The Madison Avenue marketing calendar is chockablock with holidays both official (Presidents’ Day, the Fourth of July, Christmas) and less so (St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Halloween). Then there are commercialized occasions like back to school, during which consumers are encouraged to shop for more than a day’s worth of merchandise.

Spring-cleaning season is such a time, too, as evidenced by a spate of campaigns now under way for products that are meant to help consumers tidy up after a long winter.

Spring is also when appliance makers and cleaning services try to take advantage of the impulse for home improvement. From The New York Times.