June 17, 2021, 9:27 am | Read time: 2 minutes
The hand broom is in place, but the dustpan is nowhere to be found, and getting out the vacuum cleaner seems too exhausting right now? No problem, a simple trick can help.
Hand brooms and dustpans are practical for small messes that don’t warrant plugging in the vacuum cleaner. The only problem: Sweeping often stirs up dust, causing it to fly off the dustpan and spread around the room. Another homemade problem: Not being able to find the dustpan at all. There’s a solution for both, allowing you to sweep up dirt without a dustpan or stirring up dust.
Sweeping Without a Dustpan–How Does It Work?
The only requirement for this emergency trick is having either paper towels or, for sustainability, a reusable cleaning cloth on hand. The approach itself is quite simple: Moisten one edge of the paper or cloth and place it on the floor so that the damp edge is directly against the dirt. Now you can sweep the dust onto the paper, which acts like a dustpan. The moisture ensures that dust and debris stick and aren’t stirred up into the air.
Afterward, fold the dry side over the damp side to “trap” the dirt, and wipe the floor again with the clean, dry side. Done! Tips on how to avoid stirring up dust while sweeping can be found in this article.