Nest much?

Over the weekend I deep cleaned our hall closet.  It was the kind of deep clean that probably only happens when you're moving, OCD, or in my case nesting throughout your entire pregnancy.  (Is that even possible?!)  I know my mom is happy.  She has been encouraging (read: pestering) me for months to take some dynamite to this closet.  Ma, I did it.  

I'm almost afraid to show you the before pictures.  It isn't pretty.  Please remember that while this closet is conveniently sizable, it has to store all our coats, sports equipment, all my craft supplies, and lots of bags.  Let's get two things clear: I love to make stuff and I seriously love bags.  In fact, all three speeches given at our wedding mentioned my love of bags.  

Ok with that preamble, let's get to the pictures.  First up is a before and after shot.  Clearly, this started with disorganization combined with too much stuff.  And I ended with a still very full closet but at least more organized.  

Problem on the left, better solution on the right.

This project took me almost three hours with an extended breakfast break.  It cost $0 (until Sunday evening when I did buy bins for our shoes.)  The first thing that had to happen was removal of every item except the hanging jackets and suits that would be staying.  I went through every item and purged what I could while better organizing the rest. 

One of the main problems in this closet was that I had craft items in multiple corners of the closet.  They had to be contained. 

Another problem: shoes.  If you can't tell, Alan has Flintstone feet while mine are baby feet.  Seriously.  He wears a 13 and I wear a 6.5.   

This ginormous tub contained triathlon gear including swim suits from my high school days.  I tossed what wasn't needed and managed to condense what I need on hand for running and swimming (no biking for preggos) from the tub down to my little bag.  

These items took a hike - those on the left went to goodwill, the middle went to storage at Alan's mom's house, and the reusable bags were stashed in my car.  Side note, I love saving $0.05 per bag at the grocery store.   

Mackenzie was really worn out and had to take a nap part way through the closet clean out.  

Craft supplies went to the top of the closet and they were happy to be all together.  My bags were contained on the second shelf. 

Shoes didn't have a better home until Sunday night when I found some fun bins at Target.  So this is more like an "in progress" photo.  

All of that work left us with some space!!  Now Alan's suits aren't getting caught by the door.  Plus we have two little shelves that are open. 

Best of all, I found THREE recyclable bags.  These are not for the grocery store.  These are future bags for knitting projects.  Can't wait to turn these babies into upcycled knitted bags.   

With all that, I'm curious if anyone else felt the nesting bug throughout their pregnancy?  Did you constantly feel the need to clean and organize?  Or does this just mean my house needed it and this is my excuse?!