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Spring is in full swing, and many Canadians are preparing to wash their walls, vacuum their carpets, scour their shower stalls and re-organize their living spaces. For many homeowners, spring cleaning is a ritual that happens once a year, and it's the perfect opportunity to get their affairs in order and feel good about the space where they live.

By having a game plan and investing in the right tools, spring cleaning can be a step towards a better living space in the long run. For a spring cleaning project with a lasting impact, consider the following three steps:

Cut down on clutter

The first step in a successful spring cleaning project involves taking stock of virtually everything in your home - your furniture, decorations and papers - and determining what you need to keep and what you can discard. Be sure to allocate the right amount of time to do a proper inventory, and don't forget to have extra boxes, recycling bins and garbage bags on hand to quickly discard unwanted items.

Go through drawers, garage and storerooms - everywhere clutter accumulates. Ask yourself what you really need to keep and what can be given away, recycled or thrown out. Better yet, why not organize a yard sale to sell the items no longer needed?

Everything in its place

Once you've determined what items will be kept, set up a storage and filing system that will be easy to stick to. Organize items into categories before storing them in boxes, containers and file folders, and label them using a colour-coded system that assigns a different colour to each category (green for financial records, blue for winter clothing, red for camping and sports equipment, etc.) A good electronic labeller will be extremely useful during this process. The P-touchlabeller from Brother, for example, is an affordable tool that can be found in office supply stores or online at brother.ca. When the popular P-touch brand was launched in 1988, Brother patented an exclusive line-up of laminated tapes that are available in a variety of colours and styles to make identification as easy as possible. “Our handheld P-touch labellers are compact and functional for on-the-go needs, which make them ideal for home organization,” says Marc Ruel, Home Office Expert at Brother Canada.

Identify important items

In addition to labelling boxes and files, don't forget to label other objects that are likely to be moved, displaced or shared. This includes computer and other electronic equipment (cords, consoles and other hardware), children's items (backpacks, lunch boxes and sports equipment), clothing and more. Labelled items are less likely to be lost or displaced, which makes for a cleaner and better-organized living space all year long. www.newscanada.com