Now that it’s officially spring, many homeowners will participate in the time-honored practice of deep cleaning and organizing their homes. While an admirable goal, it can sometimes feel overwhelming for people who don’t know where to start. The key to success with any large project, including spring cleaning, is to break it down into small and manageable tasks. Below are some proven ways to go about that.

Complete One Room at a Time

Starting with the smallest room in the house and working up to the largest, or vice versa according to personal preferences, can give homeowners an immense feeling of satisfaction. The key is to stay in that room until finishing it. When finding items that don’t belong in that specific room, set them aside in a box for now. That prevents people from getting distracted when leaving the room they are currently cleaning and going to a different room to put items away.

Be Willing to Part with Unused Items

It’s natural for human being to form sentimental attachments to certain objects such as old clothing or trophies. However, no one really needs to keep a sweater from 10 years ago that will likely never fit again or a bowling trophy from high school that is doing nothing more than collecting dust. The old adage of when it doubt, throw it out works well here. With so many people having smartphones with camera applications, taking a picture of the item is better than actually hanging onto it.

Don’t Forget the Garage and Shed

Including these items on a spring cleaning to-do list can seem like too large of an undertaking. The best way not to feel overwhelmed is to use the system of cleaning one room or area at a time. When cleaning the shed, make organization the primary goal. It’s easy enough to pick up some wooden lattices and S hooks at a local department store and use them to organize the items in the shed.

Create a Keep, Donate, Recycle, and Throw Away Pile

Large cleaning projects go smoother for homeowners when they know what to do with every item they pick up to inspect. To stay on task while cleaning one specific area, it’s best to keep these piles nearby and then move them from room to room as needed. Anything the homeowner doesn’t need can be valuable to someone else when he or she donates to a charitable organization. Depending on the size of the items, some agencies will even pick them up and provide a tax receipt on the spot.

When it’s not possible to donate unwanted items, recycling them is the next best thing. The throw away pile should be reserved only for those items that can’t reasonably fit into one of the other three piles. Contact the pros at Fast Haul to haul away and take care of the sorting and disposal of your donate-able, recyclable, and garbage items.

Consider Turning Spring Cleaning into an Everyday Affair

For people who dislike undertaking a large annual project, taking 15 minutes to straighten the house each day can work better. Families with children should involve them and make this expectation clear from the time they are old enough to help. Regardless of how homeowners clean their home, the results are well worth the effort.