After all of these years being a Dubious MinimalistTM, I’m damn sure of a few things. When I set off to be a super cleaning human machine, I’m blasted quickly with the first thing I know for sure. Humans and pets create (have) an extra special thing in common with each other when it comes to the dust that collections collect.
What is that special thing you ask?
We both contribute to collections collecting dust with our skin and hair loss (dander).
EWE! GROSS! I know…it’s Halloween kind of scary…
Don’t believe me, Google it sometime – you’ll get lost in scare the hell out of you data, never to return to what you were planning on doing for the day. You’ll never want to come out of your sterile bubble. I don’t want that to happen to you, I’ve done enough research and shaking off of the findings already.
Besides, you’ve got this post to read, so here you go – proof:
Don’t fret, there’s no shame in dander, it happens. We all shed. Even just sitting there, we shed. Ewe…
Where we part ways, though, is in which one of the special dust creating species does the clean-up of said dust and dander. It sure the hell isn’t the pets. My fluffy three only contribute to it. If they weren’t so darn cuddly shedding loveable, they’d be out the damn door.
Along with the invisible spiders who aid in my faux Halloween decor look by catching dust.
On a positive note, since we do have this dust thing in common, that makes us all collectors of sorts, and all collectors like to collect any kind of stuff.
Sure, as a human, I could live the life of a blank slate like a minimalist would do, where they have nothing sitting around the house to collect dust. But, instead, I collect stuff to collect dust on. Who needs a real apple a day to stay healthy? I’ve got dust collecting apples to keep the dust out of my head and webbed delicately onto shelved objects instead.
As a Dubious MinimalistTM, I’m an in-between kind of person when it comes to collections. I’ve spent years perfecting the art of trying to decide what to keep and what to toss. I have a few small gatherings of things…more than I probably should…
but over the years, I’ve become more selective of what I now care to spend the time dusting on. If the object isn’t washable or dustable or containable (or sentimental or adorable like the pets) it can’t remain here in our dust producing jungle.
Each collection container must be size appropriate and washable. And the objects inside of them can only be dust particles or disposable or both. When the container or shelf is full, no more shall be collected. Why do (I) people collect wine corks anyhow? WTH?
I am damn sure of one thing – Collections collect dust. – Me
Where there is dust everywhere, it dulls our senses in more ways than one. It takes a keen eye to notice when the precise time rolls around where we need to do the hard work of actually momentarily ridding the pesky stuff off of the treasured objects. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. I’ve been known to wait a tad bit too long in-between dusting sessions. Good thing the pets don’t mind.
All collectors have this in common when we’re done with the dirty deed of dust removal, we smile at how everything sparkles and shines and lights up the room. We bask in the glory of the moment. We know it won’t last.
There will always be another chance to do the dusting dance. Never fear my dear dust producing friends, we all know we’ve got a dusty date in the near (distant) future to hang out and spend the day together yet again because collections collect dust!
Post inspiration – My staycation’s long to-do-list. Period.
PS – Do tell, what collections do you keep regardless of the amount of dust they collect? How did you break up with your collections so that you could rid yourself of the task of dusting?
Dust is one reason I no longer want books in my house. Having said that, I do love books, and the ones we (I) deem ‘keep-able’ are placed in a Billy Bookcase with glass doors.
We live walking distance to a Toronto’s public library branch, and a short driving distance to other branches. And I love e-reading!
But the other stuff? I have long given away the collectibles that have mostly been given to me. Now, you have two girls…if they were anything like mine at this age, lordy. The stuff she HAS to keep is insane! I go through her stuff periodically when she’s not here because I simply do not want her room to turn into a landfill site. 🙂
I’m guilty of the books – but have limited space for them. I should’ve looked into a glass door type case though! This winter, I hope to take the library route way more often as well as the Kindle! Oh, my, yes…my kids, when they were little, were hoarders! You are wise beyond your years, your empty nest self will adore the efforts you take in the childrearing years!!
