putting away the summer clothes...

while it is difficult to say good-bye to summer...the weather slowly changes...and the things that we wore all summer long...need to be put away...and room made for the cozy sweaters...boots and scarves...

but...before you stash away all that summer goodness...now is a great time to check the items...i mean...no reason to pack away things that won't be worn anymore...right?  so what are we looking for?

first and foremost - as with any season...the clothes that you hung on to...possibly from last summer...or the summer before that...and you still haven't worn...yeah...time to say good-bye...whether the item doesn't fit...doesn't suit your current lifestyle...why keep packing up these items...when you clearly are not wearing them?  time to break-up!

look over your current summer wears...are there stains from your summer activities?  now is the time to get them cleaned...don't save it for next season...stains left untouched...will only get worse...and harder to get rid of...besides...when summer rolls around next year...do you really want to be pulling out stained items?

look over all your t-shirts & tank-tops...any with yellow armpit stains need to go...have the colors faded?  be honest...these need to go...and replaced again...

now for the packing...keep in mind your summer hats...place them in hat boxes...if at all possible...or in a location where they will be protected...who wants to pull out a summer hat...all ready to go to the pool...only to find a hat that has lost its shape...or worse...wrecked from something sitting on top of it for 6 months?

when looking for storage bins...there really are so many to choose from...figure out where your storage space will be...and then choose accordingly...there are options for storage under the bed...on shelves...stacked...etc...what works for you?  and keep in mind...if you have a choice...between canvas and plastic coated ones...the plastic ones sometimes permeate that smell...and it doesn't go away easily...you don't want your clothes absorbing it for 6 months...

have a list ready for the items you need to replace for next summer...keep it in a place you will remember...there are a lot of items on sale right now...but keep in mind...don't buy just because it is on sale...if you need to replace certain items...and they are on sale...kudo's to you for finding them...also...make a note of the key pieces you enjoyed wearing this summer...make a note to shop for these must-haves in early spring...

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