Top tips from experts on how to give your home the most thorough spring clean

Whether you have only five minutes to freshen things up or you happen to have an entire weekend to dedicate to full spring cleaning days, learn how to give your home's nooks and crannies a refresh with these cleaning how-tos from Jeffrey Phillip, organizing expert, and Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab.

Read on for tips to help you clean the usual spots more quickly and effectively — and for reminders to tackle harder-to-reach (and harder-to-remember) spots around the house too.

Keep crumbs out of hard to reach places

If there's a gap between your stove and your kitchen counters, there's a good chance food bits have made their way into this tight, dark space. Use the crevice tool on your vacuum to reach into this space, then place a stove gap cover between the counter and stove to cut down on the debris that falls out of view.

Organise the fridge

Large refrigerators are great for big families, but they can get cluttered fast. To keep your fridge organized, remove the packaging from multipacks of drinks and single-serve yogurts, use roll-out refrigerator bins to keep small items together and, to help reduce food waste, rotate older food items to the front before adding new groceries.

Keep storage spaces organised

If you use your garage or an outdoor shed as a storage space for things that don't fit inside the house, consider adding this step-by-step strategy to your spring cleaning checklist. Start by organising all your items into three piles: keep, donate and toss.

After you've removed the donate and toss items, vacuum and clean the floor thoroughly. Then begin sorting the things you'll be keeping. Organize smaller items by product type in labeled bins and store them on shelves along the walls to maximise floor space.

Spray down the windows and dust the blinds

Wait for an overcast day to clean your windows, and start on the shady side of the house. (Choosing a sunny day is one of the most common window-cleaning mistakes to avoid.) "Raise blinds or shades and wash windows with glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth," Forté says. "Then lower the blinds or vinyl shades and dust them with a duster. Finish by vacuuming the fabric shades and drapes."

Wipe down the walls

Rid painted walls of greasy fingerprints, dust and stains by wiping them with a damp microfiber cloth or a clean, damp microfiber mop. Be sure to start from the top and make your way to the bottom; bonus points if you wipe the doorframes and baseboards too. In between springtime deep-cleans, do spot-cleanings with a damp microfiber cloth whenever you see stains and marks. Tile walls in bathrooms can be cleaned the same way, though you may want to pair the damp microfiber cloth with a disinfecting bathroom cleaner to take care of any germs too.

For walls with vinyl wallpaper, make sure to wring out the damp microfiber cloth or the clean, damp microfiber mop well to avoid damage. Skip the water altogether if you're dealing with paper, fabric or grass cloth wallpaper.

Freshen up musty carpets

Refresh your carpets between deep-cleanings by using a portable carpet cleaner with a rotating brush. To rid your carpet of odors, sprinkle baking soda or carpet deodorizer on your carpet. Using a soft brush, work the baking soda into your carpet and let it set for 15 to 30 minutes. Vacuum the baking soda off the carpet with a fresh bag or clean dirt cup.

If you notice unsightly stains on your carpet or it's time for a deeper clean, check out how to clean carpet the right way. Or consider investing in an at-home carpet cleaner appliance to get the job done without having to call a cleaning service.

De-stink the kitchen sink

Got kitchen stink you just can't kick? You might already have the necessary ingredients to freshen up your sink in the fridge right now. Try dropping a couple of lemon rind slivers into your garbage disposal, and turn it on for 15 to 30 seconds. Follow with cold water to flush out any bits of lemon rind that remain.

Steam clean the microwave

Clean up those pesky tomato stains once and for all. To clean your microwave, fill a large microwave-safe bowl with one cup of water and a lemon, lime or orange cut into thin slices — or several tablespoons of vinegar — and stick it inside. Turn the appliance on high for several minutes or until the solution boils and the window is steamy, then let it cool for five minutes before opening the door. Remove the bowl and wipe the inside and outside of the microwave with a sponge.

Shine up pots and pans

Soften burned-on residue by adding water and dish liquid to your cookware and letting it simmer on the stove. After it's cooled a bit, use a scrub sponge or pad to remove any remaining stuck-on bits. Ketchup (yes, really!) helps dissolve tarnish on copper pots and other copper cooking accessories. Just massage the sauce over the surface, and add a pinch of salt if you come across exceptionally stubborn spots.

De-gunk your oven

Cleaning your oven is an essential part of spring cleaning. Use the appliance's self-cleaning function to remove stubborn, baked-on grime. If your oven doesn't have one, place a hot, wet cloth on top of burned spots to help soften the gunk. Then apply an oven cleaner (like one of the best oven cleaners tested) and let stand for as long as the manufacturer recommends. Rinse with a wet cloth and wipe dry.

For more tips on how to complete the most thorough spring clean, click here.