Did we just blink and almost half the year is over?! Hello, spring! What is this ‘springergy’ I am feeling in the air?! Are you feeling it too?
It literally felt like it was just yesterday I was exploring the Christmas markets in Sicily! I blinked and now the icy grey London streets have transformed into an open English garden with bright colourful blooms. With the days getting longer and the temperature warmer, why not use this transition period to implement spring reset routines to awaken yourself from the winter dormancy, unleash the fire within you and take action to pursue your dreams?
I don’t know about you, but I always feel that winter in London is extra long and gloomy to start the year off. Maybe it’s the Aussie in me! I’ve spent most of my winters hibernating at home. So I can’t help but feel a little stagnant over the season. So soon as spring comes, I am ready to embrace the new energy, hope and change this season brings us. Spring Reset Routines are an effective way to help you shake off those excess winter stagnation and enable you to quickly spring into action (#punintended). LOL
Today, I am sharing my 10 simple hacks to create a fresh start this spring/summer. I hope they will inspire you can to refresh your life, declutter your living space and create a more elegant living environment.
Embrace elegant living through changes in nature
Before we get into it, let’s first look at how you can embrace seasonal changes through the lens of elegant living.
The principles of elegant living are: Reflect, Refine and Elevate across all aspects of your lives. To live elegantly means embodying grace, poise, and sophistication in all areas of your life, by continuously reflecting, refining and elevating. It involves a combination of physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects, and it is not necessarily tied to material possessions or wealth.
This could just be simply cultivating an appreciation for the finer things in life, whether it’s through art or nature. A wonderful and fun way to embrace elegant living is to embrace the beauty in the four seasons by creating a home that is in harmony with the four seasons, which is what the spring reset routines will help you to create.
Now, without further ado, let’s get started.
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1. Prepare your mindset for change and renewal
Spring is often associated with renewal, growth and new beginnings. So the first thing to do is to prepare your mindset for change, fresh start and growth. As the saying goes, the only permanent thing is change. Therefore, it is healthy to cultivate a mindset that embraces change.
I appreciate change can be uncomfortable for some of you, but it is necessary for growth and renewal. So I want you to be “comfortable in the uncomfortable” and learn to adapt to change. Try to view it as an opportunity for growth and learning, rather than a source of stress or anxiety.
Be comfortable in the uncomfortable
Preparing for a change mindset will make it easier for you to switch things, refresh and reset your routines.
2. Declutter your living space
A great way to have a fresh start to the new season is to declutter your living space. This can help you feel more organised and create a sense of calm and relaxation in your home. It is also a good opportunity to go through your belongings to see what’s truly important to you. Start small by decluttering one room or area at a time. Donate or sell items that no longer serve a purpose in your life.
I know what you’re thinking. Letting go of things is not something I can do easily either. But I try to imagine how my items are able to serve someone else better and bring them more joy. This is modern-day sustainable living!
3. Tidy up your living space
If you really struggle to get rid of things, then the next best thing is tidying up! Of course, tidying up regularly should be part of your elegant lifestyle habit. But I get it, life gets in the way sometimes! So spring is definitely a good time to take a pause and have a good tidy-up!
The best way is to create a home for all your items and make it a habit to put them back after every use. Done with the book, put it back on the shelf. It’s that simple! Having a neat and tidy living space is the epitome of creating an elegant living environment.
A great tip is to use boxes (I just repurpose old beauty gift boxes) and trays to house all the small items together to make the space more aesthetic. I just got this beautiful marble tray from The White Company and this super chic jewellery organiser from Amazon. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’d know that The White Company is my favourite brand for anything home related. Their items are really well-priced for their quality. The soft neutral tones will make your home more luxe and elevated.
4. Switch up your decor with a pop of spring colours
Life is nothing but a set of habits and routines which can sometimes make us feel stagnant and uninspired! Therefore, switching up your home decor might just be what you need to break up the routine to renew your life since we spend so much time at home. Hello, WFH!
This time last year, I completely rearranged our living/dining room furniture! The result was really invigorating, refreshing and energising. It might be that sitting on the same sofa, and watching the same TV from a different angle is all you need to spark joy and ignite those creative juices within you!
But you don’t need to be this drastic of course. It could just simply be changing the accent colour of some of your decor is enough to refresh your home this spring/summer, such as these embroidered bees and dragonflies and yellow linen from H&M, pair them with this yellow throw and this vase from Oliver Bonas. I also love love love this one (sadly it doesn’t come in yellow) and this pastel pink glass vase.
Or switch up your floral arrangements with new flowers, whether it’s using fresh flowers or evergreen ones. As much as I love playing with fresh flowers, they are high maintenance that requires more time and money. So I like to have a mixture of at home.
I got just these faux flowers from The Suffolk Nest and OhMyGoodness!! They are the most realistic faux flowers I’ve ever seen!! You have to trust me on this one as I’ve been searching for non-tacky faux flowers for a long long time! This is not sponsored nor is it an affiliate link. I just love everything Ashely Jane does and wanted to share it with you in case you’re in the market for some evergreen flower arrangements.
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5. Replace your pillows
Another must-have on my spring reset routines list is replacing the pillows we sleep on. Getting a good night’s sleep is so important to our health and mental well-being. Choosing a pillow that is right for you is fundamental to getting good sleep. Many experts recommend that we replace our pillows every 1 – 2 years to ensure that they continue to provide us with the right support, and are clean and free from allergens.
