Mother Nature has always proven to be a fickle friend for Michigan residents, and her indecisiveness seems to peak during late winter and early spring. Abnormally warm temperatures in February? Check. Snow in late April? Check. 

The ever-changing forecast may make it near impossible to plan a cookout or a family hiking trip in the next month or so, but it is very doable to prepare yourself, both physically and mentally, for the true spring season. Here are 10 tips to help you look and feel great this spring.

• Take advantage of the nice weather while it’s here.

Get outside, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy the warmth of the sun (with sunscreen of course). 

“Walk outside whenever you get a chance,” suggests Susanne Bahlke, a personal fitness trainer in Flint.

“Walking outside stimulates the production of vitamin D and makes you feel good,” Bahlke said. Think positive and pay attention to your surroundings, and learn to enjoy the flowers, birds and nature, she said.

• Eat a little better.

“One very easy tip is to eat more color,” said Dawn Johnson, a registered dietitian and executive director of IMC Center for Nutrition & Weight Management in Flint. “If you’re eating more color — reds, oranges, greens, yellows — you are probably eating more fruits and vegetables.”

Johnson also recommends practicing good posture to feel better.

“With your head held high and your shoulders back you will look slimmer, and by holding your stomach in you will develop your muscles.”

• Find a good spa and treat yourself to a facial.

“April is the worst month for your skin,” said Megan Jacobs, a skin care specialist at Day Escape Salon & Spa in Bay City. “Winter is 25 percent dryer due to rises in humidity levels and it’s hard on your skin.”

Judy A. Bukowski, president at Day Escape, agreed.

“We recommend four facials a year — spring, summer, fall and winter. A facial in spring cleanses your face, and leaves you feeling reconditioned, nourished and balanced.”

When searching for a spa Bukowski recommends doing some investigating.

“Use a spa that was built as a spa, and focuses on spa treatments. Also, make sure the staff has excellent credentials and research the products they use.”

• Give yourself happy hands and feet.

“A good manicure helps care for your cuticles so they are not dry, and keeps you from getting hangnails,” Bukowski said, adding that the dryer months are hard on hands and feet, too. 

“Everybody wants their feet to be pretty,” she said. “Painted toes look nice and a pedicure will also slough off the dry skin.” Bukowski recommends the energizing and uplifting Peppermint Twist pedicure offered at Day Escape.

• Don’t forget the rest of you.

“Body treatments that slough off winter and exfoliate your skin are also important,” Jacobs said. Day Escape offers a skin refining body polish that smoothes and hydrates the skin with an exfoliating scrub, followed by a rich moisturizing cream.

• Find yourself a sassy new dress.

Macy’s favorite looks for spring 2010 include a lot of yellow and white, and ready-to-wear styles are featured prominently. The dresses flow and the designs are simple, true signs of comfort and feeling good.

• And how about some shoes to match? 

Whether you shop at Macy’s or Payless, ballet flats are all the rage this spring. Solids, prints, sparkles or not, you can’t go wrong with the comfort factor or the bounce these shoes will put in your step.

• Do a little organizing.

Before you buy your sassy new dress and shoes it’s a good idea to take inventory of what you already have in your closet. Deborah Erickson, a certified professional organizer and owner of No Where But Up Organizing in Hemlock offers this advice: “The one thing I’ve seen that works the best is baby steps.” 

When organizing a closet, Erickson recommends starting by removing any item that is torn, stained or no longer fits.

“Be realistic about what you will wear again, and if it still has the tags on it take it to a consignment shop.”

If a client is having difficulty determining which items haven’t been worn in a while, Erickson suggests reversing your hangers.

“As you wear certain items you will hang them back up the other way. After some time you will have a visual of what you have not worn.”

Erickson said her clients are generally smiling and peppy after an organizing session.

“They are less worked up and overwhelmed,” she said, and that is a good thing.

• Bring home some fresh cut flowers.

Research conducted by Rutgers University shows that nature provides us with an easy way to improve emotional health and feel great this spring — flowers. Beautiful spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths can trigger happy emotions, increase feelings of life satisfaction and lessen anxiety. Whether you pick these beauties from your yard or stop by a florist on your way home the benefits to your mood can be instant and long term.

• Wear your sunscreen.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that, regardless of skin type, a broad-spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB rays), water-resistant sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 should be used year-round. Enough said.