After a cold and snowy couple months, we enjoyed a taste of warm weather this week in Chicago. However, it will still be awhile before we can break out the shorts and sandals. During the slow transition from winter to spring, I embrace nautical fashion because you can combine the spirit of warm weather without losing much-needed layers.

When the snowy days of winter begin winding down, we can all look forward to the rainy days of spring. However, just like the cold weather requires appropriate clothing, you'll need to be prepared to stay dry in the rain.

One of the tips I always see in magazines for getting organized is to plan your week on Sunday afternoons. That is easier said than done. I would rather spend that time curled up on the couch with a good book than filling in a spreadsheet of meals and outfits and whatnot for the upcoming week. However, 20 minutes of effort before the start of the work week will save you time and energy in the mornings. It probably won't be the most fun activity of your weekend, but by Thursday morning you'll be glad you did it:

1. Check the weather. The 5 day forecast won't be perfect, but at least you'll have a general overview of the week. Plan to wear your dresses and skirts on the warmer days and save your pants for the rain and cold. 

2. Take a look at your calendar. If you have any big meetings, you'll want to make sure that you plan to wear a suit (or your sharpest business casual look, depending the office dress code). Also be sure to look at your post-work commitments. If you have a dinner date that doesn't leave you enough time to change, you'll want to wear versatile "desk-to-dinner" pieces.

3. Tweak a basic formula. It can be overwhelming to come up with five outfits all at once, so start simple. For example, each week you might wear a dress one day, a skirt one day, trousers two days, and denim one day. That decreases the number of options you have to sort through so just have to add tops to match the weather and the formality of the specific day.

4. Move the clothes to the front of your closet. It is much easier to put an outfit together when you can look at the actual pieces. Go to your closet and hang the base pieces from your formula front and center. Then add the rest of the pieces so the full outfits are hanging together. If you want, you can even hang jewelry and accessories with the pieces to increase ease of getting dressed. 

The beauty of this is that even if you wake up late and are not feeling confident about that day's outfit, you will have other options ready for you. Plus, planning out the week means that you'll know if you need to do a load of laundry on Sunday, rather than on Wednesday morning as you are trying to run out the door. How do you make getting dressed a little less crazy in the mornings? Let me know in the comments!

I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, no matter how you are celebrating. I wish that I could send cards to each of you, but since that's not feasible, here are some virtual candy hearts to let you know how wonderful I think all of you are: