It is that time of year again! Time to put away the winter clothes and boots and get out your spring and summer wardrobe. Do many of you dread doing the swap?? Here are a few tips to help make the swap less painful.
Take the time to weed out things you did not wear this season before storing your winter stuff. Get rid of anything stained, worn out or no longer your most flattering look.
A few questions to ask yourself when cleaning out your closet:
Would I buy this if I was shopping today?
Would I wear this if I wanted to impress someone I hadn’t seen in forever (like an ex- boyfriend) ?
If my house was on fire what would I save out of my closet?
(of course many of us would not worry about clothes or shoes but things that are more important to us) However, pretend for a minute that all other items were safe-what clothing and shoes do you love so much you would save them?
Do not put something in the category of lounge wear just because it is not good enough to wear out of the house but you don’t want to part with it. How many lounge outfits, gardening clothes and clothes for projects like painting do you really need?
Okay so once you have done the hard part of getting rid of stuff then you are ready to store off season away.
-Make sure any items that have wool are stored in a cedar chest or closet or in a garment bag protected from moths.
-Leave some transitional items in your closet if you have the room.
This will save you from having to go search for items if we have a cold snap or rainy day.
-Items that will wrinkle easily or are dry clean only try to leave hanging so you don’t create more work for yourself when you get everything back out.
-Before storing shoes I like to check the bottoms for mud or dirt and do a quick wipe down with a clorox wipe before I store them away.
-Container store has great boot boxes. They are clear and the perfect size. A little pricey at $10 per box but you can buy a few a year and build your collection.
-I like to store my other winter shoes in a shallow clear bin that will hold multiple pairs. I don’t think it is necessary to have each pair of shoes in its own box. That makes for unnecessary bulk.
Hope these tips help make your transition a little easier. One crazy thought that I have been sharing with my clients lately is to try to pare down your wardrobe significantly so that you can fit ALL your clothes in one closet!!! I know that makes most of you break into a cold sweat with a look of horror on your face.
On that note, I have been reading quite a bit about minimalist lately, capsule wardrobes and project 333. So more on that later….