Incomer Musings...

By Louise Froggett

Housework is not my favourite thing to do. I do try to stay on top of it, cleaning things on a regular basis so the job does not become onerous. Except for the bathrooms, which always feel like punishment, I can put on a reasonably good face, and get it done. Except for dusting…dust defeats me.

I cannot figure out where all the dust comes from. Maybe it’s the salt in the air, and the wind, who knows! Every single day, I sadly gaze upon my furniture that looks like it’s been in storage for six months. I have modified my dusting materials, my dusting method (start high and work down, then vacuum like crazy) but nothing really seems to work. The biggest horror though, is the dust on the wine rack.

The wine rack holds 30 bottles and stands in the corner of the bedroom. For the last month, there has been a green towel draped over it, trying to protect it, but to no avail. When I go to retrieve a bottle, I wipe my hand over the label to see what I’m holding. Then I rub the bottle on my sleeve and dust elephants leap off. Then, finally, I drag the bottle on the carpet. Merlot. Yes, that will be fine for dinner.

Yesterday, I decided my haphazard efforts were seriously inefficient, and vacuuming was in order. I unloaded the wine rack, laying the bottles on the carpet, and then lifted the rack out of the corner. There was dust on the wall and all along the baseboard, so I dealt with that first. Then I tried to vacuum the wine rack. Well, the duster attachment doesn’t really fit into the bottle spaces and the metal slats were digging into my hands as I tried to wiggle the rack into better positions. So, I gave up and got an old rag, dampened it, and stuffed it into the spaces. Now, my hands smelled like dust, as did the entire rack. I tried vacuuming it again as I became more and more fed up with the entire process. Sadly, I very quickly arrived at the point of “good enough”.

So I put the rack back into the corner, wiped down each of the bottles and put them back in. Even though I draped the green towel over it again, I’m probably only good for about a week. Then, it will all look like it’s been in storage for six months, once again.