Kitsch.
Oh how I love that word. Along with tchotchke. (Which my spell-check says isn’t a word but Wikipedia says is.)
I first heard and said “kitsch” in an audition monologue I used to do in college. In case you’re not familiar with these lovely words, they basically mean . . . stuff.
Baubles. Display items.
Dustables.
I don’t have tons of dustables (on purpose) but I do have a rather lovely collection of blue glass kitsch. (Which isn’t really kitsch since kitsch technically means distasteful or hokey. I just like saying kitsch. Can you tell how much I like that word? Kitsch?)
Anyway . . . stuff in the kitchen gets the worst kind of dust. It gets greasy dust. Which can’t be gently brushed away with a feather duster while dancing through the kitchen. Not that I use a feather duster.
So to dust kitchen items, I run anything that’s dishwasher safe through the dishwasher. I know. So insanely simple, right? So obvious, right? Except that it took me a while to realize it. So I’m sharing.
It’s not perfect.
My kitsch could have been even shinier if I had hand-washed, and I wouldn’t do this with hand-painted, not-safe-for-the-dishwasher stuff, but I was able to run one little extra load and have my kitchen display area (which I despise dealing with due to its insanely-hard-to-get-to location) look significantly better.
That’s my kind of spring cleaning.
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--Nony
This is a great “series”. I love your easy Spring Cleaning task ideas 🙂
Dustables…..now that is a great word!!! I’m going to share that one with my mom. I HATE dusting….probably more than washing dishes….
LOL. I don’t know how to pronounce either of those words. Please tell me how so I can start using them, too!
Kich and choch-keys. Enjoy your new vocabulary!!
Kitsch in the kitchen. How appropriate. I love those Yiddish words too. And I love my kitsch when it’s been freed of greasy dust.
I have a friend who calls dust “protective covering”. So there! When my boys were teenagers, they would walk past the piano on the way to the kitchen and run their fingers through the dust. While I hate the dust, I hate finger marks in in worse. I finally said, he who runs his fingers through the dust will remove all kitsch/tchotchkes (I probably said “stuff”) from the piano and dust THE ENTIRE THING. No more finger marks, ever!
I like protective covering! Your friend is a genius. 😀
Totally LOVE the idea of dusting in the dishwasher! I need to remember to do this with some of my Christmas decorations. 😀
I have guinea pigs who must have hay 24/7 for their health. That creates sooo much more dust than I ever had before! I don’t mind dusting, just never get around to it. I love your blog and it helps me to get around to cleaning!
I have been doing this for years — “dusting” in the dishwasher. I also have colbalt glass pieces, as well as a “dust-maker” wood-burning stove (we have a log cabin). A little vinegar in the dishwasher rinse-aid dispenser might give you the shine!
Well, now, do I have a nice gift for YOU. Hear this: I recently discovered that using Murphy’s Oil Soap gets that greasy dusty nasty kitchen residue off all those items EASILY. Like….REALLY amazingly easily.
It also does very well with the stove grates.
This has been a life-changing discovery for me. Try it! I’m anxious to see what you think.
Something else that works wonderfully well, and costs even less is rubbing alcohol. It cleans the stove hood like magic!
Murphy’s oil soap, I gotta try that.
I also hate dusting, however the other day I did dust, first time in a long time, but I didn’t dust the top of my dresser in the bedroom, because it has so many cute things on it, I have to take them all off, before I can properly dust. What do I do with them? I do like them. Any suggestions?
Housework can’t kill you, but why take the risk? – Phillis Dyler
Good idea! I use the dishwasher for plastic toys too. I the UK I think kitcsh has a slightly different meaning – it means stuff hat is ugly or in poor taste but ironically appreciated for that!
Hi! I’d rotate things you like- maybe 1/2 out at a time? I’ve meant to do that with my china cabinet.
That was meant for Anita!
See below
Last year I discovered that using Murphy’s Oil Soap worked WONDERFULLY on greasy kitchen stuff.
Dusting with the dishwasher is smart! Another one is to cut greasy dust (eg. especially on cupboard doors, etc. ) with vegetable oil first. Put some oil on a cloth or paper towel and wipe down the surface. It sort of melts the grease which you can the. Easy clean with whatever kitchen cleaner you prefer. It saved me a ton of time when I was moving and had to de-grease every surface in my kitchen.