Spring Cleaning Roundup: Apps, How-to Guides, and Green Cleaning Tips

Spring cleaning — it's a chore many of us despise, and yet one that must be tackled. Not sure where to begin? Take advantage of the many tips, tricks, and checklists that are available from around the web, and you'll be finished in no time!

Housekeeping Help

• Use a spring cleaning checklist to help remember which tasks you've finished and which ones you still need to accomplish.
   
• Apartment Therapy offers 36 step-by-step guides to every chore in your home, including tutorials for everything from how to wash a down comforter to how to clean an oscillating, round fan.
   
• There's an app for that! If you have a smartphone, let it help streamline your work by downloading your favorite spring cleaning apps.
   
• Hire help. Maybe you can't afford a weekly cleaning service, but an annual deep clean can yield huge benefits for your health, your sanity, and even your wallet.
   
• Get organized with these 12 spring cleaning organization tips from Tip Junkie.

Getting the Kids Involved

• Young children can be a lot more helpful than you might think. Lighten your load by giving your kids their own spring cleaning tasks.
   
• Make it fun! When it comes to kids and cleaning, a spoonful of sugar really does make the medicine go down, so look for fun ways to get your kids involved.
   
• Cut yourself some slack — homes where children reside are rarely perfectly clean. Besides, according to a recent article on WebMD, keeping things too clean may actually be harmful. A few germs and some dirt can actually be beneficial for developing immune systems.

Green Cleaning Tips

• Make your own homemade furniture dusting spray by combining olive oil, lemon essential oil, vinegar, and water in a spray bottle. You can also find lots of recipes for homemade, nontoxic cleaners at The Daily Green.
   
• If you prefer the convenience of store-bought cleaners, be sure you know how to identify a green cleaner with these tips from Eco-novice.
   
• Treehugger has a comprehensive guide to all your green spring cleaning questions, including links to several other green cleaning resources from around the web.

Are you doing any spring cleaning this year?