What are your.... (warning.household question)

Having a party is the best incentive for giving the house a thorough clean!
I gave a little birthday lunch for a friend yesterday and invited all the neighbours, and the house was absolutely sparkling as I spent all weekend making sure the neighbours wouldn't have anything to gossip about afterwards!
The party went well, but I'm absolutely shattered today...

I like housework but wish the effect lasted longer.

Although I used to enjoy cooking, I'm really fed up with it now.

phoenix that is brilliant, but I have to admit to having worked out the vacuum decoy at least 20 years ago!
I shall now impart my Slut's Guide to Dusting.

Buy a telescopic washable fluffy duster, the largest softest and longest one you can find (Amazon for mine), mine extends to 3 metres.

Stand in the centre of the room. Move slowly in a circle, dusting as you go. It also does up to the top of the stairwell, I used to have to prop a ladder up to get at the lovely black cobwebs draped from the spotlights. Twice a year is sufficient for this activity. Before xmas and once you have stopped lighting fires.

I would love a robot vacuum cleaner but I already possess an exensive one and as it only gets used about once a month it will be hard to justify getting a new one. I had only just bought it when the little roombas came out and I could have cried.

Another Slut's Tip - never ever have dark blue carpets. They show up everything. Buy a nice heathery type mottled pattern instead. I have stripey stair carpets, they are brilliant.

slutrowena

I am with grannyactivist I actually quite like cleaning .

There is nothing gives me more pleasure (slight exaggeration) than cleaning out a messy cupboard. I love the feeling of organisation. I also enjoy arranging/re-arranging furniture and decorating (well wallpapering) is one of my favourite pastimes.

I find mops are very good for cleaning high up places. I have a mop for every room, as I don't like using the kitchen mop for the bathroom and my utility room often has doggy accidents happen, so that has it's own mop, but a special, always kept dry mop is for cleaning walls. When they're due for replacing I keep one in case of any blockages, so they can be thrown away afterwards. [I'm so anal ].

Glad it's not just me Tegan (the anal bit)

When I quietly point out nag my DD about her messy house she always says that "she has a life" and "she is not anal like me"

Its beautifully tidy at the moment by the way as I have only just finished helping her do it doing it from top to bottom.

Another sluts tip. Make sure all your furniture is on legs so that you can, when necessary, vacuum under it without having to move it. The exception is bookcases, that should have the bottom shelf on the floor and stand against a wall and are not moved until you move out of the house.

janerowena does anything ever get broken when you do that? Are three metre long mops just a little bit difficult to control?

The picture I have of you doing that is very funny!!!

Just don't get giddy and fall on the cat.

3 metres? Reminds me of that man that walked across those two buildings in New York on a tightrope [not sure why, though].

Not sure how that dusting method would work for me, I have a collection of candlesticks on the mantelpiece!

FlicketyB not quite with you there, surely furniture with no legs can stay un-hovered under unless you are moving house? My suggestion in the sluts charter re moving furniture only applies to sofas and arm chairs, and they only need to be moved a little bit away from the walls to give the right impression!

Thoroughly dislike the fact that, like painting the Forth Bridge, it all has to be done again! Boring!

Candlesticks phoenix me too, lovely to look at but.........

I loathe and detest ironing and sewing buttons on to shirts.

Yes, OGM they have to be cleaned from time to time!

Ostrich feathers are very lightweight. Just enough to shift the dust. Never mind where it shifts it to.

The duster is brilliant and very gentle, it has to be as I have rather a lot of knick-knacks, which some day soon I am going to quietly start disposing of purely to make dusting even easier. No, I wouldn't do my collection of glass candlesticks. Do we all have them or something? I thought I was at least moderately original! I have a dozen or so, I wash them a couple of times a year. But for ceilings, walls, the main beam, mirrors, top of and face of tv, windowsills, pictures, light fittings, skirting boards, sturdier ornaments and things it's fine. Also wooden venetian blinds.

They seemed to have stopped the three metre version, but I rarely use that so this is cheaper but the same

www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Valet-299245-Dust-Genie/dp/B001P823CO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kh_1

I have to admit to doing the odd proper dust, which really does only occur twice a year, but this thing is fantastic for a quick dust the rest of the year. As I am rather arthriticky it saves me a lot of bending.

The candlesticks on the mantelpiece are all metal ones, the silver double one in the centre is a swine to clean! On either side of the mirror I have piano candleholders, the sort that you can swing out? I have been looking for more of these for years, with no luck.

At the other end of the room, on an old blanket box, there is a collection of glass and pottery ones.

Ooooh another addict... I love the piano ones, I do have a pretty wall bracket one of wrought iron, painted cream, a couple of brass wall ones too. I have a huge silver mirrored glass one, a tall wrought iron one in the fireplace, some victorian china ones, a couple of brass, loads of lanterns that hold candles or tealight holders. I also have several hundred candles in boxes. I think it dates back to just after the hurricane in Kent, when we were without power for a couple of weeks or more, as we were right at the end of the line in the middle of nowhere. I bet you would find the piano ones in an antique shop in Horncastle, if you took the time to search for them. There are a couple of vast warrens there where I don't think the owners have a clue what they have.

Phoenix and Jane, mine are odd cut glass ones bought for very little at fairs when I went thro' the collecting cut glass phase! They sit on the mantle piece together with a small collection of ruby glass, and have deep pink candles to match, it was an 'arrangement' I made one Christmas and has remained there ever since.

It sounds lovely.

Thanks Jane, I like it, except when it is time to dust

I forgot to add the 2 large iron ones in the fireplace, 1 only holds 1 candle, but the other takes 3 large pillar candles.

jane you're probably tight about Horncastle, but it's a pretty long way from Devon!