Spring Cleaning: 25 Big and Little Things You Might Be Neglecting

Just because your dishwasher cleans your dishes doesn't mean it doesn't require some cleaning occasionally too. Put a cup of white vinegar in the top of the dishwasher and run it through one cycle without any dishes in it. A clean dishwasher means even cleaner dishes! Here are 10 other ingenious uses for vinegar around the house.

Houseplants can be magnets for dust, and keeping them clean not only helps to keep your home clean — it also helps them breathe better, resulting in healthier plants. If you have a fiddle-leaf fig tree like the one pictured, here are 10 tips for keeping your fig tree healthy.

In addition to washing your duvet covers and pillow covers, you should also wash the duvet and pillows themselves. Most can be washed on a gentle cycle in the washing machine to make them fresh again. Want your bed to look like a professional made it? Here are five tips for making the perfect bed.

Give your home phone and cell phone a quick wipe-down to get rid of all those germs, dirt, and oils that build up from touching your face.

Those late-night snacking sessions have probably resulted in crumbs between and under your couch cushions. A handheld vacuum will do the trick!

All the same mold and mildew that build up in your shower can build up on your shower curtain as well. Most fabric curtains can be thrown in the laundry, while plastic ones just need a quick wipe-down.

We could go on and on about how gross our mattresses get, but the point is you're probably not cleaning it as often as you should. Find out how with this tutorial.

If the vents in your home are dirty, the air in your home is probably not clean either. Clean vents can also make your HVAC run more efficiently and can be easily wiped down with a cloth or rag. Want to boost your quality of air even more? According to NASA, these 10 plants actually improve indoor air quality.

From the decorative pillows on your bed to the throw pillows on your couch, make sure you're laundering those covers often — especially if you have frequent guests.

Window frames can be easily cleaned with warm water and a mild soap, which will help get rid of the built-up dirt, dust, and mold.

Bathrooms can be messy, and the mess isn't always contained to the toilet, sink, and shower. Make sure you're wiping down picture frames or other decorative objects you keep in the bathroom — they can get germy too! Here are the six dirtiest places in bathrooms that definitely deserve some attention.

Sometimes, your kitchen trash can will stink long after you've removed the garbage itself. Rinse out your kitchen trash can every couple of weeks, and wipe it down with a disinfectant wipe — inside and out.

Cleaning your curtains should be part of your weekly cleaning routine — but for many of us, it isn't. Cleaning your curtains is as simple as vacuuming them with the brush attachment or throwing them in the laundry.

A dirty coffee machine can result in bad-tasting coffee, but it's an easy fix. Fill up the water chamber with a mixture of white vinegar and water, and brew it until it's empty.

It seems silly that you'd have to clean your cleaning supplies (they do the cleaning, right?), but all that hard work results in some pretty gross mops, brooms, and dusters.

In addition to keeping your dryer filters and vents clear, your washing machine needs some regular cleaning to keep those whites looking white. Prevent mold and unpleasant smells with these cleaning instructions.

Door handles, cupboard knobs, and light switches probably get more use than anything in your house — and yet we often don't think to clean them. Wipe them down with a disinfectant, and you're good to go.

With all of the dirt, dust, skin cells, and other debris they pick up, it's not surprising that we should clean our vacuums too. Most vacuums have a removable chamber that's easily rinsed, and you'll probably want to wipe down the beater with alcohol.

When was the last time you cleaned your baseboards? For most of us, the answer is probably "never." Try vacuuming them with an attachment, wiping them down with a microfiber cloth, or cleaning them with mild soap and water — depending on their level of griminess.

Sometimes the places that are hardest to reach are the ones we often neglect. Plus, if you can't see it, it's not there, right? Grab a step ladder and wipe down any ceiling fans or light fixtures that have accumulated dust.

Is your bathtub or shower draining a lot slower than normal? If you haven't cleaned it lately, it's probably clogged. Make sure you remove any visible hairballs, then try this homemade drain cleaner.

Did you know your kitchen sponge could harbor even more germs than the inside of your toilet bowl? If that doesn't make you clean your sponges regularly, we don't know what will.

Dish racks are the perfect place for germs, bacteria, and soap scum to build up. Clean your dish rack regularly to make sure those gross germs don't get passed onto your clean dishes.

Despite how often we use them, we tend to forget how filthy our TV remotes can be. Anything that you touch multiple times a day will require a good wipe-down every once in a while.

It's the chore that most of us dread: cleaning behind and under the fridge and oven. But it's a necessary evil, so take a deep breath and get it over with — even if it's just once every couple of months.