While the last official day of Summer in Australia was a long time ago, it’s still stinking hot — & when I say stinking hot, I mean 40 (that’s 100 for you Americans) degrees plus. I think it would be fair to say that most of us have had enough of the hot weather. Bring on the chill!

Regardless of what’s happening, temperature-wise, in your town, there are some things I think everyone should do in preparation for the upcoming season!

Buy new bedding
Summer is the season of romance & salacious rendez-vous, while Winter is more suited to hibernation & mass snuggling. Either way, it places your bedroom at the centre of most of the activities — meaning it is of utmost importance!

Your bedroom is the ultimate expression of who you are — so what does yours look like? More importantly, how does it make you feel? Is it a calm little nook, or more like a toxic waste dump? Do you bliss out on a regular basis or do you have a constant headache? You can always improve the way your bedroom looks, & if you do, you’ll find that it’ll help your mood, too.

You don’t have to go the whole hog & buy a new duvet cover, new sheets & new pillowcases. If you’re a bit strapped for cash, check out these pillowcases from Urban Outfitters! Otherwise, feel free to go nuts on high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, comforters reminiscent of fluffy marshmallows & lovely colours & patterns to make bed your favourite place to be.

Buy new sleepwear
If your pyjamas are looking a little worse for wear, & even if they’re not, now is the time to stock up on new sleepwear!

I was totally overdue for some new pyjama pants, so we went out on Sunday & hit up the sleepwear areas of David Jones & Myer (department stores here in Australia). Simon got some awesome stripey Paul Smith pyjamas from David Jones, while I trawled the underwear section of Myer. I picked up a pair of white & blue striped pyjama bottoms with a big pink bow by Miss Pink (Myer’s new underwear label), & a black simple slip dress from Bonds which feels amazing. It makes me feel like a total sauce mistress!

Wearing something glamorous or otherwise awesome to bed is a vastly underrated pleasure. Plus, it’s great to walk into the bathroom in the morning & see your stylish reflection! (Unless you are a vampire, in which case… sorry.)

Sort out your wardrobe
Next time you have a few hours to spare (like on the weekend), put on some good music & go through all your clothing for the opposite season. Pull out your sundresses & shorts & open-toed wedges if you’re heading into Spring, & take stock of your Merino wool jerseys, winter-weight skirts & collection of faux-fur coats if cold weather is nipping at your heels.

Work out what you’ll wear this coming season & what could probably be scrapped. This means YOU, irrevocably stained cashmere sweaters, tank tops that give you an unsightly armpit bulge & uncomfortable shoes! What you do with these things is up to you, your creativity level & how much effort you want to put in. You can recycle these things to make new items, donate them to charity, sell them on Ebay or fob them off on your younger sister, if you like!

Once you’ve sorted the wheat from the chaff, have a think about what you’d like to wear in the coming months. Are there any items your wardrobe is sorely lacking, like a plain white shirt, a new pair of jeans, some basic high heels or a good coat? Get out a piece of paper & make a list of the things you need. Put it in your purse & refer to it when the shopping itch hits you next.

Write a style concept
Going a step further from the wardrobe cleanse, write a style concept! I have written two in past: Fashion Report: Summer/Autumn 2007 & Fashion Report: Spring/Summer 2007/08. If you’re not exactly sure what you want to wear in the coming season, have a look through your style notebook, appraise your daily outfit photos, flick through some magazines & browse Style.com for some inspiration.

Start writing down things that appeal to you. Maybe you’ve decided that a leather jacket is essential, or that you want to rock the neogoth look. Don’t worry about it if you’re writing down lots of things that are seemingly unrelated — you can make it work (& you can always go back & alter it later!). It doesn’t have to be totally cohesive, & in fact, it will probably be more interesting & satisfying if it isn’t! I think sometimes we unintentionally draw ourselves into corners when we decide on our “look” for the season, which can be very limiting & frustrating. So, go with the flow! Allow your look to evolve & change. Don’t feel that just because you wrote down ‘skinny jeans’, you can’t wear any other kind of trouser.

Once you’ve written your style report, find some pictures that support the look you’re going for. Paste it all together, either digitally or on paper, & put it somewhere that you’ll see it all the time. Next to your wardrobe is an excellent place for it. Hopefully it will provide you with lots of inspiration for the coming season!

Come up with season-specific goals or milestones
Let’s face it, life is different in Summer & Winter. Winter is a great time for hunkering down & working on a project, spending lots of snuggly time with your loved ones & nourishing yourself. Summer is more about socialising — going to parties, taking up a new sport, connecting with new people & living it up. So it makes sense to have different things you want to achieve on either side of the year.

Some things you might like to do in Winter include watching every episode of The Mighty Boosh ever made, finding a new favourite hot drink, experimenting with a new recipe every week, going ski-ing or working on your masterpiece.

When it comes to Summer, you might be more inclined to work on your fitness, go swimming every few days, throw an amazing party, or escape to a tropical island!

If you need some more inspiration, I wrote these articles last year! Things To Do In Summer & Things To Do In Winter.

What do you do in preparation for the season change?