Today’s Homemaker

I don’t know why I feel like dusting today. Maybe because I’m already sneezing my head off every few minutes…a little more won’t hurt.

A friend of mine opened her own cleaning business a few years ago. I helped her out one summer, and she taught me several things about dusting (actually, she taught me everything I know about cleaning in general).

1. Use microfiber cloths (to be environmentally friendly) or paper towels. Sorry to all of you duster fanatics, but I’m not big on them. Dusters do not do a very good job, and if your house is more than a tiny bit dusty, you have to shake them out very frequently. Dusters ARE good for one thing though — blinds. The little feathers reach down into the cracks quite nicely.
2. Pledge makes the house smell really, really good. I used to wonder what “that smell” was when I walked into clean houses. It’s most likely Pledge or Endust. Remember this motto: Air Fresheners Do Not A Clean-Smelling House Make. Or AFDNACSHM for short.
3. Start from the top and work your way down. Ceiling, fan, windows, shelves, tables, baseboards. Actually, the baseboards can be saved for when you do the vacuuming, if you have the right attachment.
4. Vacuum or sweep afterward. I know. Technically, the challenge was to dust. But if you stirred up enough dirt, this really might be a necessity. Think of it as an upgrade.

That’s it…dusting’s really not that difficult, unless you have a lot of knick knack-y type things. I don’t, but I do have a lot of DVD cases in my den. The funny thing is, almost all of them say Blockbuster on them — I think we end up accidentally buying half of the movies we rent.

Anyway…dusting. You are going to feel like such a diva when you’re done. Or a…what’s a guy name for diva? That’s interesting. I don’t think there is one. Well, I know there are some guys who read this too, so you’re going to feel like…umm…a hottie? A guy any girl would kill to get her hands on? We should make a t-shirt for you. It would say “I clean.” That’s it. The ladies would flock to you, I promise.