Winter Clothes... Summer Clothes... Maternity Clothes

Growing up, every spring & every fall, my mom put my brothers & I through a ritual of swapping out our clothing.  We'd  go up in the attic & pull down boxes filled with clothes  for the upcoming season.  Unload the clothes & set them up for laundry day.  We would usually reuse the same box for the previous season's clothes, seal the boxes with packing tape and put them away for 6 months.  

In the process of unpacking, there's be the inevitable "I love this T-shirt!" or "I've missed these shorts!" moments that made the day fun & exciting... almost like Christmas morning.  I've been faithfully following this ritual since I left home.  The fickle weather in Seattle poses a challenge, though...

Figuring out the right change over time is very difficult to predict here... a typical June week could include 90 degree weather & 60 degree weather.  PLUS, with the weather only really getting THAT HOT here for maybe 2 weeks (non-consecutive), many of my summer clothes are about 10 years out of style (I moved from Atlanta in 1999 where it always got THAT HOT).  My changeovers are still of the "I love this T-shirt" variety, but more often than not end up in "I guess I could give this away now" moments.

This year is REALLY interesting and VERY interesting:

1. Nothing fits me anymore.  (weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy... weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy... weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy... weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy... weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy... weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy...).  
2. Since my summer clothes don't fit, my winter clothes have no place to go.
3. Since I have to buy (or procure) maternity clothes, the new clothes also have no place to go.

We live in a condo, so finding storage for all these clothes presents a challenge.  Right now my winter clothes are filling up the closet.

The full closet is about 12' wide, not very deep, but Dean & I share it.  I have the inside doors, he has the outside doors with gives me 12' of hanging space & 8' of shelf space.

In a normal year, I'll swap out jeans for shorts, long sleeve shirts & sweaters for tank tops and summery t-shirts.... This year, my summer clothes are still "technically" in storage (which means they are on the floor in the 2nd bedroom): 

FORTUNATELY!!! Dean is out of town this week... so far, my maternity clothes are... well... definitely NOT put away.  For example, this is my living room:

I also have 2 bags of clothes from Old Navy on the door in my bedroom and some maternity skirts hanging on the foot of my bed... waiting for room.

Since Dean is due home in 3 days, I probably should get crackin' on putting this stuff away.