Dusting the house is one of those chores that is never ending in my house. The only way I can keep up with it, is to narrow down the items that require dusting, keeping surface clutter to a minimum and vacuuming (or having the kids vacuum) on a regular basis.
The hardest areas to keep clean are tables and window shelves. I don’t know what it is about a window shelf that is so inviting. It just screams to be decorated with rocks gathered on a recent walk and other memorabilia from my children's younger years. When my little girl was in kindergarten, there wasn’t a day that went by without her precious little hands picking up a perfect pebble to bestow upon my window ledge. As the kids grew, these rocks got bigger and more beautiful. There are also countless school projects and the pictures they drew of the blackened hills around our home after the first grass fire they experienced. And yes, drawings gather dust too.
There is no way that I could refer to these "gifts of memory" as clutter. Each one is as precious to me now as the day they gave it to me. Yet they still gather dust.
However, I have figured out some creative ways to cherish these otherwise dust-collecting gems:
- Hang special pictures inside of cupboard doors. They won’t draw as much dust, fade less and you will see them often.
- Give drawings, paintings and pictures to others as gifts.
- Scan and blog about the art project or special item.
Now that my son has graduated and my daughter is close behind, I have to make room for the next wave of precious memorabilia. I’ve gathered all the pebbles and stones together and put them into other sentimental containers. The pictures that were gathering dust have been scanned and scrapbooked. And yes, there are a couple that haven’t been moved.