Creative Choices

  Do you dread cleaning the oven, dusting, vacuuming, making the bed or doing dishes?  If you have the right appliances, an easy routine and have made the right choices for your environment, your cleaning chores will be a lot easier and less stressful.  Know yourself.  Don’t get carried away by the design shows on television or the pictures in the magazines.

For example, if your family includes furry pets, do you really want to “puddle” your draperies on the floor to catch every piece of dog or cat hair that floats by?  Don’t worry.  By next season that style will be gone, so stick with the classic window treatments and you won’t be overwhelmed with vacuuming every day.  If dusting is your challenge,  pick out furniture with clean lines and not a lot of ornate decoration and keep the “nic nacs”  to a minimum.    I do have a handy little helper gizmo to help you out with the dusting chore.  The bedroom can be your sanctuary or just another messy room.  If you dislike making the bed, then stick with bedding that is easy care and not a selection of multiple pieces complete with 14 toss pillows to put into place every day.  A coverlet that can be pulled up in a jiffy may be more your style.

I often chuckle at the youngsters looking for their first home on the “house hunting” shows.  They are looking for the stylish items that might also be a pain in the neck to clean.  Matching stainless appliances may look great in the showroom, but require extra fingerprint removal unless they have a treated surface.   Hardwood floors make their eyes sparkle, but they can be a real challenge to clean unless they are sealed properly.  I look at the current home or apartment they are living in, complete with clutter and dismal upkeep and wonder what this new home will look like in six months.

Gadgets, gizmos and appliances that work well will help you to keep your home in order.  I’m not a “cleaning nut” and in fact, I try to keep up as I go so that my house cleaning is at a minimum.  If everything is picked up, bed made, kitchen and bathroom clean, then I’m a happy camper.  Of course, getting cooperation and help from your family may be your biggest challenge, but it can be done.  Keeping clutter to a minimum will always make your home look tidy.

My Favorite New Gadget . . . The Go Duster

I love gadgets.  I especially like those “As Seen on TV” products, but I don’t order them off the commercial.  Many stores have a great selection of these items to purchase without the dreaded shipping and handling charges.

The Go Duster was a real bargain at $4.99.  It comes with both a small and large static duster attachment, runs on double A batteries and makes the dusting chore . . . no chore!  Try it out on your lampshades, silk flowers and all the legs of your dining chairs and you will be smitten.  My grandson calls it his “spinny duster” and loves to help grandma dust all the furniture.  You will cut your dusting time to 1/3 of the time it used to take to accomplish the task.   The smaller duster is perfect for all your electronics and figurines.  Quick, easy and stress free!