Will the world come to an end if we don't dust our homes? I was thinking about doing a survey of women, simply because most men don't see dust and if they do don't see it as a problem, about whether or not they like to dust and how often the task is completed. I am convinced there is a correlation between the two.
I recognize there are medical reasons for people to keep dust at a minimum and for those people I would happily dust were they to visit my home. I am talking about the rest of us or at least the percentage of the population who are genetically capable of seeing dust and recognizing it as an issue. Do we really need to dust that often? Scientists have said that even the cleanest houses have microscopic bugs. I am not even going to discuss the critters we don't see that we ingest on a daily basis in our food and drink. So what if the furniture has a fine layer of dust on it? Of course one answer to that is keep the blinds drawn and the lights low so you cannot see it. Life is too short and there are too many other things to do in the world.
I run a duster over things every so often as I am walking past them, or when I'm on hold with some utility company. It is also one of the reasons we have hands - to send those dust bunnies flying as we go by. However, I would rather spend my time reading, dancing, sewing a gift for someone or knitting perhaps for charity than dust. That doesn't mean my home isn't clean. It may not be spotless but it is tidy. The kitchen, baths and Mojo's litter boxes are always clean. I simply dislike dusting. I have too many things, tchotchke if you will, and it takes too long. When I am changing things over seasonally I may dust. Though I shamefully admit; I have a chess set that was my father's in my dining room on the bottom shelf of my server and several of the pieces were knocked over during an earthquake we had in August, 2011. I didn't reset the pieces until I was home for Easter break. In my defense there are a lot of pieces and to dust them really well takes some time. I do not dust on a weekly basis. Life is too short to waste time and that is a waste of time.
Think about the act of dusting. What exactly are you doing? Using a object to pick up the dust. Well you aren't going to get it all so what happens the rest of it? It moves from one surface only to settle onto another. Then you vacuum. Most vacuums aren't perfect, the act of vacuuming creates dust. I read somewhere that if you have a cat you shouldn't vacuum right before a friend who is allergic to cats comes to visit because the act of vacuuming sends the dander flying through the air and makes it worse. So what does that tell you? Anyway, once these tasks are finished dust will return to surfaces right away. Unless your house is hermetically sealed, face it, you're gonna have to do it again. Seems like a lot of wasted energy to me.
So go have lunch with some friends, dance, knit or watch a sunset. These things are much more rewarding. The dust will still be there when you get home.
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