I have tried many pillows, from memory foam to cotton and nothing has me sleeping like a baby like this luxury Hungarian down-feather pillow. Alan and I have been using these down pillows for years and we literally cannot sleep on anything else! So if this is within your budget, then I highly recommend it!
This year, with the cost of living crisis and all, I decided to try this Everyday Duck Down one for half the price! I got the soft support and the medium for Alan. I can honestly say it was equally wonderful and super comfortable! Sure, the Hungarian one comes in a luxurious case with a higher tread count, but nothing a silk pillowcase can’t fix!
6. Refresh your bath towels
Replacing fresh towels in your home is a simple yet effective way to elevate your daily routines for spring and add a touch of luxury to your living space. Fresh towels not only provide a sense of cleanliness and freshness, but they can also enhance the overall aesthetic of your bathroom. If you’re living in a hard water city like me, then the towels will become really hard and stiff after so many washes. If you’ve ever rubbed sandpaper on your skin, that’s what it feels like.
I recommend choosing towels in soft and absorbent materials, such as Egyptian cotton or bamboo, for a plush and indulgent feel. You may also want to choose a colour that complements your spring accent. Replacing fresh towels regularly is a small but nice way to add elegance to your home.
7. Reset routines for your mornings and evenings
If your life is anything like mine, it evolves around a set of routines! I have a morning routine when I wake up. Go to work. I have breakfast and lunch in between meetings! After work, I do 30min HIIT Pilates routine. Have dinner and carry out my evening routines before bed. I wake up the next day and start again… which can make us feel complacent!
Therefore, it’s important to switch things up where possible so you don’t feel like you’re in this same rat race day-in-day-out! At this time of year, with the earlier sunrise, I’d naturally wake up earlier. Therefore, I like to make the most of my mornings by switching my exercise session to the morning instead of the evening. This means I can free up my evenings to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, go out for a meal or blog. It’s a win-win and super easy to implement!
8. Switch up your beauty routines for spring
Another thing I do on a regular basis is to switch up my beauty routines and skincare products. Because 1) there are so many new products out there and I am a true sucker! haha… I love trying out new products to find the best ones for my skin type, and 2) I feel once your skin gets used to a product, then it will stop being effective. This has been proven by… me! I’ve been doing this all my life. I am pretty happy with how my skin looks for my age, I think I’d know a thing or two about skincare! 😉
Anyway, I digress! It is important to tailor our skincare routine to the different weather conditions to ensure our skin gets the appropriate amount of hydration and moisturisation. For example, winter can be harsher on the skin compared to summer. The cold weather tends to dry out my skin and if I don’t care for it properly, it can be really drying and dehydrated, which can cause wrinkles. So I always use a rich cream moisturiser, serum and oil to increase hydration and plump the skin. On the other hand, summer is typically more humid and more forgiving on the skin. So I find a lightweight moisturiser plus high in SPF is enough.
Therefore, a key part of my Spring/summer reset routines is switching the skincare products to something less rich and creamy like this Dewy Skin Cream from Tatcher that plumps and hydrates the skin. This is perfectly paired with their Liquid Silk Canvas Primer to improve water retention, nourish the skin, and reduce signs of ageing.
Another beauty product I like to swap out for spring is perfumes! I love a fresh floral scent that screams spring and summer! My current favourite is this Lily of the Valley from Penhaligons. It honestly smells like the real lily of the valley! I also swapped out my candles for my favourite Roses from Diptique.
Let me know if you would like me to share my skincare routine!
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9. Spend more time outdoors
It goes without saying that with the longer and warmer days, we should spend more time outdoors and build up our vitamin D reserve as much as we can! Make time to go for a walk around the neighbourhood after work to get some fresh air. Mix up your morning exercise routine with a morning jog. Choose alfresco dining instead of being stuck indoors.
I am going back to my weekend jogs this spring. Who’s with me?
10. Turnover your wardrobe for the new season
Lastly, turnover your wardrobe for spring. Because we live in central London, space is limited, and sadly I don’t have the luxury of a big walk-in wardrobe! Therefore, I need to switch over my wardrobe for the new season. This means an important part of my spring reset routines is packing up all my big woolly jumpers, coats, scarves etc into storage, and replacing them with all my spring/summer outfits. This is also a good opportunity to declutter and clear out items that no longer serve me or are aligned with my current style. Or think of it as making room for new clothes.
11. Spring clean your home (optional)
For many cultures such as Chinese, spring is associated with Lunar New Year, 春节 (chun jie), which is translated to Spring Festival. One of the main traditions in preparing for the Spring Festival is spring cleaning. The meaning behind that is to be rid of the old (“dirty laundries”) and make space for new opportunities.
Therefore, I always feel spring is the perfect time to give your home a deep clean for a sparkly new season at home. I’m not talking about regular cleaning chores here. I’m referring to those ‘yearly’ cleaning activities such as deep cleaning the windows, curtains, carpets, furniture etc. If you don’t know where to start, check out this comprehensive spring cleaning checklist by Better Homes and Garden.
What other spring reset routines do you do that is not on the list?
So here you have it ladies. These are my 10 simple spring reset routines for 2023. I hope they have inspired you to switch things up at home and create a start fresh for the new season as well as motivated you to pursue new goals!
I would love to hear what are some of your spring reset routines. Feel free to share them in the comments section below so we can all learn from your experience too!
Till next time,
J xx
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