There is no easy solution. You can try to keep as much of the sand as possible from entering your house (e.g., mats at all entryways), and try to pick up as much as you can with filtration systems, but the stuff is still going to be there. For cleaning dust around windows, I prefer using a vacuum cleaner and the round brush attachment. The ideal solution would be a whole house vacuum sytem. With a whole house system, you move from room to room with the hose and wand, switching between the floor attachment and the round brush for the blinds and window sills. You can do the same with a canister vacuum. One thing that will make the work go faster is not placing furniture in front of the windows. If you have to move anything so that you can get to the window to clean it, you have added significantly to the time you spend cleaning.

djsaw - I have 1" JC Penny basswood white blinds on all my windows and I get extremely good light when in the "open" position. I feel that because they are 1" instead of the 2", there is less bulk on the windows, thus allowing more light to filter in. The clear tilt wand works great to open and close. I have had these blinds up for 4 years and they still look like new. The White Silk matched my White Dove trim paint perfectly. Ratherbesewing - Like you, I have double-hung all wood windows with very little recession, but the 1" wood mounted great. There was a little variance in the depth of some of my windows (old house, replacements made over time, etc). Some probably didn't even have a full 1" recession. On one I remember we were only able to put screws in the two back holes instead of all four on the mounted holders, but you can't tell it. If you have 1" aluminum blinds mounted inside, these definitly will work nicely. Tuesday Here is a link that might be useful: JCP 1 inch blinds

I have 2" white wood blinds on all my windows-that would be 21 throughout the house(!). I had mine done by a local independent window company because some of the windows are so large I needed multiple blinds with a very particular configuration. I didn't trust myself to measure and install those. However, if your windows are simple one-blind affairs I would suggest ordering and installing yourself. As others have said it isn't hard to do. I also have wood blinds on french doors, and am replacing smaller ones with 2" wood. I got a recommendation from this forum to try ordering from justblinds.com, and they seem like a very good source. The price was the cheapest, the blinds came quickly and they look perfect. Haven't installed them yet but so far, so good. Check this site out, you may find you can get what you want cheaper than buying locally. Justblinds beat out my indie vendor, as well as several other local companies and Home Depot. Here is a link that might be useful: Just Blinds

I love my 2 inch faux wood blinds from Select Blinds. Excellent quality, service and pricing.