I used to dust blinds by wiping each slat with a rag, which meant doing one slat, sneezing, doing another, sneezing again. Twenty slats of misery and half the dust just floated off and settled back down.

Then I saw a cleaning lady slip an old sock over her hand like a mitten and wipe the whole blind in one long swipe.

The trick

Dampen an old sock slightly, pull it over your hand, and pinch each slat between your thumb and fingers. Drag your hand down the whole blind in one pass. The sock grabs dust instead of flicking it into the air, which is the whole problem with a dry rag.

Make it even faster

• Close the blinds flat first. Then wipe the whole surface as one panel, flip, and do the other side.
• For stubborn buildup, a quick spritz of vinegar water on the sock cuts through the film.
• Do it top-down so any dust you do miss falls to the slats you haven’t cleaned yet.

It’s maybe sixty seconds a window now, and I don’t dread the chore the way I used to. The sock goes in the wash and comes back ready for next week.