Put on your sneakers and join the crew Saturday morning for a city-wide cleanup day in Natchez.

The cleanup, scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon, comes just in time for the start of the annual Spring Pilgrimage, which begins next week.

Participants in the cleanup are asked to meet at the gazebo to pick up trash bags and pick a place to work.

The focus this year is on picking up litter in the various places visitors will most likely see.

That makes sense, considering we always want to make the best impression for our guests &8212; you never know who the next tourist will be.

But even if you can&8217;t join the mass cleanup crew, you can take time to tidy up your own area.

Mow the yard; pick up trash in your neighborhood; straighten out the porch furniture and the garage.

In fact, organizers of the cleanup and city officials might consider placing Dumpsters around town this year or during the next big cleanup so that residents have a place to throw away large items.

If we all take time to clean up our own neighborhoods &8212; and band together, as we will Saturday, to clean up public areas &8212; we&8217;ll be ready in no time to welcome visitors for Pilgrimage.

And if we can make that cleanup a habit, we&8217;ll be ready the whole year round.