With the onset of spring's sunnier days often comes a horrifying revelation: Your home is not as spotless as you thought. Stains on the couch, smudges on the wall and rings on the coffee table, once hidden in winter's dim light, have become an unwelcome focal point in your décor - along with the grime on the windows and the dust clinging to ceiling fan blades.

To give your home a good top-to-bottom scrub, create a game plan and stick to it. Jess Duarte of Lone Star Maids says how often you clean is a personal preference, but her rule of thumb is a good one: "Clean to me means that the home is ready for unexpected guests." By following a few of these tips, you can make your home sparkle for the surprise visitor.

1. Dust from high to low If you've ever vacuumed your floor and then dusted, only to end up with a dusty floor again, you know dusting comes first. Not only should you dust from the highest parts of the room down - crown moldings to baseboards - you should also clean your upstairs first and work your way down. This prevents you from tracking dirt throughout your house.

Dust settles on any flat or protruding surface, so don't neglect ceiling fans, ridges on your crown molding, the tops of books, door frames, picture frames and, of course, the window ledges. Telescoping dusters are great for high surfaces, but another option is a vacuum with an extendable brush attachment. This is great for eliminating dust that clings to draperies and settles in corners and crevices. Large micro-fiber cloths are good for surfaces such as window sills and mantels. Janice Johnston of Austin's Merry Maids even recommends dusting papered walls to keep them from getting dull. To do this, tie a dust cloth over a broom and "sweep" the walls from top to bottom. Finally, dusting regularly in the bathroom and other dampness- prone areas of the house is particularly important as dust turns to grime with humidity.

2. Kill germs Pay attention to places where bacteria lingers: the computer keyboard, the phone receiver, the kitchen countertops. For the kitchen, use an all-purpose cleaner everyday like Formula 409 or Mr. Clean to clean grease and disinfect. Gritty cleansers like Ajax can damage porcelain surfaces, so use the least abrasive product possible. After cooking raw meat, step up the potency with something like Soft Scrub. Let it sit for five minutes before wiping it off with a cellulose scrub sponge. (Remember: Replace sponges every one or two weeks or microwave them for 20 seconds to kill bacteria.)

Both Formula 409 and Mr. Clean carry antibacterial formulas that can be sprayed on a micro-fiber cloth and lightly wiped across the receiver and computer. For food and debris lodged in your keyboard, use Dust-Off to blow it out of crevices. Remote controls can also harbor bacteria and gunk. Wipe them down regularly with an anti-bacterial spray.

3. Scrub Scrubbing your bathtub, shower or toilet is much easier if you develop a daily routine. Squeegee your shower after each use to keep mildew from forming or spray it with a mildew deterrent such as Tilex Fresh Shower. If mildew and calcium deposits have already formed colonies in your tub or shower, use a non-abrasive cleanser such as Soft Scrub. (Let it sit for five minutes before rinsing.) Swish your toilet bowl with all-purpose cleaner every day and wipe down the exterior with an all-purpose cleaner once a week.

For the bathroom and kitchen floors, mop them once a week with an all-purpose cleaner like Mr. Clean, starting from the farther corners of the room and working to the front of the room. Always sweep before mopping, or you're just pushing debris around.

4. Polish Though you could say polishing is not as important as disinfecting, it perhaps gives the most satisfaction. Chrome fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen can be simply rubbed dry with a soft cloth to remove water spots. Clean mirrors with glass cleaner and paper towels. For the windows, use a bucket of water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. With a microfiber cloth, wipe down the windows with the solution, working from outside in, and then dry immediately with a separate cloth. Johnston of Merry Maids adds you should always dust your windows first and always wash your window on a cloudy day to avoid streaks. If your windows are high and you don't feel comfortable with a ladder, hire professional window cleaners.