Spring Cleaning. I know it’s two months away, but it is my belief that it’s never too early to start hauling out the old things of the past and starting over.

It’s that time of year to pull out the Clorox wipes, Lysol, Pine-sol, cleaning towels, mops and brooms. This weekend, it looks like I’ll be purchasing some new latex gloves.

I start with the closet first — bagging up my winter clothes and taking out my spring and summer clothes to wash and then later hang up.

Next, I may sweep out my room and wipe down my walls. I will flip my bed and then put on some fresh new sheets and blankets. New season, new covers.

I will then move to the bathroom, wiping down every nook and cranny to perfection before sweeping behind the “porcelain throne” and around the tub and mopping the spaces. Before leaving the bathroom, I take some Febreze or Glade air freshener to awash the atmosphere with smells of fruity delight. The bathroom is a paradise, so it should smell like one!

Mission No. 3 is the kitchen area. I take expired or old cans and boxes of food out of the cabinet to discard later. I retrieve a stepladder from the nearby storage closet to wipe out corners and get more items I may have missed while standing. I may even hunker toward the bottom cabinets to rearrange pans and pots or find any more items that need to be thrown away. I will then proceed to the dishes, taking out ones that hadn’t been used in a while to rewash them and possibly move them to another location in the cabinet.

And what is a kitchen without a nice glossy, “just-mopped-with-Pine-Sol” floor? That is the area with the most foot traffic and it must be kept clean frequently.

Spring Cleaning is not complete until new furniture is bought or something is rearranged in the living room. Whether it’s taking down old wall hangings and replacing them with new decorations or taking an old couch out and replacing it with a period-style armchair, the living room — the first room that guests see, must be inviting.

My philosophy is: if you start doing a little bit of cleaning each weekend now, you won’t have to do as much when springtime rolls around. Happy cleaning!