To dust knick knacks, jewelry stands, books, and other precious items, I stretch a leg of an old pair of pantyhose over the end of the vacuum cleaner wand, then clean away. The dust gets sucked up, but the smaller, delicate items stay safe. If the end of the wand gets a fluff buildup, (OK, I'm not the world's most diligent dust-buster), I just pull the pantyhose around to a clean spot. When I've finished, I wash the pantyhose.
Source:
By Marilyn King from Millstream, western Australia
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When dusting items with little crevices, I use a clean dry paintbrush reserved just for dusting. Works great in small spaces.