spring clean your winter wardrobe

and so here we are: late february, tulips in season, and a glimmer of blue-skied hope for spring on the horizon. we've down graded from the fur-lined padded parka, and are choosing to opt for the wool-blend coat and the lighter-weight scarf for the morning commute instead. regretting it most mornings, but we live in hope that by the end of the day, we will have made the right decision. the umbrella still lives safely inside our bags, of course, we're not idiots after all - no matter how hopeful we are. so, what's next?

spring. the mere thought of the seasonal change has us digging through our drawers and rails, desperately trying to find and figure out what to wear over the next few months. well, it did me over the weekend anyway (i'm counting down the days until payday, and on a fairly tight and self-imposed budget until then, so... i've been spending a lot of time indoors!), and after a bit of a clear out and re-tidy of what's left, i think i'm nicely prepared for the next few months, when we can lose those winter layers altogether. i thought i'd share with you here how i did it in five measly steps. have a read!

1. time management
if you're anything like me, you'll need to set aside at least a day to manage the problem. ensure there are no distractions (phone, friends, food)(ok, maybe some food) in your eye line, stick to the radio or spotify in the background to keep you going, and use something motivational to keep you focused; a reward for each of the areas you successfully complete (this is where the food comes in handy) is always a great idea.

2. the problem areas
whether you've collected too many woolly scarves or pairs of lacy socks or leather boots over winter, its time to tackle them individually. think about how many of each you've actually worn this season, and which of those will transition nicely into your spring wardrobe. you'll want to lose the heavier and darker items, as they'll weigh down your light and airy spring looks, so try and use perspective when tackling these areas.

3. divide and conquer
think about where the dregs of your wardrobe should go once you're done with them, and create piles for each; 'for ebay/charity', 'for friends' and 'to throw away' are the three i normally have in mind when it comes to a spring clean, remembering that nobody wants your broken or ruined items of clothing, no matter how sentimental they are for you. heavily worn or torn clothing should always go in your 'to throw away' pile, and never into the 'for charity' one.

4. storage solutions
there are a number of fitted wardrobe solutions out there, when it comes time to lose those heavy winter items completely for another year, think about where you could keep them outside of the actual wardrobe. those air-sucky bags that fit comfortably under the bed are a great way to keep coats and jumpers safe until the next winter, as are collapsible boxes that can sit at the bottom of the wardrobe and hold all of the boots you won't need until next year. think outside the box too - i have a half-empty bookshelf that i keep my boots in in the winter so they're handy, and kept out of the main wardrobe. anything to free up the space that can be filled with more dresses, obviously.

5. waste disposal
once you have your piles ready for charity, rubbish, to go under the bed for next year - or, whatever, make sure that's where the piles go. how annoying to have spent such a chunk of your time de-cluttering your space, just to then have to live amongst piles of clothing until you actually get around to moving it onto its new home. out of sight, out of mind; put those air-sucky bags away right now, take out the rubbish pronto, and get that bag off to your local charity store as soon as possible. you'll feel so much better having removed all the dregs from your space, and with all that new room inside the wardrobe, you'll definitely have earned an hour or so on asos, dreaming of all the ways you could fill it back up...

and there we have it; how i managed to prepare my wardrobe for spring.

i'd love to hear what tips you have for clearing our your wardrobe space, so leave them below!

*post written in collaboration with betta living. all tips are my own*