Now that all of our holiday decorations have been neatly organized and packed away, I took a few minutes this past weekend to tackle the mess that’s been building up in our laundry room. Why not add this task to your own to-do list? You’ll be amazed at how much more pleasant and efficient laundry day will become. Here’s what you need to do:

• Get rid of musty smells in your washing machine by running it through its longest cycle with hot water and chlorine bleach.
• Simply cleaning the lint trap every time you run the dryer isn’t enough—those flying fuzzies collect around and under it, too. Remove and clean the screen, then vacuum out anything and everything you see in the slot.
• Slide the washer and dryer away from the wall and vacuum the floor around and behind them, where dust, lint, and stray socks like to hide out.
• While your dryer is pulled out, disconnect the ductwork that leads to the outside vent, and use your vacuum cleaner’s attachment to clean the lint from that area, too.
• Use a damp microfiber cloth to clean the outside surfaces, knobs, and control panels on your washer and dryer. Wipe out the insides of the machines, too.
• Specks of dust build up fast in your laundry room, collecting in places you’d never usually dream of wiping. So now’s the time to give the whole room—walls, ceiling, cupboards, and doors—a thorough going-over.

Find even more super solutions for cleaning everything from A to Z in my new Cleaning Magic! book. It’s filled with just what you need to get your whole home smelling fresher, looking brighter, and feeling sparkling clean.