Spring-Cleaning Tools, Tips

Sprucing up your home for spring doesn't have to be a painful chore. The Good Housekeeping Institute's first tip: Take it easy. If time is short, focus on only one or two big chores, like cleaning the basement, organizing closets or washing windows.

For those hard-to-reach places in the bathroom, the GH Institute suggests the Mr. Clean MagicReach ($12.99; 800-275-6142; www.mrcleanmagicreach.com). Its head swivels in two directions, making this tool ideal for mopping floors and tiled corners. The MagicReach can also get at places as high as 50 inches.

To clean every crumb, the GH Institute recommends the Leifheit Nook & Cranny Broom ($24.99; 866-695-3434; www.leifheitusa.com). It features angled bristles and a seven-foot telescopic pole. The broom head can be removed for handheld sweeping or used attached to the pole. This broom is one of the best that GH Institute home-care director Carolyn Forte has seen for cleaning tall ceilings and reaching into corners.

To get the dust that accumulates along and around baseboards and furniture legs, try Caldrea's Edging Duster Brush ($30; 877-576-8808; www.caldrea.com). Its two-sided brush has soft goat-hair bristles on one side and a row of stiffer bristles on the other, so you can gently clean delicate breakables or fine wood finishes without scratching. This brush also works well on window tracks and computer keyboards.

To clean narrow-necked vases or coffee carafes, try the Cuisipro Flexneck Bottle and Vase Brush ($12; 302-326-4802; www.cuisipro.com). The brush is attached to the handle with a coil of wire. Untwist it and the brush bends in any direction.