Now's the time...

No matter where "home" is for you, I'm hoping you've seen at least a little sun over these past few days?  Well, here in Montreal we've been blessed with sunny, sunny days (weekdays...) although it took almost the full week to get the temperatures to coax us to leave our "just in case" cover-ups behind.  But, whatever the weather, last week showed me that it was well past the time to start packing up the winter woolies and overcoats, and pull out the summer light-weights and sandals.

Pick a day when you can concentrate on organizing without too many distractions. I always like to freshen up the whites and dedicates after they've been stored for a season, so make room for a "to wash" pile. Make sure you've go some of your favourite fabric softener at hand, and use a bleach that's "kind" to your clothes when perking up those whites...
Now the winter-weights: think pockets. Mine are always full of...well, just about everything and anything. Tissues, lip sticks, loose change and scrunched up tickets. So clear them out, and check that everything your thinking of packing away is clean. If not, do it now! Take a trip to the dry cleaners, and get that washer washing. You'll be glad you did when you unpack in the Fall.

Shoes and boots can make way for those super sandals, slingbacks, peep toes, and flip flops, so pull on those rubber gloves and get scrubbing.  Wipe off leather with a damp cloth dipped in equal parts of white vinegar and water, making sure to get rid of any salt stains and dirt before drying off. Suede needs different treatment: rub stains with an eraser (find special blocks in sporting stores and specialist shoe shops) then brush up the nap with a suede brush, or a clean, dry, soft toothbrush.  

Finally, stuff your long boots with special trees, or rolled up newspaper to keep them in shape till spring. There are plenty of great ready mades on the market, like these inflatables, but my favourite trick, after years of taking care of long leather riding boots, are over the knee socks (football socks are good) filled with cat litter. Tie the top and you've got built-in odour eating, boot trees, at a fraction of the price!


One motivating thought is that lovely summer footwear takes up WAY less room than winter ware. But maybe leave some rain boots handy...and don't even think of packing away sports shoes, those summer shorts look all the better on a toned bod!

Then you're ready to organize! There's lots to be said for a well organized walk-in, and not only in terms of time saved. I know I love that "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" feeling, so take the plunge, the rewards are well worth it, Happy summer sorting!