Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with it during my long absence. I needed a little recharging, and though I'd hoped that I'd put the time to use doing actual projects, I ended up doing a lot more "conceptual" work (the kind you can do while lying on the couch), which I'll share as I refine it. But for today, the spring cleaning continues, this time with my closet.

As I noted with Lou and Bret's closet, my main task during stage two of an organizing process is to really evaluate what is and what is not working. Let's take a deeper dive into where my closets were, shall we?

Believe it or not, these pictures do illustrate some things I was doing right - or at least, rightish. For starters, I was making use of all the space, including the cavernous vertical space above the shelf, where I put shoe racks and shoes; the door, where I hung a hook for robes, belts and scarves; and the floor, where four big baskets held shirts, workout clothes, pants and hoodies. And extra shoes.

You can see how all that was working out. The idea was right, but the execution was no bueno. The shoe shelving units were so short that most of my shoes didn't fit on them, so they were shoved at the very top, which I could only access with a serious step ladder, or thrown on the closet floor. The hooks weren't maximizing the door space. And the baskets on the floor became black holes of mess. The closet has no light, and it was impossible to see beneath my hanging clothes to find out what was going on in there. I really tried to keep things organized, but every week between laundry days (when I would re-fold and put things away), chaos would reign once again. And, really, it's tough enough to find something to wear when you can actually see your crap.

My fourth error (but really, who's counting) was a very common one: Too Much Stuff. In my defense, there was a lot of transition happening when we moved in in November. I was four months pregnant, so I could still fit into a lot of stuff that is now a forgotten dream. And in November, you can still get by with cute fall things that don't involve layers of long underwear, so I had a lot of late summer/early fall stuff in there. I also had a TON of maternity wear from Lou - all of it career casual from my office job, and none of which was applicable to my current life. That stuff was crowding out the stuff I actually wear: that one pair of yoga pants and sweater that fit.

So I hauled everything out, and purged like crazy. If you want to truly organize your closet, you have to take everything out. You have to try things on. You have to ask yourself, seriously, whether you're holding onto something because you like it or because you think you should. I recommend a podcast and a stiff drink (or smoothie or milkshake - something to ease the pain) and making a day or night of it. I did that, and I managed to get rid of a bunch of maternity clothes, some of which I'll donate and some of which I'll consign.

What you keep out will depend on you, but for me, I packed away the rest of my out of season regular-sized clothes. Having done this before, I know I won't be back into pre-pregnancy sizes this summer (I'm due in May), so I went ahead and packed that stuff into my regular-size summer clothes suitcase, which I keep in another closet, along with a regular-size winter clothes suitcase. I kept out the casual maternity clothes I actually wear (yoga pants, sweater), plus transition and nursing clothes I plan to wear this summer. Then it was time to figure out how and where to best keep that remaining stuff.

First, I brought out a hanging sweater organizer I've had stashed away. I thrifted it years ago, and wouldn't have paid for than a couple bucks for it. I'm not always a huge fan of these things - see below for why - but it was clear that the giant bins on the floor were doing no good, and with my purging, I had enough rod space to hang this guy. It now holds all the stuff that the floor bins used to hold, plus bathing suits, in neatly labeled "drawers." About those drawers: this is a relatively rare 8-unit sweater organizer, and finding bins to fit that cost less than $15 a pop was a challenge. But at my local dollar store, I found these lidded numbers for $3 each.

The size and the price where right. They're not the most sturdy things in the world, but I'm not investing in pricey systems for this closet (there are big changes happening around here in the next six months, and I envision this closet as a craft closet down the line). And the lids were an obvious fail: Lids are the enemy or keeping things organized. So I cut the lids off, folded my clothes, file-style, into them, slid in labels and voila - I can actually see and access what I'm looking for. I should note that these hanging organizers are still a mild pain in the tush; the bins don't slide smoothly in or out, and it doesn't look super hot, either. But for $24 total to revolutionize my daily routine, I say it's for the win.

BUT: the hanging unit does have the effect of cutting off access to part of my closet. While I normally would think hard about reducing access to part of your closet, if you have things you don't need to access (say your whole wardrobe fits in your closet, for example, so formal wear or out-of-season stuff are all in there at one time), then having a spot for them that's nonetheless out of the main view is really helpful. Here, I segregated my warmer weather clothes from the winter clothes, tucking the warm-weather stuff behind the hanging unit. I'll switch the order when the weather finally does switch. And then, one day, in the distant future, the whole maternity/nursing kit and caboodle will go into a dedicated suitcase, and regular clothes will come back into the closet. I hope.

I still kept the floor storage, but I switched it to things I don't need to access every day, or keep super neat - belts (which aren't getting that much wear these days), purses/bags, out-of-season shoes, and a donate box. If you want to keep a closet organized, keep a donate box handy. It doesn't even have to be a box dedicated solely to donations: I throw anything in there that needs to be taken out of rotation: a vest I thought still fit but won't button, so it needs to be packed away; a shirt that needs a new button; stuff I want to donate. When it's full, I take it out and take care of all of that at once. It works for me, and it means that shirts I can't wear don't end up back on hangers, confusing everything, or in puddles on the floor. The little woven basket on top of the shoe box holds my winter slippers. In case you're curious.

As for the door storage, I think I nailed it. I had a super cheap (about $7) over-the-door towel rod from the dollar store (this one's nicer but way more expensive). It ended up being the perfect place to hang up pants. I can see them all, they're easy to access and put back, and it makes infinitely better use of this real estate than the belts I don't currently wear. If you don't mind putting holes in your doors, regular towel bars or short curtain rods would also work really well here. My robes got relocated to a hook on the back of bedroom door, where I appreciate having them.

But there was more back of the door space to be had, so I used it for my (admittedly insane) scarf collection.

That scarf hanger (maybe $4 from Burlington Coat Factory?) is hanging on a pretty heavy-duty Command hook I attached to the door. Though it's not quite breezy scarf time yet, it's getting there, and I like having them all so visible and accessible. And I really l like them not taking over a full drawer or bin, which they would, because there are so many of them.

Finally, I invested in a new shoe rack - the very cheapest I could find - to go with the shoe rack we already had (I think it's Ikea, but I relieved a trash pile of it) for the top shelf. Now my shoes fit on the racks and are much more accessible. Some still require a step ladder, but only a tiny one, not the beast I was having to drag out before. And I ditched the clear plastic shoe bins, which were taking up space and reducing visibility for no reason (they, and the white shoe racks, are in Lou's closet now, neatly labeled and doing a bang up job as drawers for her wee clothes).

And that is my new closet. I always say that you can tell a system is working by whether or not you can keep things that way, and so far, after some minor tweaks, this is a serious gem. Everything has stayed visible and neat and easy to put away - even after a trip to Colombia and all the packing and putting away that entailed. I know it's not a beautiful sight, but hey - what rental, reach-in closet is? In total, I spent $40 on the organization (shoe rack, bins, scarf hanger), which isn't nothing, but ain't no California closet either. Hope you enjoy peeking at my maternity wardrobe (so hot right now - OMG Zoolander 2!!!) and that you have a great day. Thanks for reading!