Do you have a closet full of clothes but feel like you have nothing to wear? Or, do you wear the same outfits over and over again and rarely wear the rest of the clothes in your closet? That was pretty much me.
Project 333
So, when I heard about Courtney Carver’s Project 333 challenge, (from her blog www.bemorewithless.com) I immediately knew it was something I wanted to try. Project 333 is all about creating a seasonal capsule wardrobe that includes 33 items that you wear for 3 months.
What’s included? Clothing, accessories, jewellery, outerwear and shoes
What’s not included? Underwear, pajamas, workout clothes, wedding ring or other sentimental jewellery you never take off and in home lounge wear.
The point of Project 333 is for you to create an intentional wardrobe that you feel good in, that fits you properly and that includes a number of pieces to mix and match together. The point is not for you to suffer by minimizing your wardrobe down to only 33 items. If you’re finding it difficult to choose 33 items of clothing then just do your best to weed out the items that you don’t feel good in, that don’t fit you and you never wear. It’s not worth it to stress about a specific number, instead do your best to minimize what you can
The first thing I did was take out everything from my closet and pile it on my bed. That way I could see how many pants, T-shirts, scarves, yoga pants, etc. I had. I first set aside my favourite go to items that I wear regularly. That included some jeans, neutral t-shirts, a white collar shirt and a few cardigans. I then chose a few more items and accessories that I could mix and match with my basic items. I then chose two necklaces, two scarves and one brown belt.
Once I had chosen my 33 items, I boxed up the rest of my clothes and put them in the basement. I can’t tell you how fantastic it has been to look at the clothes in my closet now that I have truly pared down to just essential items I will be wearing for the next 3 months. It’s like a breath of fresh air to see so much less.
If creating a capsule wardrobe is something you’ve been interested in trying, I would highly recommend it. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
Have a great week!
Jillian
Check out Courtney Carver’s website www.bemorewithless.com
5 Responses
This is so great! I do love to purge my wardrobe every once in awhile. But your post makes me realize I still have work to do! Thank you for the motivation.
Thanks Kristen! I’m so glad to be able to provide some motivation. 🙂
Hi Jill!
Recently read “The life-changing magic of tidying up” (konmari method) and while I don’t swallow it whole, my partner and I have been working on using some strategies to begin ‘tidying’/decluttering our home. Started with clothing. Like you mentioned putting everything out on the bed, touching everything, and considering: ‘does this spark joy?’. I’d been holding onto A LOT of clothing, either out of a sense of guilt (because someone special gave it to me – though I never wear it), or from good memories (eg. STILL have our China t-shirt! Threadbare and never worn). I was able to let go of a lot of items with grateful thoughts. ‘I have great memories of this trip. I don’t need this shirt to remind me’ or ‘thank you for being a thoughtful gift from …’. Anyway…weight lifted in many ways.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
Anneli
One other thing I wanted to comment on is that it was a VERY different experience in decluttering clothing by SELECTING those items I wished to keep (focus on the joy/positive) than previous experiences of what I was going to discard (which can feel negative and more about loss).
I enjoyed reading Marie Kondo’s book as well. I like her method of being mindful about what you keep. It definitely makes sense to be surrounded by what actually ‘sparks joy’. I have also found it therapeutic to thank items you give away. For some reason it does the trick of removing the guilt you might be experiencing by giving it away.
By the way, I totally remember that China t-shirt. It was a good one. But as you said, it doesn’t encompass all of the wonderful memories from that trip. Good Times 🙂