6 essential tasks for a stripped-down spring cleaning

Don’t want to clean the whole house? At least do these things.

A century or two ago, spring cleaning was less of a tradition and more of a necessity. “In a time when people heated their houses with coal or wood, not only was there more dirt on everything after winter, there were limited options for cleaning things up,” says historian Susan Strasser, author of “Never Done: A History of American Housework.” (Vacuum cleaners and automatic clothes washers weren’t in common household use until the middle of the 20th century.)

The arrival of warmer weather still hastens a full house cleaning for many people, but it doesn’t have to. If a top-to-bottom spring cleaning isn’t a priority for you for whatever reason, experts say you can use the season to knock out a few once-a-year tasks. And if you can only get to one or two of them, don’t sweat it — there’s always summer.

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