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If you are planning on using the first warm days of spring to clean your house thoroughly from top to bottom, you probably should be ready to embark on that journey of cleaning and organization any day now. Spring cleaning is a lot of work, so start stocking up on cleaning solution, plastic organizing bins, and other helpful supplies now. Start getting those checklists ready so that you can go through your home room by room without missing anything important. Here are some helpful spring cleaning tips that will get you started on the right track with this huge job:

• Make checklists that make sense for your home. Online you can download a lot of checklists for spring cleaning. These checklists can be very helpful and save you a lot of time, but they can also overwhelm you. Start by removing any checklists that do not apply (for example, the attic checklist if you don’t have one), and also cross out items on specific checklists that do not apply to you. If something is already clean and organized, do not do it twice.

• If you are involving your family, be fair about task distribution. One of the easiest ways to do this is to sit down with everybody, and post the list of areas to be cleaned and organized. Go in a circle and let everyone volunteer for the areas they want most, and keep going until all the areas are designated. That way your family members are less likely to complain, and nobody gets stuck entirely with the tasks they wanted the least.

• Come up with an attainable but reasonable schedule which will ensure that all the tasks will get done. Make sure that the schedule works for everybody who is participating. If you have children, do not harangue them about whether or not their areas are done. The less you bother them, the more likely they are to complete their chores on time, especially if incentives are provided. Make sure everybody receives the spring cleaning organizing supplies they need.

• Provide incentives. Make sure your family has some kind of incentive to complete the work; they may not be as enthusiastic about it as you are. An evening out at a nice restaurant generally works well, or a nice purchase everyone can enjoy (an upgrade to the home entertainment center perhaps). Even if you are the only person cleaning, do not underestimate the value of giving yourself a motivating incentive.

Spring cleaning is a lot of work, but it can also be fun and fast if you organize the cleaning task well in the beginning and come up with specific, achievable goals. Come up with motivational incentives for everyone in your family to participate, and provide a schedule that everybody can work along to get the tasks done in a reasonable timeframe. Do one area at a time and go through the checklist to ensure you do not miss anything, and you will have a clean, beautiful home to enjoy the rest of the year.

One of the reasons that a lot of people decide to clean out their homes in spring is the change of weather. It makes it natural to rearrange and put things away that we do not need over the warmer months. Heavy blankets go back into the closet, and warmer clothing may go into storage too. Boots are set aside and replaced with sandals. This makes it the perfect time to clean and organize your closet space. Here are some tips for getting your closet clean and organized for spring:

• Resist the urge to stuff your heavy blankets and quilts into your bedroom closet. They will only take up valuable space. A better place for these is your hall closet, or even the basement or attic. You won’t be needing them again until fall, which is quite a ways off, so they do not need to be that conveniently accessible.

• Go through your clothing and ask yourself if there is anything in there you do not really want or need. This is the perfect time to get a bag ready for the thrift store. Odds are you will find a few things you like when you go to the thrift store too. Ask yourself how much you will really wear something before you buy it.

• Consider putting your winter clothing in storage with your blankets and quilts. After all, you are not going to be wearing heavy sweaters and sweatshirts during the hot months of the year. They only take up space in your bedroom closet which you need for your summer wear. Get a few large plastic bins and label them clearly with “winter clothing.” Fold your clothing inside and put the bins away in the attic or basement. You may need several sets of plastic organizer bins if your spouse or kids are organizing their closets as well. Remember to label with each person’s name.

• Organize your clothing. If you have a lot of clothes, it is wise to come up with some kind of organizational pattern for putting them back in the closet. The easiest way to do this is by color. You can see instantly where your tops, skirts and slacks need to go. Sort by each type of garment first, and then by color within each type category. This makes it so much easier to put your laundry away and know where everything is instantly.

Do you have random items in your closet which are strewn around and cluttering up your floor? You can consolidate these into plastic storage containers as well. These bins are especially great for children’s closets, since children can put their toys away in the bins and keep the floor clear of clutter. This makes it easier to sort and find shoes and may provide room in walk-in closets to actually walk. Getting your closet space organized takes some time and thought, but once you do, you will be able to speed up your morning routine.