• Wipe walls AND ceilings: Your walls will build up dirt and grime throughout the year, and believe it or not, so does your ceiling. Use a vacuum to remove dust and loose dirt particles. Wash your walls and ceilings with solvent-free degreaser to get rid of the little finger prints, food spatter, and evidence of life at your house.
• Vacuum and shampoo rugs and carpet: Send your rugs, like Oriental's and others without backing to a professional cleaner. With those gone, breakout a carpet cleaner or call in the experts to give your carpets a deep cleaning.
• Clean your upholstery: Take your upholstered cushions outside and gently beat the dust out of them. If they are stained or dirty beyond just dust, follow the care instructions on the label. Use your upholstery cleaning attachments on your vacuum to clean under the cushions and in the cracks and crevices.
• Dust thoroughly: Working from the top of the room down, knock the dust down, especially in those out of the way places that rarely get dusted like window casings, tops of ceiling fans, and tall shelves. Dust everything and vacuum up the floors after to get what is knocked on the floor.
• Window treatments treatment: Wash your drapery or have them dry cleaned. Wipe down wooden, metal and vinyl blinds with a damp cloth. Mild dishwashing soap will do to wash your hard window treatments.
• Grout lines sealing: Your grout on floor, walls, and countertops should be sealed once a year to protect the porous material from absorbing water and staining. Grout sealers are easy to apply and can be purchased at any home improvement store.
• Polish your hardware: Take a little time to polish your door handles and window hardware to remove tarnish. Liquid polishers, pastes, and creams are used for different jobs, so determine what would work best for your hardware before you begin.
• Wax your floors: Wood floors deserve a little polish too. Before you start waxing though, be sure to clean them thoroughly. Non-wooden floors such as linoleum and vinyl can use a shine, though they take a different kind of wax than your wood floors do. Stone and tile floors should be buffed up as well.
• Replace batteries: Check fire alarms and smoke detector systems and replace their batteries. Make sure they are dust free and that your fire extinguisher is accessible.

Once you have all of these jobs on your list, you can go through your house room by room to check specific details particular to your home. For example:

• Kitchen: Dust your refrigerator coil and defrost your freezer.
• Living Room: Swap out winter's heavy wear for light spring and summer drapes, throws, and rugs.
• Bedrooms: Rotate your mattresses, change the blankets to more summer appropriate weights, and clean the pillows (not just the cases).
• Bathroom: Go through cupboards and discard expired products such as makeup and make sure your first aid kit is filled and organized.
• Closets: Exchange winter wear for summer and spring clothes, but make sure you winter wear is clean before you pack it away. This is a great time to sort your clothes and donate what you no longer use.
• Home Office: Organize your files and make sure they are up to date. While you are in your office, don't forget to clean out your computer as it's been collecting dust this year too.
• Spring clean your porch, yard, garage and sheds too throwing out what you no longer use and getting things ship shape and ready for summer fun.