Over or under? Before or after?

The never ending dilemma is do I vacuum before or after I dust? What is the proper protocol? I posted this as my facebook status today to see what my fabulous friends do.

In my home I vacuum first. I do this is because we have 5 indoor dogs and two indoor cats. The dogs track in dust & dirt & the cats I am sure have traces of litter on their paws., even though we use clumping litter. When I vacuum dust gets stirred around and lands on my end tables, etc. It would be absurd to dust first and have the vacuum stir up dust.

What do you use to deodorize your carpet and rugs? I sprinkle baking soda on my carpet, let it sit for about 5-10 minutes & then vacuum it up. To freshen the couches, drapes and other fabrics I make my own "Febreeze" mixing 4 parts water to one part liquid fabric softener & two tablespoons baking soda. I would love to replace the fabric softener with an essential oil or other fragrance. I don't want to damage our furniture, drapes, etc. Do you any of you know of a natural, non chemically, yummy smelling deodorizer? Keep in mind, we have pets.

We are in the middle of remodeling the whole back part of our house. Once we are finished there will be NO carpeting on our main floor. I'm pretty stoked about that. Poor Ken has allergies up the wazoo. Both seasonal & pet. Bare floors will be so much better and easier to clean. Carpet traps in so much dirt...even if you are an avid vacuum-er like myself.

One more thing that has to be a certain way in my home is the toilet paper. It must, and I mean MUST be dispensed in the over position. Never under....NEVER. In fact, if I go to your house or anywhere that I use the ladies room I will change it to the proper position. No, I won't look in your cabinets and be a snoop. But I will change the roll.

My reasoning for this is....we all know why we go to grab the tp.....why would we want it on the wall!!! By having it in the under position you are being forced to touch your bathroom hands on your wall...DISGUSTING!!!

One more thing to add to the previous one more thing...sprinkling the bathtub with baking soda and then spraying with vinegar gets out all those hard water stains, disinfects & leaves everything all sparkly and fresh =)

p.s. I hope you don't leave your toothbrush on the sink...Where is your toothbrush? Perched on the bathroom sink? Then let's hope you don't mind brushing your teeth with toilet water. Not to gross you out, but, check out the May issue of Prevention, they reported on 16 alarming, germ-breeding spots that are a whole lot nastier that you might have imagined.

Take your commode: There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at University of Arizona. When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 FEET, settling on the floor, the sink, and yes, your toothbrush. Shutting the lid, of course, is probably a smart move, but at the very least, put anything that goes inside your mouth behind closed doors (your medicine cabinet will do just fine).

On that note, I am off to clean.