The flowers are blooming, the birds are serenading, and our house still feels like it's stuck with winter blues. Spring cleaning is a tradition that allows us to freshen up our homes and get a head start on the hectic seasons of spring and summer.

Clean Room-By-Room

Approaching your house room-by-room is the most effective way to deep-clean your home at any time of the year, but especially in spring. Use room checklists as a springboard for deep-cleaning the areas of your home that need extra attention. Feel free to skip items that have recently been cleaned and focus on the parts of your home that have been neglected all winter long.

Organize and Clear the Clutter

One of the biggest parts of spring cleaning is getting rid of clutter that you don't need. Now is a good time to advantage of the natural spring urge to get rid of items that are weighing you down and begin fresh with a more streamlined lifestyle. A systematic four-step approach to identifying problems, analyzing reasons, determining solutions, and implementing remedies can be extremely productive at this time of year. Sorting your belongings into four categories—trash, give-away, store, or put-way—can also be effective as you begin the spring-cleaning process.

Now is a great time to plan a garage sale or to donate items to good causes. Cleaning will be a lot easier when the clutter is gone.

Get the Family Involved

If you need a little help in your cleaning endeavors, get your family involved. Even the most unwilling helper can make a big difference in the workload. Don't worry: There are ways to deal with even the most reluctant helpers. This is a great time of year to get the entire family to work together. Try throwing on some music or establishing a family reward as an incentive to get the work done.

Tackle the Seasonal Chores

Some special chores need to be done seasonally. We ignore them for most of the fall and winter, but now it is time to bite the bullet and get these things clean. Even though these chores only need to be done once or twice a year, they will help your home run look better and run smoothly. Outdoor chores like cleaning grills, patios, and windows can be a little intimidating, but some simple tricks can keep the jobs manageable.

Keep Cleaning Products to a Minimum

The cleaning aisles of our stores are stocked full of commercial products to help you clean, but the variety can be overwhelming. And dozens of cleaning products means dozens of cleaning products to clutter up your cabinets and closets.

Resist the temptation to buy all these cleaning supplies; the real champions of spring cleaning are more basic supplies, such as a good all-purpose cleaner and microfiber cloths. There are even homemade cleaners you can make that will save you money while protecting the environment.

Establish New Cleaning Habits

A good, thorough spring cleaning that includes the whole house is a great time to establish new on-going cleaning habits, and it can also make the next spring cleaning a good deal easier. Simple 15-minute cleanup routines practiced every few days, each including a series of one- to two-minute chores, can make it remarkably easy to keep your home clean and tidy all year long.