rather tall step-father came for a visit. It was The place he always checked for dust.

[Pink Fairy]

Mine is dusty--reeeeeeaaaaaal dusty. I'm looking at the mirror in my living room, which even has a message inscribed in the dust--"Dust me please :-)" It's been there for about two weeks. I can' be mad, because they phrased it so politely and even added a happy face. But tomorrow is a new day, and we WILL be dusting the living room and office if it kills me.

[AuntieM]

My mom is a terrible housekeeper. I did not learn how to clean from her, but I learned and can do a fair job.

 

MIL.... vacuumed the entire house every day. I simply cannot compete. But at least her vision isn't what it used to be, so if there's dust in a corner, I tell myself she won't see it...:)

[Caitilin]

Very dusty. 'Nuff said. :glare:

[freetobeme]

I say, embrace the dust :) Get the kids to practice their letters in it!

 

love it!

[Teachin'Mine]

Laura his allergies could be worse at home for reasons that have nothing to do with dust in the house. Are you in a farming area? Right now with harvesting and preparing the fields for winter, the air quality is horrible. So it may be the lack of something like this that has your son breathing easier at Grandma's house.

 

Dust is the ultimate furniture protector, and should not be removed unless absolutely necessary. :D

[iona]

I live in a place with less than 19% humidity. We actually get dust storms here. Yes, I have dust. I have resigned myself to my fate.

 

i'm not sure on our humidity level but we get the dust storms as well. i left my windows open an inch on accident and their was a mini sand dune waiting for me along each ledge. We have been in our house almost 6 months now...it is probably time to dust.

[Pretty in Pink]

I dust things that I can see (tables, bookshelves, the mantle) weekly but door frames, pictures, blinds, etc. get done probably bi-annually! I do vacuum pretty much daily in the main living areas and hallway but I also have a toddler who still puts every. little. thing. in his mouth. As for Mt. Laundry...don't even get me started. I'm staring at two clean, unfolded loads on the sofa next to me and a pile of my own clean underwear on the coffee table! :glare:

[Heatherwith4]

Seriously, your kitchen is spotless (even the floors) before bed each night? You're a much better woman than I am! :lol:

And yes, I have dust. A lot. No matter how much I clean.

[LauraGB]

Seriously, your kitchen is spotless (even the floors) before bed each night? You're a much better woman than I am! :lol:

And yes, I have dust. A lot. No matter how much I clean.

 

 

Lol! Mostly spotless - I don't mess with the top of the fridge. But my kitchen is tiny. And I spend most of my life in there. So, for the most part, it is screaming clean at night. Just not during the day. During the day, it's a giant mess. But one I keep rotating (because of the tininess of the space).

 

The rest of the house - not the same deal. I often go a week or several before I get to sit in the living room, and I am therefore less invested in that space. The kitchen is My Space, and if I don't keep it clean, I'll get buried (so it's not that I'm a clean freak, I just won't be able to wade through things to get to what I need if I don't keep it clean).

[Kirch]

Wait. You're supposed to DUST?!? :svengo:

 

 

General dusting gets done every now and then (when I notice that it's gotten really bad). Fans, door frames, etc.--probably once or twice a year. I'm working on it!

[Ellyndria]

I'm supposed to dust regularly?

[Snickerdoodle]

I am a dust cleaning fanatic.

 

It doesn't help. It's extraordinary the amount of dust that can accumulate in a matter of a few hours. :(

[UmMusa]

Houswork is just one of those rotating, never ending, painful things of life.

Sadly, my house is clean on one day of the week, the day my dear cleaning lady comes over. After that there are shoes, flip flops, socks, toothbrushes (I have a toddler), remote controls, hair accessories, baseball caps and tons of other stuff just flung around. Add to that the laundry I start working on during the weekend and O.M.G.!!! I forced everyone to do a tidy up tonight (being Sunday night, get ready for the week), and it looks better. But still... with kids and all the stuff they move around it is impossible to stay neat!

 

Again, sadly, we live with full time air condition and hardly have the doors or windows open. Not so much dust in my house.

[Farrar]

The older the house, the worse the dust problem. Ours is over a hundred years old and with the plaster walls it's a never ending task. Also, it takes a full size ladder (a step stool is too short) to dust the high spots with our tall ceilings. I've given up trying to keep it decent. I dust the everyday spots on the tables and mantles once every week or two. I dust under the sofas and on the book shelves and some of the other spots every month or two. And maybe twice a year I really dust under the beds, the fan blades, the 6' tall molding, the stairwell molding that's nigh on impossible to reach, the high tops of the shelves, etc. And still there's more spots I discover and am appalled by. Cat+plaster=constant dust.

[KidsHappen]

Covered in dust dunes and pet hair tumbleweeds here.

 

And I don't even want to talk about the laundry. I am literally overwhelmed with the laundry. I washed it all today and then figured out I have no place to put it.

[Denisemomof4]

farm, dirt road, animals (vacuum 1xday MINIMUM), 6 people. Need I say more???

ETA: house is picked up more now that boys are gone during day. Dust doesn't leave with them.

:leaving:

[Dandelion]

We live out in the country, in a dry climate, on a dirt road, we have pets, and we keep the doors/windows open all day.... We have lots of dust. :)

 

I'm another one in the camp of "I dust when I notice it or when there's company coming". My house is clean - but dusting on a regular basis is foreign to me. :D

[BMW]

One of my favorite plaques, placed near my entry way, reads

"You may touch the dust, but please don't write in it"!!!!