Now that I'm starting to slowly acquire maternity clothes, I'm not really sure how to organize my closet. I'm one of those who has clothes organized by form, function, and color (all tanks are together, all work shirts, all T-shirts, all long-sleeve T-shirts, all casual shirts, etc....and then each in order by color).
Did you pack away the clothes you knew would be useless for the next year? Did you just integrate your maternity clothes in with your other clothes and leave them all out? Any tips?
Re: how did you organize your closet?
So far I've just integrated what few maternity items I have.. but it is driving.me.crazy to have a closet full of clothes I cannot wear. I just told DH last night that we are "purging" the closet and dresser this weekend.?
I will put up what I hope to fit into post-baby, and probably end up giving a lot of things away.
DH is worried that by purging the closet, I will see how little I have that actually fit me right now and need to go shopping... so he's not on board. haha?
The O'Baby Blog
I also have my closet organized by colour of clothing, but with my maternity stuff, I just stuck it all in the forefront of our closet for easy access.
However, I work from home, so I don't have to be all that fashionable, so I didn't have that HUGE of a selection. :-) Sorry, wish I could be more help!
~NDK~
I did this as well. It makes it easier (and less depressing) to not have to sort through everything to find the 10 things I fit into.
The Blog
I went to Walmart and got 4 or 5 of those huge plastic storage bins. I kept one on the floor of my closet. As I discovered that an item no longer fit me I tossed it in there in disgust. Alternately, many items I decided "this is the last time I'm wearing this" I washed them and put them in there. Never to be seen again until I thought I could wear them again . After DD was born and the clothes started to come out, I put another one in there to place maternity clothes that were too big postpartum. Yet another started the collection of clothes DD was outgrowing daily.
Personally, I hated seeing clothes hanging there that didn't fit me anymore. It was too much of a tease. But I don't have all that many clothes so this process really worked for me. Perhaps you have another closet you could put some of your nicer things in on the hangers. I wouldn't think you'd want to put nice work shirts in a plastic box for almost a year.
ETA: If you haven't done a really good purge lately - now is the time to. It's hard to find a day to go through clothes once you have a baby! Be ruthless. If you haven't worn it in a year, it goes (fancy dresses are an exception). If it doesn't look good on you - gone. Etc etc.
I am not one to organize by color or function but this is how I do it:
I only keep things I can fit into in my closet. Seeing clothes I can't fit into just frustrates me. If I discover that I can no longer wear it, it goes in a pile in my closet and is then transferred to a box in the attic when I have time.
I have a box of maternity clothes I can't yet fit into (but I will be in them by the end of my pregnancy). Then I have like three boxes of "non-maternity clothes" that I can't fit into when I'm pregnant. Those stay in the attic. Then I have a box of post-pregnancy clothes that are a size up from my "normal" clothes that I can wear for the four or so months post-partum.
Shortly after Christmas I cleaned out my closet and removed 80% of the stuff that didn't fit. It was an extreme measure, but I found that every day I was trying on 10 different things, feeling depressed when none of them fit, and leaving most of them on the floor or draped over the chair in my closet in frustration. I used two plastic tubs and packed everything that could be folded (those are in the garage now) and put a bunch of dresses and other dry cleaned clothes in the guest closet. I kept maternity clothes and anything that might still work like long, stretchy tops, blazers that can be worn open, etc.
I still feel like I have nothing to wear, but at least now I know it at first glance and I don't have to do a teary fashion show before work every day. HTH!!
I just put all my non-maternity clothes towards the back and my maternity-friendly clothes in the front. I, too, have a lot of pre-PG clothes that work (long-ish shirts, etc.) so I didn't want to completely get rid of everything...not to mention that I don't have that many maternity clothes so I'd literally have like 6 shirts hanging up in my closet.
I did exactly the same thing.