Even with the mild winters that are common in Atlanta, the first breath of spring is a welcome sign that warmer and more wonderful weather is on the way. If you live in a stuffy apartment that has poor air flow, spring cleaning can seem like a natural thing to do, but where to start? Here are a few essential tips for spring cleaning your apartment.

The first tip in cleaning is to work your way down from the top to the bottom. Dusting is probably the least popular form of cleaning and is often done infrequently even by people who vacuum twice a week. Start with things like bookshelves, than work your way down to the television and desks than dust low shelves until everything is pushed onto the floor. Then, and only then, do you even consider vacuuming.

Get some help and move heavy furniture out of the way so cleaning can be done behind them. You may not think that the space behind your couch or loveseat is that dirty, but once you move it, you’ll see it is dust bunny heaven back there. No one expects you to move your couch once a week, but twice a year is a good idea.

Chemicals like Febreeze are extremely popular and can be a big help if you have lingering odors, but you don’t have to soak your house with it. Cleaning doesn’t have to mean covering everything in chemicals. A little of that stuff goes a long way.