Spring is around the corner, and for many people in Germany that means it’s the time for the big spring-cleaning. I, on the other hand, gave up a long time ago, trying to compete against the dust bunnies that always seem to be so much faster than my ability to keep up with them – or should I say, get rid of them?

It’s true. Where in Germany it takes two weeks for the dust to seriously collect on the furniture’s surfaces, here, all it takes is two days. I kid you not! It gets especially bad in the winter, and I was told that is because of all the coal being burned and the weather being so extremely dry. But even in the summer it can be just as frustrating. Especially for “balcony owners” such as me! One time, I cleaned up a glass table in the morning to sit outside and enjoy some morning sun. I left that table out all day, and when I went to take it in at night – it had a nice, neat layer of dust on it again. That was just ONE day! And that is how I learned that you better make friends with those little dust bunnies, or they will drive you crazy!