A (manageable) spring cleaning checklist

Plus: A robot vacuum we love is on sale Your ultimate guide to spring cleaning YOUR GUIDE: Ellen Airhart The first breeze of spring makes me want to lounge in the park with my friends and tend to my community garden. It also gets me itching to sort out a few clutter piles that have accumulated over the winter. Unfortunately, it’s easy to spiral from there. Spring cleaning, and the nagging feeling that there’s always something to wash and scour, can feel overwhelming. My philosophy is that cleaning—in any season—should help you feel refreshed and productive, not crushed by pressure to tidy every corner to perfection. After you’ve done the basic level of cleaning to maintain your physical health, just do what makes you feel good—whether that’s meticulously taking a toothbrush to the nooks and crannies of your [radiator]( or turning on the [robot vacuum]( and calling it a day. (Personally, I’m bringing a less-is-more approach to spring cleaning this year.) “Go into your cleaning spree knowing that this process is for you. If it’s not joyful, leave it in the dust.” So sparkle, shine, and rinse to your satisfaction, but remember to start by scrubbing the mean little voice in your head that tells you that you’re not doing enough. Go into your cleaning spree knowing that this process is for you. If it’s not joyful, leave it in the dust. In the spirit of keeping spring cleaning manageable—and, dare we say, fun—we’re breaking up our advice into bite-size pieces. Starting tomorrow, we’ll issue a cleaning challenge once a week throughout April. Each challenge will be easy enough to tackle on a lunch break, a spare weekend afternoon, or after the kids go to bed. By the end of the month, if you walk away with a tidier, brighter life—without having had a miserable time in the process—we’ll have done our jobs correctly. (Know someone who might be interested in following along? [Have them join us here]( And in the meantime, for all you overachievers, here’s an ultimate list of tidying tasks—broken down by the time to takes to do them. Refer back to this when you have a second. If you want to, that is. We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. [Learn more ›]( If you have 15 minutes [Two phones being cleaned.]( [Clean your phone]( Rid the screen of greasy smudges, and dig lint out of your charging port. [Here’s how](. [A clean dishwasher filter.]( [Degunk your dishwasher]( Without a periodic inspection and rinse of the filter, food can build up and cause a blockage. Fortunately, all it takes to [maintain your filter]( is a few minutes and a brush. [Several remote controls and the materials you need to clean it. ]( [Wipe down your remote control]( When’s the last time you sanitized this high-touch surface? [Here’s how to do it]( without breaking any of the buttons. If you have a free afternoon [A humidifier.]( [Clean your humidifier]( Your humidifier has likely been in heavy use this winter. It’s important to [clean it frequently]( otherwise it can start to pose health risks. [An illustration of a pair of feet. ]( [Wash your bath mat]( You probably aren’t [cleaning your bath mat enough](. Sorry. [The materials needed to clean a microwave. ]( [Clean your microwave]( [Our method]( is the ultimate (and easiest) way to get the inside of your microwave sparkling. If you have an entire weekend [A work from home set up. ]( [Off-load your old office equipment]( Deal with the old fax machine and landline phone [gathering dust]( in the corner of your office. [An organized shed. ]( [Tame the chaos that is your shed or garage]( Storage containers, shelving units, and wall racks are about to become [your new best friends](. [A stack of storage containers containing files. ]( [Organize life’s most important documents]( [Developing a solid filing system]( for your bills, tax documents, and report cards will give you peace of mind the next time you sit up in bed wondering, “Where is my birth certificate?” [Before you go: Save $200 on one of our favorite robot vacuums]( [The Roborock and the self-emptying trash can.]( Michael Hession Don’t have it in you to tackle spring cleaning just yet? No worries. You can still get your floors sparkling with this currently discounted [Roborock Q5+ Robot Vacuum](. We love this super-smart bot because it offers great mapping, easy app navigation, and reliable voice commands. Most importantly, it excels at cleaning low- and medium-pile carpets and hard floors. [Our experts spotted a sale on it here—just be sure to use the on-page coupon!→]( [View email in browser]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for Wirecutter’s Newsletter. Getting too many emails from us? To stop receiving Top Picks, [unsubscribe](. 
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