How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buff

1. Clear Clutter

“The single most effective thing people can do when spring cleaning is organize,” Homer says. “First, throw out everything that can be discarded. There’s less clutter, so it looks better right away, but there will also be fewer things to be cleaned.” Although it’s tempting to dive in and start scrubbing (after all, these color-coded microfiber cloths are pretty inspiring), you’ll move more slowly with clutter in your way. Homer recommends Target for effective, inexpensive organization systems. “It’s hard to keep things organized when everything doesn’t have its own place. Investing in proper storage makes a huge difference,” she says.

(Need to organize your office? We have tips for that, too.)

2. Change Your Linens

Interior designers recognize that the items in the room with the most surface area, like the couch, bedding or drapes, make the most impact. Carry that over to spring cleaning by changing your bed linens, flipping the couch cushions and cleaning the drapes. Swapping your bed sheets for your spare set will make the room seem fresh and new, and you can even take the opportunity to flip or rotate your mattress to extend its life. As far as the drapes go, Leslie Reichert of Green Cleaning Coach recommends popping them in the dryer to get the dust off in lieu of tedious washing and ironing. Many people don’t wash their curtains at all, so this low-maintenance fix will put you ahead of the curve.

3. Tackle the Floors

Few things have more surface area than the floor. Reichert recommends a vacuum and/or wash to make the whole room sparkle. But don’t get down on all fours just yet! ”If you have hardwood floors, use a microfiber mop (a mop that has a microfiber dusting cloth on the end, like a dry Swiffer) and a spray bottle of water to make them look like you washed them. By spraying a light mist of water directly on the floor and mopping, you’ll have sparkling clean wood floors!” By using the pad instead of a mop, you’ve also saved yourself the trouble of dealing with buckets of dirty water and the inconvenience of waiting for your newly clean floor to dry.

4. Do Detailed Dusting

It seems counterintuitive. After all, who is going to see the tops of the cabinets? But in fact, the dust that’s hidden now will be all over your newly cleaned, eye level surfaces in no time. “Ceiling fans are a huge culprit,” says Homer. “They gather dust all winter, then spray it over the room when you turn them on in the spring.” For that reason, she advises working from the top down in a room, much like washing a car. She says people are usually slapdash about dusting, but taking the time to wipe down every surface makes a big difference right away.