Spring has sprung! It’s time to open the windows wide, scrub the floors, and replace your heavy, winter down comforter with something light and fresh. These three tips will help you plan your spring cleaning attack.

1. Stock your cleaning supply kit. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to polish your furniture and realizing that you’re out of wood oil. Before you begin your spring cleaning, make sure that you have new bottles of window cleaner, bathroom scrub, oven cleaner, white vinegar, baking soda, and all of the brushes, towels, and sponges that go along with them.
2. Begin by de-cluttering. Throw away or donate anything that you no longer use, and pack away heavy winter coats or large blankets that you won’t need for the next few months. This will give you more elbow room for deep cleaning.
3. Get the whole family on board. Spring cleaning is a task that’s much too large for one person, so plan a day when the whole family can help. Plan it in advance to ensure that everyone can take part in the action, and assign tasks to stay on track with your plan.

Top 10 Spring Cleaning Tips [HowStuffWorks]
Ultimate Spring Cleaning Guide [BHG]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr M. Martin Vicente

If you’re hosting your first dinner party or holiday gathering at Marquis at Barton Trails, you may find it difficult to round up enough serving trays and platters to serve everyone. Luckily, with a bit of creativity, you can find unique and affordable ways to serve your guests with household items that you already own. Here are a few smart ideas for serving a group.

1. Present utensils in baskets. Even if you have to use disposable utensils to accommodate everyone, make them look festive by displaying them in decorative baskets.
2. Display appetizers right on the cutting board. Once you’re done cutting cheeses and other appetizers, leave them right on the cutting board! Attractive cutting boards create a rustic look that’s still really chic.
3. Make your own cake stand. Create a makeshift cake stand by simply turning a glass bowl upside down and placing a matching glass plate on top. If you want to add more stability, glue the two together.
4. Reuse martini glasses. If your party doesn’t involve martinis, use the decorative martini glasses to serve mixed nuts, candies, and other finger foods.
5. Use disposable cookware. If worse comes to worse and you just don’t have enough serving dishes, skip over to a dollar store and purchase some disposable aluminum cooking trays. Once the food is done, you can serve it right from the tray.

Big List of Inexpensive Ways to Serve Holiday Meals [The Frugal Girls]
Creative and Fun Ways to Serve Food [Pinterest]
Fall Party Food: Cute Serving Ideas [Better Homes and Gardens]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr Freya.Spargo

In an era when working from home is becomingly increasingly common, there's a great chance that at least one member of your household occasionally works remotely. That means there's probably a home office (or, at least, a desk and chair) tucked away somewhere in your apartment. If you want to make your work-from-home space a more pleasant workplace, here are four components you should add.

1. An office chair that's both chic and comfy. Any chair that you'll be sitting in all day long should be equal parts aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. So when you search for your home office chair, don't prize form over function, or vice versa—they're both important. Test drive as many chairs as it takes to find the one that keeps you comfy and jives with your office style.
2. A lamp emitting warm light. When you work in a standard office, you're forced to make do with whatever the lighting situation is there. But when you work from home, you have the final say over the atmosphere in which you spend your day. So instead of accepting harsh overhead lights as an unavoidable reality, find a cute lamp that cloaks the room in a warm, glowing light to make working more enjoyable.
3. A set of floating shelves. If you're running out of room in your desk drawers to stow those stacks of post-it notes, improvise more storage space by adding floating shelves. They're not only functional pieces, but also a design statement—plus, the display will force you to keep the office supplies organized.
4. A coffee maker. Okay, so a coffee maker isn't a design element first and foremost, but it can be if you choose the right one. Find a coffee maker with a four-cup pot in a hue that suits your space, and fire it up as soon as you start working in the morning. It might help you dive into the day a little bit easier. You can also opt for a an espresso machine or electric tea kettle, depending on your caffeinated beverage of choice.

Essentials for a Home Office [The Every Girl]
17 Surprising Home Office Ideas [Real Simple]
5 Mistakes Everybody Makes Decorating Their Home Office [Apartment Therapy]

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr ienjoysushi