Clear plastic containers are best — they lock fibers in and dust out and let you see what's inside. When you dust, they're easy to pull off the shelves and wipe clean.
Reduce Closet Dust, Plus a Nightly Tidy-Up Habit
Closets are dust reservoirs, full of tiny fibers from clothes, towels, and bedding. Every time you open the door, you whip up an invisible dust storm. You can't prevent clothes from shedding fibers, but you can make closets easier to keep clean and vastly cut down on dust.
Box or Bag Items on Shelves
Enclose the Clothes You Rarely Wear
Those coats you wear only in winter shed fibers year-round. Slip garment bags or large garbage bags over them to contain fibers and keep the clothes themselves from becoming coated with dust.
Keep Closet Floors Clear
If the floor is cluttered, chances are you'll just bypass it while vacuuming. A wide-open floor adds only a few seconds to the vacuuming chore, and a wire shelf lets you clear shoes off the floor without losing storage space.
Conduct a Nightly Tidy-Up
Every night, take a laundry basket on a tour of your house and pick up anything that's out of place — you don't have to put it away right then. If there are more than two people in your household, separate the day's clutter into assigned baskets for each family member to put away daily or weekly. With this routine, you'll wake up to a decluttered living room and a tidy kitchen, and start your day fresh.
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This edition is part of the Genius House Hacks archive — 20+ years of tips, rebuilt from the original Handy Hints newsletter. Browse more hacks →