I am sitting on my couch in my cozy sweater enjoying a cup of tea and a rare reading marathon. Then, suddenly, I sneeze. And a cloud of dust billows up around my head. Truly, I am exaggerating but not very much.
I know my mother raised me better than this. She dusted regularly, and I also helped in that chore. I remember lovingly taking each knickknack off my parent’s shelf, dusting it carefully, then rearranging it so it looked nice again. So, why do I absolutely dread the chore now?
I really needed to reevaluate my process behind dusting. I have a job that works me more than full-time, several part-time side hustles, and am still trying to keep up with the house. Of course, my least favorite chore falls off the table.
Today, let’s talk about three things you can try to help beat the dusting dread.
one
clutter
Hubs likes things. He builds models and legos that he places on every single surface in our home. He is not the only one. I am a book collector and have my favorite knickknacks as well. Our tiny apartment has no storage options except what we have brought in. Even that is not enough, and many of our small odds and eds end up on the dining room table or coffee table. All of these facts brew the perfect storm of clutter. It is so frustrating to go to dust and have to spend twenty minutes scrambling to put away things we don’t actually have a place for only to have to dust 50 lego models and other knickknacks. The time and energy it takes from me make the whole process simply not worth it.
To get ahead of the dusting, we have to get creative.
Have clear surfaces
In order to make dusting easier, clear as many surfaces as you can. Identify which things tend to pile up. Receipts, mail, knick-knacks, toys. Whatever it is, make a plan so you have defined places to put your things away. A command center, a toy basket, or storage container can go a long way with keeping surfaces clear.
Figure out your Favorites
If you want to be an expert duster, you are going to need to get ahead of your things. This is a mix of organizing, as mentioned above, and decluttering. We all want to display our favorite possessions, but do not have space for everything we like. Figure out what mood you want your home to convey: minimalist, eclectic, farmhouse, cozy. Choose the items you like best and that match the mood of your home. These are the items you should display.
30:70 Ratio
My goal is to have a 30:70 percent ratio of decorated to clear space. For me that means, we have to find places for many of our miscellaneous items and need to get rid of a good amount of things as well. Decide on your ratio and make an attack plan to help you get there.
two
The Catchall Spaces
Our coffee table is evil. I am sure of it. It is a beautiful vintage trunk that houses our games and has a lovely walnut finish. But, it catches every piece of random clutter you can imagine. If I take everything off of it right now, I am sure I would find things I didn’t even know we had. And maybe we don’t. They might have spawned right there on the coffee table. In fact, I’m sure that is what happened.
In order for me to even be motivated to dust, I need those catchall spaces generally clear. I don’t want to have to clean up random items I have certainly never seen before just to get to the boring chore of dusting. I can close my eyes an imagine a clear, empty space that I merely have to run my dusting rag over to get it clean. That would be the life. I might actually dust every day if that were the case.
But, catchall spaces are so difficult to overcome. You will need to
- Have a plan.
What is in your catchall spaces? Are they your things? Your children’s things? Your significant others’ things? I mean, of course, they aren’t yours. We all put all of our things away every time, so they have to be someone else’s things.
Once you know what things are accumulating in your catchall spaces, make a plan of how you will clean them up. Do you already have places for them? Do you need a command center? Do you need a small basket for each child to put their things in so you don’t have them filling up your surfaces? Do you need to get rid of some things? The answers to these questions will help you come up with the plan you need to tackle your catchalls once and for all.
- Declutter.
Let’s be honest. I have way too much stuff. In order to make dusting quicker and easier, start getting rid of things. If you find things on your coffee table you didn’t even know existed, get rid of it. You didn’t even know it was there in the first place. Do you have stacks of magazines everywhere, flip through them, then pass them on. If you want clutter free, easy to clean surfaces, something might need to go.
- Use containers for important items.
Not everything I have sitting out is useless. In fact, most of it are things I use on a regular basis. But, having these items sit out, means I don’t dust as often. Start organizing your small things. Use containers to put away as many things as you can. Use bowls or baskets to sort items that are left out on the surfaces. When everything has a home, it helps put things away. Then, when it is time to clean, you either can tidy quickly or better yet, everything is already put away.
three
Dust Often
I don’t know how often dust accumulates in your home. Our apartment is old and tends to stir up a lot of dust from heaven knows where. I could probably dust twice a week. If I do that, I notice that dusting our tiny apartment takes ten minutes or less each time. Without having to tidy up clutter, dust around knickknacks, and sweep away months of dust, I am able to finish the chore in record time.
If you find that you are having a hard time finding time to dust, dusting more often will actually reduce the amount of time you spend doing the chore.
Just the thought motivates me to do it more often. And the motivation is truly the key. Without it, I find myself putting it off and putting it off until the dust is so bad the fly wrote “dust me” in it.
This is still a process Hubs and I are going through together because we both have to play a part in decluttering the surfaces and deciding what to keep and what not to keep. But, I am seeing progress, and have dusted at least once a week for a month. So, I am feeling proud.
What is your least favorite chore, and how are you motivating yourself to get it done?