I ignored my bedroom blinds for over a year. Not because I didn’t notice the dust — I noticed. Every morning when the sun hit them at the wrong angle, each slat looked like it was growing its own gray fur coat.

What stopped me was the thought of taking them down. The brackets. The cord. The fear that I’d never get them back up straight. So I found ways to clean blinds while they’re still hanging. None of them are perfect, but all of them are better than a gray fur coat.

The sock method (daily maintenance)

Put an old cotton sock on your hand like a puppet. Mix equal parts warm water and white vinegar in a bowl. Dip your sock-puppet hand in, wring it out so it’s damp not dripping, and run it along each slat. Your fingers naturally grip both sides of the slat at once.

This takes about three minutes for a standard window. Do it once a month and you’ll never have to deep clean.

The tongs method (for when you’ve been ignoring them)

Grab two microfiber cloths and a pair of kitchen tongs. Wrap a cloth around each tong arm and secure with rubber bands. Spray the cloths with your vinegar-water mix or a mild all-purpose cleaner. Now clamp the tongs around each slat and slide across.

Both sides of the slat get cleaned in one motion. It’s oddly satisfying. The tongs reach slats near the top that you’d otherwise need a step stool for.

For the truly neglected

If your blinds have that sticky kitchen grime — a mix of dust and cooking oil that regular wiping won’t touch — add a drop of dish soap to your vinegar water. The degreaser in the soap cuts through the sticky layer.

Test a hidden spot first if your blinds are wood. Water and wood don’t mix, so for wood blinds, use a barely-damp cloth and dry immediately with a second cloth. Wood blinds are the divas of window treatments.

The vacuum shortcut

Your vacuum’s brush attachment can handle light dust on blinds in seconds. Close the blinds flat, run the brush across horizontally, then flip them the other way and do the other side. This won’t handle stuck-on grime but it’ll knock off surface dust between proper cleanings.