This post may contain affiliate links.  That means that if you purchase a product I've recommended, it won't cost you any more, but I may receive a small commission.  I only will share products I believe in and all opinions are my own.  You can view my disclosure policy here.  Thank you so much for helping to support this blog!Using a vacuum cleaner in a (trying to get close to) zero waste home can be challenging, if you don’t have a bagless vacuum. Here’s what I’ve discovered over the years about reducing vacuum cleaning waste from my household: Skip the Vacuum Cleaner Altogether? Don’t stop reading because you think I’ve gone too far here. I can attest to the fact that in places where vacuum cleaners don’t exist, brooms can definitely do the trick! You just need a really great stiff broom for picking up the dirt. And, there’s no method better than taking your carpet outside and shaking it or beating it with a broom. If you have wall-to-wall carpet, I guess you’re out of luck, but a good stiff broom can do wonders.

I’ve had a few house cleaners help me in my day, and I’m always amazed to see how many of them choose to use the vacuum cleaner without first sweeping up the wooden floor. Broom and dustpan are the fastest route to frugal and zero waste floor-cleaning. I even have a cool collection of brooms I’ve gathered from all over the planet. In my travels to homes far from the conveniences of electricity and vacuums, I’ve witnessed the cleaning of rugs and carpets the old-fashioned-and-often-much-cleaner-way. Soft brooms sweep the often dirt floors, and stiff brooms are used to sweep the carpets. I’m amazed at how efficient they are so we use a broom on our carpets much of the time. My Favorite Broom, Natural & Sustainable, Great for Wood Floors, Photo © Liesl Clark Outside, we have a game of trying to shake a carpet with a partner on the other end and see who gets shaken-off first.We used to have a vacuum we loved, but it came with bags that fill up and must be thrown out….or do they?

After accumulating a few full bags, tossing ’em, and buying more (they’re expensive!) I discovered it was almost as easy to empty them into our brush pile outside and reuse them! We’d reuse our bags at least 30 times. Emptying the vacuum cleaner bags is an opportunity my children fight over. Especially when we find a long-lost (and favorite) plastic baby goat in there. Those little baubles that get sucked up by the vacuum are given a second life.mach air force pet vacuum cleaner See How Fun It Is? motor driven vacuum cleanerPhoto © Liesl Clarkbosch vacuum cleaner vs miele Now, a very ecologically-sound friend of mine says, “No, No! don’t empty those vacuum-cleaner bags because the dust and dirt in your home is toxic from the detritus that comes from your asbestos-bearing furniture or PVC and BPA-laden rugs.”

I do respect her point, but I have to argue that our own dirt off our shoes is likely from the garden, our furniture is almost all made of natural materials, our home is recycled old timbers, and our carpets are antique natural-fiber carpets from Tibet and Egypt that we’ve bought from people we know, colored with vegetable dyes. I think we’re pretty safe. But this is not to say that everyone is safe to dump out their vacuumed dust into the environment. But aren’t our landfills part of our environment? My Full Vacuum Cleaner Bag, Photo © Liesl Clark I often empty our vacuum cleaner dust into our compost bin, except we find myriad little plastic bits from art projects that I try to take out by hand and throw back into the art bin (truly.) If you think your home and furniture (including mattresses) are mostly plastic-free, the dump-out-your-vacuum-bag-contents method of frugal vacuuming might be for you. Dusting the Compost & Pulling the Plastic Out Later, Photo © Liesl Clark

Otherwise, there are bagless vacuums on the market these days. We’ve just acquired one, so our days of bag saving are over and we just dump our floor dust right into the compost. These days, it’s mostly dog and cat hair. I’d love to hear what you do with the dust and dirt from your home? Fun with vacuum cleaner bags, Photo © Liesl Clark Please note: If you have allergies or a particular sensitivity to dust, wearing a handkerchief or just mask around your mouth and nose is advised. Another friend empties her vacuum particulates into a plastic bag first, and then dumps it into her compost, to prevent the dust particles from escaping into the air. Shaking  out your vacuum cleaner bag is fun, especially when you know you’re defying the marketing department of your vacuum cleaner company. And, hey, you might find your lost wedding ring or favorite bauble for the effort. Fun Emptying Vacuum Cleaner Bags, Photo © Liesl Clark My garage is mainly used for storage and, over many years, has become full of dust, cob webs, etc.

I would like to use an area for exercise, but am concerned about the amount of dust in the garage (being breathed in). I don't think using a vacuum cleaner is wise, since the garage is full of loose nuts and bolts and the floor is unsmoothed concrete. I began to use a brush to clean the walls and roof structs, but figured it would take too long as a lot of the dust falls on other items in the garage (and it's difficult to get to the top of the roof). So my question is, what is the best way to remove as much dust as possible, given that I cannot use a vacuum cleaner and cannot remove anything currently stored. Buy/rent a shop vac. Start from the ceiling and work your way to the floor. Repeat the process as may times as you need until you are satisfied with the results (allow time between repeats so that disturbed dust is allowed to settle). Once done, sift through the contents of the shop vac's collection canister and remove any thing you want to keep. If you're concerned about breathing in the dust while cleaning, get a good respirator/dust mask and use it while vacuuming.

It sorta sounds like you want it clean without cleaning. You're not going to be able to solve a problem with dust without getting everything out of there, at least temporarily, and cleaning it top to bottom. Sweep, vacuum then hose it out. If you can remove the dust out of the garage and not really care where it ends up a good solution is to use a leaf blower. I do this in my wood shop from time to time to get rid of sawdust that has accumulated in hard to reach places. Also, anything heavy generally won't get blown around too much if you don't focus the air stream on the item. 1) Gather the small parts, then vacuum. Sweeping with a magnet may be worth considering. Since you're going to vacuum later, you don't have to be precise about this; you just want to get anything that will damage the vacuum or that you will really mind losing. 2) Or use a shop vac and resign yourself to losing those small parts. If you really cared about them you'd have picked them up when you dropped them.

If they're still on the floor, they're trash; admit it to yourself and just get the job done. (In case it isn't obvious, this is the one I would recommend. Among other things, a shop vac is a good investment if you have a garage or workshop or other places which generate the sort of larger/sharper trash you wouldn't want to risk your household vac on... and they can be used to gather sawdust directly from many small tools.) 3) Or go overboard and rig some sort of separator in the shop vac's input to try to automatically rescue solid objects out of the dirt. Centrifugal, deflection screen, whatever's within your abilities to build. This will almost certainly be more trouble than it's worth right now, but if you expect to continue dropping stuff on the floor and then ignoring it until dust has piled up, it might be a worthwhile investment. Though it would probably cost you more (in both parts and effort) than it could possibly rescue. Your local home improvement store should carry a product known as "sweeping compound".