This one's almost a cop-out, since all Windows users should know about WinDirStat by now. This app has been out for nearly 15 years, and it's one of the most helpful tools you can use to clean up your hard drive.

You don't have to limit your spring cleaning to springtime, now is as good a time as any to handle some deep cleaning. Many of these heftier cleaning tasks involve heavy lifting and require stronger cleaning solutions than we use for our day-to-day chores, making them less than ideal for kids to help with. But there are some tasks that are suited to doing with your children, should you want to get them involved in your cleaning routine.

The old trope of "cleaning up for the cleaning lady" isn't entirely silly: While you should leave the real cleaning for the person you've hired to clean, you should also tidy up - and maybe even do a few spot-checks. If it's your cleaner's first time in your home, you should also have some instructions prepared. It will make both of you much happier.

Remember when you bought a new can opener because you thought you lost your old one? What do you plan on doing with that half-used roll of duct tape that's collecting dust in your garage? The last time you used that flashlight in the kitchen junk drawer was to pretend to be a jedi, wasn't it? These are all items you probably have lying around that you can consolidate into a home emergency kit. It might just save you and your family's lives.

If you're looking to cull some of your unwanted books, say, or other possessions, you'll want to be careful of how (and to whom) you're selling your old stuff.

I am not always the most attentive person when it comes to matters of the home. "What do you mean you're supposed to clean the ceiling fan and the light switches and the oven racks? Who does that?" So you would think having houseplants around would be a disastrous idea.

Decluttering old or useless junk might make you feel jubilant and free, but not everyone shares that mindset. Whether it's a ratty old recliner your spouse won't give up, an overabundance of cookware in the kitchen, or a collection of weird posters your roommate hung in your living room, there are ways to compromise when it's time for a thorough spring cleaning.

Nobody likes an operating system that's full of unnecessary stray files, 20 annoying apps that start up when you fire up your computer, and other crap that slows down your system, makes your desktop feel disorganized, or gives you a headache whenever you're trying to work (or game). Thankfully, there are a number of free apps that can help you clean your Windows PC.

Can you remember the last time you cleaned your desktop PC? I don't mean wiping some guacamole off the the side of the case during a burrito binge. I'm talking about going in there and really getting all the accumulated dust out of your expensive parts (and fans). Spring cleaning your system isn't hard to do, but it's critical to your system's longevity -- and helps your computer look a lot less gross.

"So many books, so little time" might be an eye-rolling slogan slightly worse than "Keep calm and carry on," but it's also literally true. As is "so many books, so little space." When you have too many books, how do you decide which ones to get rid of? We asked authors, publishers, and booksellers (all notorious book hoarders) how they keep control of their home libraries.

You wake up in the morning, groggily go to pour some coffee, and that's when the smell hits you. It's robust, wretched, and it's coming from your sink - dirty dishes. The night before you filled some crusty bowls and pans with water under the pretense of cleaning them later on, but you forgot and now you're regretting it. It's time to stop lying to yourself - it's time to stop soaking.

There comes a time when enough is, quite simply, enough. I had been putting off the task of organising my sprawling Gmail inbox for months, if not years. But when Lifehacker told me that we were going to have a Spring Cleaning week, I knew it was time. And I wasn't going to waste precious hours trying to find apps or tools to do the task for me. I needed to Ron Swanson my inbox -- roll up my sleeves, jump in, and manage the mess manually.

Ever since Marie Kondo took the cluttered world by storm, simply having stuff has seemed like something of a faux pas. There are countless how-to guides on the need to streamline closets and pare down our book collections to only those that bring us "joy," whatever that means. I recently read an article that proclaimed the best minimalist workspace was one that didn't even include a desk, paper or computer -- ideally you'd just sit on the ground and think. As I looked around my desk, topped with books, journals, pens and pictures of my family and friends, I couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed about all of my possessions. Did I really need the 10-pack of Sharpies? Were the two new novels I bought for my upcoming trip bringing me joy?

Shirley Conran's Superwoman was a best-seller that helped millions of people get their lives organised without becoming a slave to housework. Unsurprisingly, it's got some useful ideas which are a neat way to round out Spring Cleaning Week.

The most obvious upside to a bout of spring cleaning is psychological: it's easier to get things done and you don't feel so oppressed by clutter. But getting rid of usable-to-others-but-useless-to-you stuff can also be a handy way of getting some extra cash. The trick is to know what not to sell.

If you're in a spring cleaning frenzy, chances are you're going to dig up an old mobile phone or two; there's an estimated 16 million spare phones kicking around the country. Here's the Australian options for disposing of a mobile you no longer need (or that no longer works).

Our recent post about must-have items to keep in your car stirred up a lot of comments from readers. Here's the five most useful suggestions that popped up.

You can get a world of entertainment streamed through your Internet connection, but most of us still have DVDs and CDs and console games to store. What are the best approaches to keeping that stuff organised?

Dear Lifehacker, I recently bought a $69 HP Deskjet F4480 in an effort to go paperless (it was cheaper to get a scanner/printer combo) and was wondering if there are any programs that let me scan from paper -> PDF? The device came with HP software, but I’d rather not install it (I want something that doesn’t take over my system).