Many folks bring themselves and their homes out of the winter doldrums with a frenzy of spring cleaning and organizing. One area of your house you might neglect, however, is your computer.

Fortunately, cleaning and de-cluttering your PC is easy to do and doesn’t take much time. It'll prolong the life of your machine and help you get more work done faster.That means you can spend more time outside, enjoying the longer, warmer days!

Clean that hardware

Your PC has collected some dust bunnies since its last cleaning. These trap heat and shorten the life of your system.There there's your keyboard, which probably has a fair amount of bread and potato chip crumbs lodged between the keys. Don't even get me started on the germs your keyboard, mouse and touchpad collect!Time for some do-it-yourself detailing.

First, turn off your computer or laptop and unplug it. If your keyboard and mouse are wired, unplug them from the computer. If they're wireless, shut them off and remove the batteries.A few blasts of compressed air should take care of any dust on the keyboard and debris stuck between keys. Next, swab your keyboard and mouse with bleach-free disinfecting wipes to remove grime. You can also use cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl alcohol for a deep clean between the keys.

For your monitor screen, use a soft, slightly damp lint-free cloth. Don't use cleaners that contain ammonia.If you're confident enough to open up the inside of a PC desktop case, now's a good time to remove dust buildup on the case fans, air vents, motherboard and CPU heatsink and fan. On a laptop, blow compressed air into the intakes along the side.

Zap those viruses

In addition to compromising your privacy, spyware and viruses bog down your PC's performance.Scan your machine with reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs to combat this threat. If you need anti-virus software and spyware remover, visit my Security Center for free programs. Run the scans and remove any threats that pop up.Remember to update your security programs often so you can stay protected from emerging threats. Weekly scans help, too.