I’m afraid I’m going to miss her self-created clutter… lol (as if) 🙂
I’d be lying if I told you-you wouldn’t miss her and her stuff 😉
Since downsizing I parted way with things on the mantle and shelves. those that had memories or were things my children made in school I returned to them. My dust collectors now are family photos in frames, still hanging on to them
I’m slowly working toward the clear space look. What was your trick to getting the kids to take the stuff? My two say, “I don’t have room right now, I’ll get it later.” Photos are the hardest to part with, and the easiest to rationalize doing so for me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate hearing from you.
Just take and leave it, if you have a key to their place, son;t tell them you’re coming
LOL! Love it!!!
One of my goals is a deep cleaning of every room in the house. I suspect a lot of clearing will take place as I decide whether to dust or not to dust!
That’s my mission too. I may need to call a donation service that does curbside pick up 😉
We’re not much for collectibles–except for art, so I run a finger along the top of the frames to collect all the dead skin cells once a week or so. Ack! This post was a good reminder. Need to get in the cleaning mode again!
LOL – way to remind me of the tops of frames… 😉 I read somewhere that when fall approaches that’s when you should do big cleaning because we keep the house all closed up for the winter months, best to get the dust out before that time? Is it true, I don’t know, but it does provide incentives.
I dare say I am a notorious collector of cuteness. I have cuteness of mine, my mom’s my grandma’s and all the dust that goes with it. I guess my biggest collection is the angles. I even have one my son made me at daycare when he was 2. That one gets put up after Christmas but the others stay out year round, except for the actual ornaments. And don’t get me started on Christmas stuff…I will post many pictures.
I can relate, Anita, yes I can. I can’t wait to see your photos. Thank you for sharing your collectibles confessions with me 😉
My favorite thing to collect is snow globes. But as a recycling artist, I collect things that I might be able to use in an art project, some day. The some day is the problem. Some day, I’m going to go through and get rid of some of that stuff. I will keep the snow globes though.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, JoAnna. Yes, keep what you love! I do the same thing by the way – I adore finding another purpose for a little piece of objects for creating art – someday…!
Shelley, so glad you stopped by. It reminded me to stop and visit you. Dust. Right.
I have a fairy garden that I ignore dust wise. So many little things and tiny rocks for the grass, lake and river. What I need is a fairy garden duster. I don’t even know if there is such a thing.
And I did find a spider web, which I got rid of. I was hoping it was there because I’d not moved a mountain thingy in a long time, but no. The web came back the next day, so I sprayed the area with some bug stuff. I also sprayed the mountain thingy just in case the spider was living in it. I’m happy to say, no more cobwebs. ;0)
I might not be good at dusting, but I am good at bug begone. ;0)
Aw, you’re welcome – I’m glad I stopped by too, thank you for stopping by here to say hi and to share your thoughts on dust and bug removal. I’m relentless when it comes to bug removal – I can’t stand them in the house either! 🙂
Yeah! This is my home, go some place else and make your home. ;0)
Yay!!! I agree!!
I’ve always whined to my husband about how much easier my life would be without dust and having to dust!! In fact, that just might be one of my first questions upon arriving to heaven…. “Just what IS the purpose of dust anyway?!” LOL! I’ve had an empty nest for several years now but a lot of my kids’ “stuff” is still here. They say they don’t have the room for it and that’s probably true. Guess I really need to just box it all up and toss it in the basement.
That’s funny – I’d love to hear the answer to the question! LOL! Kids and their stuff – in retrospect their stuff seemed to grow faster than they did. Someday, they’ll take the stuff or they’ll toss it, or they’ll have kids and we can give it to them! PS – Thanks for stopping by – it is so nice to hear from you :-)!
Dust. Oh man. Big PITA around here. We live on a gravel road. Was suppose to be paved by now. I’d never give up my collections because of dust. The dust is going to be here no matter what. I might as well be dusting something I love.
I love how you have prioritized dust in your life :-)!
It’s kind of an acceptance I guess. I did figure out that a soft, cheap 1″ paint brush works great for getting dust out of hard to reach places. Like grooves & recesses in figurines.
So true – that’s a clever way to clean them though, thanks for the tip!!