Window treatments can make a room feel lively and fresh--until they get dusty and dirty, that is. Unfortunately, cleaning blinds, drapes or shades is typically an unpleasant task that nobody really enjoys, so it gets put off until the layer of dirt gets pretty thick. Put an end to your dirty drapery issues with the tips below, which will show you the easiest way to clean each classically tough-to-clean style of window treatment in a flash.

Honeycomb and Other Grooved Shades

Try to wipe these shades off, and you'll spend all day reaching into the nooks and crannies. There's a much easier solution. Take the shades down, and unroll them on to their full length on the floor. Then, use the wand attachment on your vacuum cleaner to suck all of the dust out of the little nooks. Make sure you keep the vacuum on low so it does not use so much suction that it bends your blinds. Turn the blinds over, repeat the vacuuming, and you're done.

Venetian and Vertical Blinds

It can be tricky to dust each one of those tiny blinds with a rag, and a feather duster just scatters the dust around. Luckily, all you really need for this job is a couple of pairs of cheap cotton gloves and a bottle of window cleaner. Put a glove on one hand, and gently spritz it with the window cleaner. Then, use your fingers to wipe along each of the blinds. Periodically, you'll want to switch to a new glove and respray your hand. The gloves have a lot less bulk than a rag, so you can easily reach in the corners.

Cloth Curtains

Here's a little secret for you. Even if your curtains say "do not launder" or "dry clean only," you can still wash them at home rather than paying a bundle at the dry cleaner. All you need is a home dry cleaning kit. These are typically sold in home and garden stores (some grocery stores even have them). You just put your curtains inside of a large bag that comes with the kit, add some powder, or in some cases a dryer sheet-like cloth, and follow the instructions to "clean" the items in your electric dryer.

Armed with the tips above, you'll have the cleanest window treatments on the block--and you won't have to spend hours keeping them clean. As you get the hang of using these methods to clean your window treatments, you'll become even more efficient at employing them, too.