Growing up — all the dads in the neighborhood had leaf blowers and were obsessed with blowing leaves around. I have become one of them.
Actually, I think my newest obsession is just moving air. Here are some of my favorite ways to move air.
- Dyson Stick Vacuum. We got the v11 animal (I think?) and frankly I think Dyson has too many models of vacuums to pick from. But we got ours on sale at Costco and I love this thing. It’s battery operated and we put ours in the kitchen. Our old vacuum cleaner was a chore to move around, so it was a big production to vacuum the house. Not this portable little Dyson. It’s right there, super easy to carry to anywhere that we need it, and it does a great job on both our hard floors and rugs. I wouldn’t say that we vacuum any more consistently then before, but anytime I notice a problem (crumbs on the floor, dog hair on the couch, whatever) — it takes about 45 seconds to solve — so we are spot cleaning WAY more then before. (Pro tip: check the Dyson renewed store for deals)
- Electric leaf blower. This thing came in a kit of electric tools we bought from Home Depot. This thing is AMAZING. It’s way quieter than the gas powered ones that our neighbors have. And since we live on a corner lot, we have a lot of sidewalk. Usually I’m blowing leaves from the gutters and sidewalks on to our yard (because leaf mulch is so good for the soil!). I’m also frequently using this to quickly clean the dirt that accumulates in our garage, or blow leaves off the trampoline, or whatever. Since it came in a kit, it’s not a particularly powerful leaf blower and I’m thinking of upgrading to one of the higher powered ones.
- Air duster. I have had other dusters, including a battery operated one, but this one is more expensive and it plugs in. That makes it slightly more inconvenient but my gosh this thing is SUPER powerful. In high mode, I’m pretty sure this thing is more powerful than those cans of compressed air. I like using this to dust things like our plants, ceiling fans, regular fans (the one in our bedroom was getting SO gross), keyboards, vents, and surfaces. Then I’ll follow up a few minutes later by running the vacuum cleaner across the floor to pick up all the dust that settled on the ground.
Okay I might be obsessed with moving air. This doesn’t even count the whole house fan we use over the summer (which is GREAT for saving on A/C), or the fact that my ecobee has a built in air quality sensor that is making me think we should get an air purifier to cut down on the dust and improve air-quality inside.