Spring is finally upon us in New York City, and with the new season comes the perfect opportunity for spring cleaning. The sun is shining and we’re all tired of the coats, boots, scarves, and gloves that we wore all winter. Everyone is ready for bare legs and bright colors! Here are some tips for stowing away your winter garb :

Protect
Before packing up your winter clothing, do everything you can to protect your items and have them ready to go for the following winter. Before putting anything away for months, it’s important to get it cleaned. This way, all of your items will be fresh when you store them, and ready to go when you need them again. Store wool items with cedar balls or chips to prevent moth problems. Take your boots to the cobbler and have the leather cleaned. The cobbler can also repair the heels and add reinforcement to ensure that they make it through the next winter!

Categorize
When spring cleaning your closet and organizing off-season clothing, discard anything that you didn’t wear during the winter, or don’t see yourself reaching for again. You can donate or sell these pieces. Next, categorize your items. Keep all accessories together (gloves, scarves, hats, etc.), group all wool items together, store all wintry blouses together, and so on. This will make it easier when it comes time to take inventory of your items at the start of the next winter.

Underbed Boxes
When you live in a small space, underbed boxes are your best storage ally. When it comes to spring cleaning, you want to stow away all remnants of winter and clear space for a refreshing change of scenery. Underbed boxes are a great place for winter sweaters, gloves, scarves, even shoes and boots. In fact, you can get boot boxes that will slide under most beds as well, so that you can clear space for all of your spring sandals and ballet flats!

Hanging Garment Bag
A canvas hanging bag is a versatile and incredibly useful storage piece for spring cleaning. Just buy one that reaches to the floor and you can utilize all of that space between the hem of the hanging garments and the floor. Not only can you use the bag to corral winter coats, dresses, and other hanging garments, but you can also use it to store folded things like sweaters and shirts — making this a great double duty storage item for New York apartments.

Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Apartment by Jacqueline Clair | Coldwell Banker Blue Matter