Spring brings fresh energy and new possibilities. It’s the perfect time to maintain your family history research with a thorough annual clean-up.
Just like spring cleaning your home, maintaining your family history requires regular attention. A good genealogy spring clean helps you rediscover forgotten research, eliminate clutter, and create positive momentum for your family history.
This post was originally published in September 2023 and last updated on 5 September 2025
Assess the Status of Your Family History
Start by evaluating the current state of your family history research. Think of this as taking inventory of your genealogy practice.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What do you know about your family history so far?
- How do you document it – family history software, online trees, computer files, paper records?
- Do you regularly back up your family history files?
- What systems help you organise files, name documents, store photos, and cite sources?
- Which genealogy societies do you belong to?
- What subscriptions are you currently paying for?
- Have you attended any genealogy classes recently?
- When did you last visit libraries or archives?
- What genealogy books and magazines do you own?
Use these tools to maintain your family history effectively:
- Review your family trees carefully. Print charts and reports from your family history software. Fan charts work particularly well because they highlight gaps in your research.
- Complete a Tree Health Assessment on your family tree, using both chart and table formats.
- Write a scoping paper that summarises your research and identifies main gaps and questions.
You can learn more about the Tree Health Assessment Tool in my book, The Good Genealogist. Download the PDF guide from the Free Stuff page of this website
Set Clear Goals to Guide Your Family History Research
You cannot maintain your family history effectively or make real progress without clear goals and objectives.
Define your long-term goals and mid-term objectives. What specific areas will you focus on this year?
Read detailed guidance on goal setting in The Good Genealogist, pages 16-21.
These planning tools will help you maintain your family history momentum:
- Develop a master research plan for the whole of your research
- Create an index of your big research questions and research problems
- Prioritise them!
Implement Positive Changes to Maintain Your Family History
Making positive changes is the most valuable part of family history spring cleaning.
Your spring clean will likely reveal many areas for improvement. Don’t feel overwhelmed. List everything and prioritise the changes. Work through them gradually but start implementing at least one change immediately.
Consider these improvements to maintain your family history better:
- Begin using family history software or create online family trees
- Establish a new, more efficient filing system
- Set up automatic backup systems for your genealogy files
- Design and implement a consistent file naming system
Make Your Family History Spring Clean Count
Maintaining your family history requires regular attention, just like any important project. Your annual spring clean creates the foundation for a year of productive genealogy research.
Start with an honest assessment of your current situation. Set realistic goals for the coming year. Then implement the changes that will make the biggest difference to your research efficiency.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection – it’s progress. Every small improvement in how you maintain your family history will pay dividends throughout the year.
For more articles about maintaining your family history research, go to the Maintain Your Family History page.
For more of my articles about planning your family history, go to the Plan Your Family History page.
About the Author
Danielle Lautrec is a genealogy educator, researcher, and author of The Good Genealogist. With qualifications in history, family history, and historical archaeology, she teaches for the Society of Australian Genealogists.