After washing windows, cleaning ceiling fans is my most hated chore. I usually end up with dust all over me and only slightly cleaner fan blades. Until recently, that is.

To clean your ceiling fan quickly, and without getting dust everywhere, try making a DIY cleaning tool using items you already own. All it takes is some rags, a pair of barbecue tongs and four rubber bands.

First, roll each arm of the tongs with a rag (old terry cloth towels work best) and secure them with rubber bands. Then, clamp the fan blade between the tong arms and drag the rags along the length of the blade. (Ladies and gents with long hair, the action is very much like styling your hair with a flat iron.)

With this technique, the top and bottom of the fan blade gets cleaned in one swipe. Better yet, the dust gets trapped in between the rags, so there's no dust flying in your face.