I have the same dog situation. I don't even want to stop them, they have so much fun running up and down the stairs to retrieve their toys. I also have that exact red Dirt Devil hand vac, but I never use it for stairs because it won't get NEAR the corners and edges. Not too great anywhere else either. The worst thing is I don't even have an outlet anywhere near the stairs. I actually tried sweeping them, yes, with a broom, and that worked OK. It's deep-pile carpet, so I had to sweep vigorously. This only makes them look clean, it doesn't suction any dirt out, but since the carpet is old and soon to be replaced, I don't care. It's a quick way to clean them up. Otherwise, I get an extension cord and use the attachment in my Miele canister, which is AWESOME. It gets deep into any crevice and grabs everything. It's the tool with little red felt lint-grabber strips.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work! I can't help you as I still have a little ol' Broan that uses mesh filters, which I put in the dishwasher. Is your hood working properly, meaning is any grease getting to the cabinets, ceiling, etc?

Sweeby, that's a good idea. Mine are all in one big bag, but if I put the Christmas bags together, I could actually save more closet space. Meg, what "we" could do is hang them on nice hooks on a wall out of sight and hang the bag of bags on the hook! Oh, and then buy a really pretty bag to hold the one's inside. :)

Interesting, I use ProMix BX and it comes as dry as a popcorn's toot. I actually use a tote and pre-wet an amount that I think I will need at the time. If any is left over I just leave the tote open and it air dries like it would in a pot. I don't do things days in advance as I am not that good at planning when I will have time to sow and since I use heat mats for germination I don't worry about the temperature of the mix as it will be warm within hours. The mix being slightly damp makes it easier to work with and it doesn't move as much when I mist fine seeds to have them make contact with the mix. Nice reading about different ways as I am always into changing things up for the better. SCG