After such a long, cold winter, many of us are thrilled to welcome spring! One of the nice things about the warmer weather is that you can pack away the heavy clothing that’s been weighing you down (and keeping your warm) through the cold months, and take out the light, bright items of spring and summer. Trade in your snow boots for sandals, and your heavy coats for light spring jackets! If this sounds like a daunting task, don’t worry; we have some suggestions for making the process as streamlined and stress-free as possible.

• 1. Take everything out of your closet.

  That’s right; you need to actually remove everything in order to do this the right way. An added benefit of taking everything out of your closet is that you can actually get in there and dust the shelves, vacuum the corners and knock down any cobwebs that have accumulated over the winter. Just look at it as another part of your spring cleaning. You can even repaint the walls, if they need it.

• 2. Make piles.

  As you take the items out, it works best to put them into piles. One should be obvious winter wear that you won’t need again until late fall: Winter coats, gloves, snow boots. Your heaviest sweaters should go in this pile, too. Another should be transitional items, or those that you will still be wearing in the spring and again in the fall, like light jackets, long pants and close-toed shoes. As you look at each item, put aside anything that is stained or needs to be repaired, because you’ll want to take care of this before packing your items away. Also, use a box to collect items that went the whole winter untouched in your closet. If you haven’t worn something in an entire season, then you probably don’t need it anymore. These will be going to a thrift shop later.

• 3. Store items properly.

  When you store your out-of-season clothing, you’ll want to take some precautions, like being sure that everything is perfectly clean, choosing the best containers, protecting your items against pests and making sure that your clothing won’t mildew. You’ll want to come up with some sort of organization system so you can find your items again easily. You can read some helpful hints on the Creative Closets website.

• 4. Put away your transitional items.

  Some clothing will be worn through much of the year, and it can stay in your closet all of the time. Hang these items up, grouping by type: Jackets, blouses, dresses and pants should all be hung within their own categories. Remember that some outfits can be made more springlike by taking away heavy hosiery or replacing a blazer or wool jacket with something lighter and breezier. Fold sweaters and jeans and put them on a shelf or in a drawer; these items shouldn’t be hung.

• 5. Take out your spring and summer items.

  Now it’s time to go through those boxes that you packed away last season! This can be a lot of fun, because you haven’t worn these items in months and you might have even forgotten about a few pieces. You may want to put aside a couple of hours to catch up on ironing; even with the best storage methods, not everything will come out wrinkle-free, particularly some summery fabrics like linen and 100% cotton. Hang or fold everything, and place it neatly in your closet.

It can seem like drudgery to put all of your winter clothing away correctly, but you’ll be rewarded in the end with neatly stored clothes in the fall when it’s time to take these cold-weather items out again. Enjoy rediscovering your spring wardrobe!