It’s time for spring cleaning.

That means different things for different people. In general, though, washing down walls and windows each year makes your home feel refreshed. Laundering curtains and scrubbing carpets and floors can make it seem almost like new.

Many people choose to hose away the winter’s grime from porches and patios. That can make them more inviting places to spend time as the weather warms.

But what about the clutter?

Unless you are nothing like me or the vast majority of people I know, you’re bound to have unwanted or unnecessary items lying around your home. Removing those excess things from your life can lift a weight from your shoulders.

That is why I think it is wonderful that JB Green Team and several local municipalities offer community cleanup events for residents.

The first JB Green Team event of the season was scheduled for this weekend in Belmont County’s Goshen Township. I just happen to live there, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

You see, I probably have more stuff than most other people. I certainly have more clothes and knickknacks than I actually need. But both of my parents were “collectors,” and I have the task of dealing with all their things.

If there was an old door, window, tool or cabinet available at any yard sale in the area, my dad would buy it — usually for a quarter. The same was true for broken lawnmowers, old wheels, pieces of lumber and anything you might be able to use to build or repair something else.

Dad lived by the motto: “Somebody might need that someday.”

Unfortunately, the need for many of those items has never materialized. That means they are still stacked in the places he put them in 25 or 30 years ago — in some cases, even longer ago than that.

So, I spent some time this past week gathering up some of those things that I know my husband and I will never use. As time goes by, no matter how useful it initially seemed that something might be, chances are that item will deteriorate and lose its potential.

Renting a roll-off container to help you dispose of old trash and junk can be an expensive proposition. Although there are some very reasonable and reliable rental companies in our area, it is still easy to fill such a container more quickly than expected and to want to keep it longer than originally planned.

That is why it is such an important service to residents when townships, municipalities and groups such as JB Green Team provide cleanup dates on which anyone can haul away almost anything they need to, free of charge.

As I mentioned, one of the first of these events for this year was scheduled at the Goshen Township garage. The city of Martins Ferry similarly held a cleanup day a couple of weeks ago.

But JB Green Team is far from finished for this year. Its Belmont County cleanups are all held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following dates:

May 1 — Barnesville Train Depot parking lot, 358 Mulberry St., Barnesville;

May 8 — York Township Garage, 53420 York Drive, Powhatan Point;

May 15 — Parking lot behind Chapter Square, 68161 Commercial Drive, Bridgeport;

May 22 — Ferry Landing Road, under Moundsville Bridge, Dilles Bottom;

June 12 — A tire only collection will be at the Belmont County Fairgrounds, 45420 Roscoe Road, St. Clairsville;

June 5 — Holloway village garage, 45 South St., Holloway;

June 26 — Richland Township, Belmont County Fairgrounds, 45420 Roscoe Road, St. Clairsville;

Sept. 18 — Centerville Community Center, 46642 Main St., Centerville;

Sept. 25 — Union Township Garage, 70098 Alexander Road, Lafferty; and

Oct. 2 — Wayne Township Garage, 55020 New Castle Road, New Castle.

Other cleanup events may be organized by municipal officials. For example, the Belmont village yard sale is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 1 with a community cleanup day a week later, on May 8. That arrangement will allow residents to sell unwanted items to others who may have a use for them, and to then throw away anything that is left over from their sales if they choose to do so.

In addition to its regular community cleanups, JB Green Team also offers recycling services at locations across Belmont and Jefferson counties. The team’s big, blue collection bins are clearly marked and guide the user as to what types of materials can be placed in which bins.

So, if you are in the mood ro freshen things up this spring, you have lots of tools at your disposal. I encourage you to lighten the load of clutter around your home and property and to spruce things up.

As we hopefully approach the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, let’s all get ready for a fresh start, beginning right at our own homes.