It’s that time of year again, time to swap out the winter and falls clothes for spring dresses and summer shorts!
Typically I am swapping my clothes mid-April but this year the weather has not been cooperating and opportunity to go out in public and dressed up for Sunday brunches or rooftop drinks is still a month(s) away. The timing of this swap is also funky because I should have waited until after our move so that I could unpack in my walk in closet (can’t wait to show you all!) but I couldn’t wait any longer. I was tired of staring at chunky sweaters taking up precious space in my closet and was ready to bring back the floral and eyelets of spring. I also wanted to check this task off my quarantine checklist.
Closet Prep
Nothing makes me more excited than packing up my winter sweaters and replacing them with my favorite spring styles like floral prints, eyelets, espadrilles, the list goes on and on…
For me, the process starts by pulling out the containers I packed up in the fall and kept under my bed during the winter. While I have a lot of clothes, I didn’t have to store any of my spring/summer clothes in a storage facility or family member’s basement this time around. This was a first for me! The first step to prepping my closet for spring and summer clothes, is to start with packing away the obvious winter staples:
- Chunky knit sweaters
- Turtlenecks
- Winter tweed skirts
- Pieces with silver metallic
- Wool items
- Suede and leather pieces
- Tights
- Items that are darker tones like burgundy, teal, dark green, etc.
I will note that I don’t pack away ALL my sweaters. I am always cold and have been known to break out a sweater or two during the summer so I have my sweaters divided into “winter” sweaters and “spring/summer” sweaters and keep the latter in my closet year round. For me, a spring/summer sweater is lighter weight, has a looser knit and is typically a bright color or cream.
After removing all the obvious winter clothing and accessories, my closet seems so much roomier! Next step is to review what’s being packed away and fill my closet back up with summer pieces.
Review & Edit Winter Clothes
Like I shared in this post last October, I make this a multipurpose exercise by reviewing what is packed away and pairing back my winter clothes for next year. Before any item is packed away I ask my self the following questions:
- Did I wear this item during the fall/winter season?
- Does it still reflect my personal style?
- Will there be a reason to wear this in the next 2-3 months?
These questions helped me identify pieces that I no longer wear and would be good candidates to give away. Completing this exercise at the end of a season is much easier when things are fresh in my head. The other benefits to editing my winter clothes on the front end means there is less to pack away and move into new home.
For the clothes that no longer spark joy, I’ll either post them to my Poshmark, offer them to friends/family or donate to Goodwill.
Staying Organized
For the pieces that are sticking around for next season, the organizing and storage process begins. Last year I had a lot of fun packing away my winter sweaters using the Ziploc Vacuum Sealer Bags my mother-in-law got my for Christmas a few years back. It is so satisfying seeing a huge pile of sweaters or skirts compress into a stack 1/4 of the size. These things are miracle workers! Thanks to these bags, I am able to consolidate all my winter sweaters in two storage bins that fit under my bed. I cannot recommend them enough if you are struggling to find enough space to store your bulky winter items.
I’ve included below a list of items I recommend having on hand when swapping out your clothes.
Review & Edit Closet
At this point in the spring swap, my closet consists of mostly staple pieces like solid color blouses, work pants and other year round items. Before I begin to fill my closet back up with my spring and summer clothes, I use the opportunity to review and edit the basics to determine if items need to be replaced and or donated. When reviewing my staple pieces, I ask myself the following questions.
- Are there any stains or damage on this item?
- When did I last wear this item? Did I like the way it fit?
- When did I buy this item?
- What do I really like/dislike about this item?
- Does this item go with other items in my closet?
Over the year’s I’ve learned to really refine my style and only purchase items that fit well and reflect my personal style. Each time I go through my closet I discover a few items that I have fallen out of love with. My closet has limited space and should only be filled with my very favorite pieces and not that one offs that I keep promising myself that I’ll wear eventually.
Depending how many pieces stay or go, I will update my shopping list to include the items I need to replace or make note on my “anti-shopping list” that I don’t need another white blouse. Maureen…you don’t need any more long-sleeve white blouses!
Spring/Summer Wardrobe
As you can see, I take my wardrobe swapping seriously but we’ve finally made it to the fun part, unpacking all the fun and colorful pieces I can’t wait to wear in the weeks and months to come. One of the reasons this part of the process is so fun is because I often buy items out of season and pack them away until they become weather appropriate again. In a lot of ways, swapping out my clothing for seasons is like Christmas all over again and re-discovering new items of clothing that haven’t been worn.
As for how I go about filling-up my clothes with these spring and summer pieces, I’ll spare you the details. Especially since everything will change once I get my hands on my new closet. I plan on sharing more about the the closet of my dreams once we are all moved in and organization tips. In the meantime…
Happy Swapping!
