12 Things You Should Do Now That Spring Is (Finally) Here

After the many, many months of the worst winter in dreadful memory, it might finally be spring. (No jinxing this though, right?) And with the warm weather comes a new To-Do List to make sure you’re making the most out of this light-jacket weather.

1. Clean out your computer.

If your apartment was in the state of disarray that your desktop is currently in, your friend would probably walk in and exclaim “Oh my God, you’ve been robbed!” It’s time to take a step back and look at your computer life. It’s a mess. Put on a good playlist and organize those files, baby, because it’s a hot. ass. mess. Also, delete all those creeper screen shots you took of the guy you made out with in 8th grade that got super hot. Stalker is not a good look for anyone.

2. Invest in a new pair of killer shoes.

There’s just something awesome about having a new pair of shoes. It gives you a little extra swagger when you’re walking down the sidewalk, even when you can feel the blister forming on the back of your heel. Spring is the time to invest in the shoes that wouldn’t make it a day in the gross sludge of winter. We’re talking wedges. We’re talking moccasins. We’re talking the flats that make you look effortlessly chic while keeping you as-of-yet un-manicured toenails private. Get ‘em, grrl. You deserve it after keeping dem stems in boots all winter long.

3. Ask someone out.

This winter has basically been a relentless amalgamation of too many months spent in your sweatpants at home instead of going out on Friday nights. You probably even did the occasional recycling through “eh, maybe” people — you know, the ones you’re not really interested in but were okay for now, in a pinch. But that’s gotta stop. It’s easy to become a little hermit-like in the winter months, which is fine, but this spring you should going to re-introduce yourself in the dating world. It’s too fun to make out in the warm weather to waste this opportunity, after all. Is there anything more fun than throwing on a new spring outfit and having a drink with a stranger in an outdoor beer garden? Well, yes, staying in and watching House of Cards might be, but in the interest of not spending the rest of your life alone, let’s re-try that whole dating thing.

4. Join a league.

Even if you’re absolutely terrible at all things athletic, joining a sports league could be super fun. You’ll meet new people, you’ll probably participate in post-game drinking and you might even get a little bit of exercise. If any of this appeals to you, you should absolutely sign up for a Spring softball (or any other) league, ASAP. Even if you can’t swing a bat, you might get to re-live your college flip cup glory days at the bar afterwards. If you’re worried about joining it solo, don’t. There will be plenty of other individual players, and within a week or two, it won’t matter, anyway.

5. Get back in touch with old friends.

Again, the winter is really convenient for not talking to anyone ever because you’re re-watching House of Cards on Netflix and ordering pizza again. But spring is the time to step up your social game. Text the friends you haven’t seen since November and ask them to join you in a margarita night at a local bar patio. You’ll be glad you did. At the very least, you’ll get to wear your new favorite outfit and drink some delicious frozen beverages. You’ll probably end up having a blast with the people you’ve been avoiding all winter. Don’t worry if you’ve been out of the friend game too long — I’m sure they’re itching for an excuse to hang out with you, too.

6. Get that winter coat dry-cleaned.

It’s so tempting to shove our winter jackets in the back of our closets the second the weather gets above 50, but hey, let’s be responsible adults and take care of our nice things. Get that nice wool coat dry cleaned (and repaired, too, if it’s missing any buttons or had any other random wear-and-tear in the past months) before you shun it with closet purgatory. You’ll be glad you did in eight months and it’s all fresh and ready for yet another miserable winter.

7. Try out a new route for your run.

Okay, this one is kind of annoying because running, and exercise in general, is annoying. But now that it’s nice enough not to depend on your gym’s climate control, you should try out a new running routine. Or an outdoor yoga thing. Whatever it is, you should be exercising outside. Life is too short to be in a stuffy gym all the time.

8. Plan a picnic.

Is there anything more spring-y than a good old-fashioned picnic?! No, there is not. This year, pack up some brie and crackers, wash some grapes and head to park with your buddy for some wholesome snacking in the sun. Bonus points if you can bring alcohol, because day drinking in the sun is awesome. (But so is sparkling grape juice, so I’m down with bringing just that, too.)

9. Get new sheets (or, at least wash them).

There’s something really refreshing about having nice, new sheets on your bed. Whether they’re fresh from the store or simply freshly laundered, you will feel like a Real Life Adult by putting clean sheets on your bed for once. I once read that Oprah changes her sheets every other day and her pillowcase daily, but you’re not Oprah, so feel free to settle with changing them every time it crosses your mind (like now.)

10. Make a warm-weather playlist .

For me, warm-weather playlists will always include a little bit of Nelly, a lot a bit of Beyoncé, and probably some crappy pop-punk that I listened to middle school that I am embarrassingly still really into. But, you do you; make a spring playlist that makes you want to skip outside and skip in a field of daisies. Or whatever spring makes you want to do.

11. Clean.

Spring Cleaning. Duh. This one is more of a “maybe I’ll do it if I find myself bored in the apartment on a Saturday afternoon,” but let’s be real, you’ll probably be outside, enjoying the weather or reading a book, lamenting the rainy spring weather. This one probably won’t happen.

12. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Before too long, it’s going to be too hot to function and you’re going to regret the days you submitted to a Netflix marathon when it was a perfectly sunny and breezy 70 degrees. So before it’s too late, appreciate what it feels like to have the light spring breeze coming through the living room windows and live it up. After this past winter, we really, really deserve it.