By KIT EATON

SPRING is my favorite time of year. The weather improves, and it's time to clean, sort and tidy up. O.K., I actually hate that last part. This year, however, I'm softening the blow with spring cleaning apps, starting with the simple but reliable Cleaning Checklist app.

Unfussy and slightly old-fashioned in its design, Cleaning Checklist does pretty much exactly what its name suggests — auto-populating cleaning checklists for your home.

Once you start a new list, the app suggests tasks you may want to do, like "move furniture and vacuum beneath." Then you can swipe through the various categories, selecting the ones that apply to your home. As you clean, use the list to keep track of tasks that still need doing.

Cleaning Checklist can also prompt you with notifications. The app is easy to use and costs just $1, but it is available only on iOS[1].

For Android users, an app called Spring Cleaning Checklist by AMSApps does more or less the same thing, helping put together detailed task lists to keep you organized. It includes useful videos and tips for involving your family. This app is also a little old-fashioned in design, but it's free[2].

Simple list apps like these can be beneficial, but BrightNest offers a more robust experience. Based on the information you enter about your house, BrightNest builds a personalized list of suggested tasks from its extensive repertoire of cleaning and tidying advice pages.

The BrightNest app allows you to build a personalized to-do list of cleaning tasks.

Spring cleaners can search the app for cleaning suggestions and then add the relevant items to their personalized favorites list. Each cleaning tip is illustrated and written in a cheerful style that helps take the drudgery out of otherwise boring tasks. The app is fun to use, and it is free on both iOS[3] and Android[4].

If you prefer to manage your own cleaning tasks, Wunderlist could be a helpful tool. Free on both iOS[5] and Android[6], Wunderlist is a to-do list and task management app that has many functions.

With Wunderlist, you can build a detailed list of tasks and, if necessary, set a date for each one. You can use sublists inside a particular task to break it into bite-size chunks. Wunderlist also allows users to share task lists on the Internet, so you can ask friends and family members for help.

The app is complex, but its interface is relatively easy to use. It also has an Apple Watch extension, so you can get reminders right on your wrist.

The Wunderlist app allows you to build a detailed list of tasks and set a date for each one. Users can share task lists on the Internet.

I just began my spring cleaning, and I've already deep-cleaned a couple of rooms in my house. But it's a lonely business, and if you, like me, prefer company and help, Cozi has your back.

Free on iOS[7] and Android[8], Cozi is a shared to-do list and calendar app aimed at families and groups. You set up a free account and provide the login details to everyone in your group. Family members log in on their own devices to a shared space where you can update calendar events and to-do lists.

The app has a beautifully simple interface and makes good use of color coding in the calendar so users can see at a glance which person is supposed to do what. It also has features like a birthday tracker and shopping list.

Most of these features are free, but for some extras (like the birthday tracker), there's a $30 annual subscription.

We're on a push to get rid of paperwork in my home, so we're using the apps Evernote Scannable (free on iOS[9]) and Genius Scan (free on iOS[10] and Android[11]) to digitize old documents we no longer need before shredding and disposing of the originals.

These apps create an archive of scans of your old paperwork so you can, for example, look at last year's electricity bills without having boxes of paper cluttering up your house.

Quick Call

The Kodak Moments social-sharing app has been updated with some neat features.

One new trick is that underneath each image is space for text that tells the story behind the special moment, adding a personal touch to sharing. Kodak Moments is updated on iOS[12] but, for the moment, is available only in the United States.