With all the incredible craziness of March and February behind us, and continuing into Spring with some hopeful news stories showing that our isolation will soon be lifting, I wanted to share with you some ways to get yourself ready with the extra time you may have. For spring (and all seasons) I go through my wardrobe and put away the clothes I will be less likely to need & bring back out the spring clothes in preparation, as the weather warms up.

To help you get started, I wanted to share the top ways I go about this, and how you can also have a bit of a clear out before restocking your wardrobe with Spring appropriate items!

Get rid of any items you didn’t wear over the winter

If you have jumpers, cardigans, coats, and cold weather wear that you didn’t touch over the last few months, don’t put them into storage to be unused for another year, put them in a charity bag to give away. This is a great time for a clear out of those items that don’t serve you, and will release you of adding them back in as the colder months come back around.

Give the loved items a wash before you put them into storage

Remember that wonderful clean clothes smell as you do a load of laundry? That’s how your items will smell when you bring them back out for Autumn/Winter 2020! How lovely will that be, to not have to wash them all over again? I recommend taking your delicate items to a dry cleaner if you can, as this will ensure even greater usage options in the future too.

Put your clothes in tissue paper, so you don’t have to iron them

Remember when you bought that special piece of clothing from a bespoke store, or from an online retailer, and it came in tissue paper? The reason for this is so the item doesn’t crease. Treat yourself to some lovely tissue paper and fold your clothes within it so you don’t have to get out the iron when you take out the clothes again when you do your winter wardrobe swap. Trust me, you’ll thank me when you have beautiful items that aren’t creased!

Now we come to the clothes that you are putting into your wardrobe…

Check through all the items before putting them back in your wardrobe!

As with the first step for putting your clothes away for the season, I suggest the same before they take up valuable space in your wardrobe. Are there any items that you saved for this spring/summer that just don’t fit your needs, personality, or style? Don’t let them sit in your wardrobe and take up space, just pop them in that charity bag and let them go to a new home!

Create some outfit ideas and hang them up

I love knowing the outfits that work together, it can truly help me on my daily routine and I suggest you can do the same for yourself! Put together your week’s outfits before hanging them up, and let yourself have a less stressful morning process. Of course, this is something you may need to do weekly, but it can all start when you bring out your spring wardrobe items too!

Do any of the clothes need to be tailored or washed?

If you need to get some pieces tailored or washed, you can do this now before the stress sets in and  you find out the dress you wanted to wear that week (or on that day!) no longer fits you. Try on your pieces before hanging them up and make sure they don’t need to be altered or washed before going into your cupboard.

Do you need any additional items to make more outfits work?

Now you have gone through all your pieces, and know which ones you want to keep, do any of the outfit ideas need an additional piece to make it work better? Perhaps that dress would be great with a new pair of trainers; your skirt is in need of some new tops to go with it – figure out the few key items you may need to invest in and make a shopping list to help you.

I believe that with the right preparation, and helping you keep to a seasonal wardrobe, not only will you be able to be more environmentally friendly by preventing wardrobe overwhelm, thus creating the classic “I have no clothes” syndrome, but you’ll have a wardrobe of outfits that you’ll love. If you would like a hand with preparing for the Spring/Summer, and are looking for some stylist support with a wardrobe edit or a Personal Style Masterclass, I can offer these in person or online to suit your needs. I’d love to help you take on the new season with added confidence and a wardrobe that truly sings to your personality!