Things that make me go AHHHHCHOOOO. Fall allergies (for some, me included) can be as aggravating as springtime allergies.

My allergies can be blamed on many things. Starting outside. The fires in Canada, Washington, and Idaho have made being outside nasty. ALTHOUGH! The haze and smoke do make for some beautiful photographs. The air quality is horrible and does cause my eyes to water and at times have me coughing up a storm.

When the smoke gets so bad you escape into the house……… HA! I just made a funny!! Inside the house, it is worse. Hello! Have you met Miss Bear? The 120-pound shedding machine, Bernese Mountain Dog. Same as the fire photographs Miss Bear is super photogenic. She is so SWEET!! But, I swear you’ve never seen so much hair left behind her as she walks. I don’t understand how she isn’t bald!! As embarrassing as the last photo is….. the stairs down to the craft room after 4 days!! LOOK at all that hair!!! (AND that’s the better set of stairs….. I refuse to show you the upper stairs. NOPE!! NOPE!)

Ohhhhh Miss Bear is not the only allergy culprit in our house. NOPE!! Our house is FULL of them. (I could be on the next Hoards TV show)

I visited the Mayo Clinic to learn about ways to combat allergies in your home. Here are some highlights that stood out to me.

• Clutter. Remove items that collect dust, such as knickknacks, tabletop ornaments, books, and magazines. Store children’s toys, games, and stuffed animals in plastic bins.

Okay, NO!! I’m not giving up my knickknacks (seriously?!?! My head would explode!!) I know my weird collections aren’t for everyone, but they make me SO happy!! Y’all want me HAPPY RIGHT!??!

We all know I am NOT going to dust every day.  I have crafting to do. My house is lucky if I dust once a month. (Remember we live on a mountain with dirt roads. It’s a losing battle). When I dust my collections, I use canned air. HA!! I’m BRILLIANT right?!?!?

• Flooring. Remove carpeting and use hardwood or linoleum flooring and washable area rugs. If that isn’t an option, use low-pile instead of high-pile carpeting and vacuum weekly with a vacuum cleaner that has a small-particle or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Shampoo the carpet often.

We y’all know if I’m not going to dust, then I’m also NOT going to vacuum every day either. HOWEVER, every morning our little Robot Vacuums come on.  Bob (he’s on the main floor) Alfred (he’s in the master bedroom) Hazel (she’s in the craft room Alice (she’s in the extra bedrooms)! See?? I’m working smarter, NOT harder.  You’ll see that Alfred has band-aides on him. He has those annoying blue lights. I can’t sleep with the blue lights. UGH!! (I KNOW! I am High maintenance!) Alice, I created fun vinyl decorations. I haven’t gotten around to decorating the others. Ideas?? Anyone??

Say WHAT??

• Fireplaces. Avoid the use of wood-burning fireplaces or stoves because smoke and gases can worsen respiratory allergies. Most natural gas fireplaces won’t cause this problem.

The real list continues ON AND ON. I’m not doing all these things.

So WHY WHINE??

I know, you’re thinking ‘Then what is the point of all this WHINING!?’ Well, it certainly wasn’t to confess that I am a horrible housekeeper. It’s not even to confess that I’m a hoarder of the weird and fun knickknacks. It is to share ONE SUPER easy AND extremely helpful thing that we ALL can and SHOULD do!!