After a long, cold and snowy Winter, Spring is finally starting to show up. With the clocks going forward, you’ll be able to enjoy an extra hour of daylight in the evening, making you feel more energised and awake. Take this opportunity to care for yourself while getting out of hibernation mode, and follow these tips to help your body, and mind, transition into Spring.

1. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

While Winter is the time for warming soups and hearty stews, the arrival of Spring is the perfect occasion to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. From better taste to higher nutritional value, eating seasonally offers a whole range of benefits. Local fruits and vegetables harvested during their peak time are nutritionally rich and support your body’s natural needs at different times of the year. Eating asparagus and strawberries when they’re ripe in your region of the world also helps limit your carbon footprint whilst supporting local farmers. Plus, who doesn’t love the feeling of eating the first apricots, cherries or peas of the year? It certainly is something I look forward to every Spring! If you want to know which food is in season when, check out Eat Seasonably’s colourful calendar or have a look at the BBC’s seasonality table.

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, or even a sunny windowsill, Spring is also the perfect time to sow and plant fruits, vegetables and herbs. Get started and find out what to plant when thanks to the RPA’s fantastic month-by-month guide.

2. Get Outside

After months and months spent mostly indoors, hiding away from the cold and darkness, it’s finally time to enjoy the outdoors again. Longer, warmer days are an invitation to take a stroll in a park or along the beach, discover an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or even just walk into town instead of using public transportation. This will help you get all the vitamin D you need to feel in top shape, and get your body moving again.

3. Get Moving

Even with strong willpower, going out for a run in the cold is not an easy thing to do, so you’re forgiven if you’ve been putting off exercising during the Winter months. But make sure to get moving again now that the days are getting longer, warmer and brighter! Whether you choose to go to the gym, take a run around the block, go hiking in the countryside or finally start Tai Chi classes, moving around stimulates circulation and improves your digestion and metabolism. 20 minutes of walking once or twice a day is enough to get your body moving. If you want to make it more fun or challenging, you could try training for a 5 or 10K run for charity.

4. Give Your Home a Natural Spring Clean

For many of us, the arrival of Spring has become associated with the idea of deep cleaning our home. Getting rid of the dust, dirt and cat’s (or dog’s) hairs that have accumulated in hidden corners of our home gives us a great sense of accomplishment. But you don’t need tons of different chemical products to tackle dirt and grease. Not only can they cost a fortune, but most cleaning products are also harmful to the environment, and to your body. Thankfully, they can easily be replaced with natural, eco-friendly alternatives that don’t cost the Earth. Brands like Bio-D and Ecover offer a wide range of cleaning products made with plant-based and naturally-derived ingredients. If you’re ready for an even bigger switch, white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice can be used to clean pretty much everything in your home!

5. Let Go of Clutter

Spring cleaning also constitutes the perfect opportunity to not only reorganise but reassess your possessions. If you can’t ever find anything in your house, are surrounded by piles and piles of old bills or are constantly frustrated by your wardrobe, you might want to try the KonMari Method. Developed by best-selling author Marie Kondo, the KonMari Method is an empowering approach to decluttering. Based on the idea that you should surround yourself with items that “spark joy”, this technique helps you get rid of the clutter that takes space in your home and mind, and allows you reconnect with the objects that matter most to you. If you haven’t already given it a try, now is the perfect time to start.

6. Start Transitioning your Wardrobe

After seemingly endless months of wearing coats, scarves, gloves and layers over layers, it can be tempting to ditch your tights and wear T-shirts as soon as temperatures start rising. Not so fast! You wouldn’t want to get a cold now, would you? But while you can’t start wearing denim shorts and sundresses straight away, you could start adding some colour to your outfits to make them more Spring-like. Start by swapping your dark jeans for lighter ones, and invite pastel shades and bright colours – two big trends for Spring/Summer 2018 – into your wardrobe. And don’t forget a touch of “ultra-violet” purple, Pantone’s colour of the year. 80s and 90s fashion are also having a massive revival, so don’t be afraid to go bold with shoulder-padded jackets and neon colours. If you’re looking for that perfect Spring look, simply pair one of our lip colours with your favourite pastel skirt and a pair of tights. Feeling adventurous? Play with contrast and wear an orange red with a navy dress, or sport a hot pink lip (like Couleur Caramel’s Fuchsia) with a grey jumper for an edgy, sophisticated style.

7. Tweak your Beauty Routine and Treat Yourself

If you’re planning a deep clean, I highly recommend taking the time to clean your makeup bag, give your makeup brushes a good wash and chuck out your old beauty products. It’s also a perfect time to invest in some new products for the warmer season, such as a lighter moisturizer or foundation, brighter lipstick or a more summery blush. And if you want to treat yourself and jump into Spring with confidence, why not book a makeup lesson with us to learn how to highlight your features and make the most of the products you already have? We offer bespoke, one-to-one or group makeup lessons using all the organic beauty products sold in our store. Lasting approximately two hours, our lessons are tailored to your needs and will teach you simple techniques to help you bring out your best features. A perfect self-care investment to get you out of the hibernation period!