#project333

I love fashion. I love the fact that different seasons bring different looks and each look depends on who you are as a person. Some people wear lace and others sweats. Some wear nylon and others leather. There are so many different looks to create in the day and age that we live in. 

From the start of my high school days until now, I have probably gone through a few thousand articles of clothing and accessories. I have evolved, experimented, and dabbled into different genres of fashion over the last decade. It all started when I was a young kid. I remember changing my outfit multiple times a day based on the mood I was in and what I was doing. An outfit for school, an outfit for homework, and an outfit for hanging out with my friends. I loved, and still love, the way clothes make me feel. It is a big part of the way that I express my creativity. I would go so far as to say that when I don’t have on the right outfit my mood is totally different. I find a lot of identity in being able to dress the way I feel. Some days I want high wasted mom jeans with a big baggy tee and some days I want a frilly dress and wedges. If I wear a look that doesn’t speak to the mood I’m in, I feel inauthentic and uncomfortable. It’s a hard feeling to describe so hopefully you understand where I’m coming from. 

Over the last few years I have started to really enjoy the concepts of minimalism and simplicity. I watched documentaries, listened to podcasts, read books, applied the principles, and reflected on the way I felt with less. Especially over the last two years my interest in owning less has increased tremendously. I own more stuff than any of the people who are pillars in the movement, but I own far less than what I did before starting this journey. I have also been able to help other people let go of the weight of their stuff. Stuff doesn’t just have physical weight. It weighs on you mentally and emotionally and sometimes can even have spiritual ties. As I’ve loosened my grip on material possessions I have been able to help others do the same. In fact, a wardrobe is the greatest place you can learn how to let go of stuff and embrace simplicity. 

And that’s where simplicity and your wardrobe come into play. I have not counted the amount of items I own, but I would say I own less than 100 items, including the extras like shoes, accessories, coats, and purses. My personal challenge to myself and to you is to not buy anything new for the rest of the year. I just purged my closet and got rid of two trash bags full of clothing and shoes and bags because I wasn’t utilizing them enough to keep them around. I’m sure you have pieces like that too. Maybe you’ve worn a pair of shoes a few times but always skip over them when it comes time to pick your shoes. Or maybe its that top you spent a lot of money on but you don’t like the way it looks on you. Whatever the excuse is, if you’re not actively using it, sell it, donate it, or regift it. 

The reason I don’t keep things “just in case” I want to wear them in the future is because it creates a guilt in me every time I decide not to use it. And that guilt weighs on me and makes me feel irresponsible with my money, my time, and my creativity. It’s like that jacket is rolling its eyes at me every time I go for another choice. I feel the guilt and the waste each time I open up my closet and see things that I don’t use. So for me, frequent decluttering is essential. And I also feel that it clouds the judgement for you to be able to see who you really are. After I sold and donated my trash bags of clothes, I realized that most of the shirts I own are black and white. Before that, my wardrobe was full of other colors. By decluttering my closet I could see that my style is more simplistic in color. When you let go of your stuff you will see patterns emerge that will point you to who you are. 

Outside of this blog post being about the reasons you should declutter, it is also about something else. I am an avid thrifter and shopper. Even if I don’t buy anything, I just love going and looking at what is available. It’s like a personal scavenger hunt for hidden treasures every time I enter a store. And because I change up my style so frequently, I love the prices of thrift stores because I can get a whole new look for like $15. But this habit I’ve created of always looking for more has caused me to be dissatisfied with my current wardrobe. On my search for the perfect maxi dress I have stopped appreciating the other dress choices I own. As I buy another purse, I start to use the other ones less. I’m all for creativity and adding to the collection that is a person’s wardrobe, but I am also saying that it trains our brains to not be satisfied. 

So, what do we do to retrain our brains for satisfaction and minimalism? We stop buying. Whaaaaat?! There has to be another way. Can’t I just buy a new shirt and then donate an old one? Well yes, I do that all the time. But that doesn’t help with the aspect of satisfaction that we are trying to instill in both you and I’s brains. The only way to enjoy what you have is to stop adding more. In fact, the more you have to choose from, the more dissatisfied you are. That’s actually a scientific fact that was written about in an article by Brain World. If you had ten different flavors of ice cream to choose from or just two, your brain would be more satisfied between just the two choices over the ten. Why is that? Well, scientists say that when you have more options, you start to feel regret or curiosity about the options you didn’t pick. So, when we have no new clothing coming into our wardrobe, we have less options to pick from, and therefore more satisfaction in whatever we do pick. 

Capsule Wardrobes

I am currently in the middle of my Project 333! It ends at the end of October, 2019. It’s going really well, so I thought I would share some tips and tricks that I’ve learned for having a capsule wardrobe and/or trying your own Project 333:

Plan. Plan for seasonal or weather changes, vacations, cold nights and hot flashes. Don’t go overboard and live in fear, but be sure to account for a sweater or two, a rain jacket, weather suitable shoes, etc.

Laundry. I wasn’t really expecting this, but I have to stay on top of my laundry. Sometimes my closet is empty. Just...stay on top of your laundry, okay?

Pick your favorites. Wear what you plan to. There’s no use putting that sweater in your capsule wardrobe that you know you never wear anyway.

Don’t buy new clothes. I haven’t bought new clothes in over a month and I am super content. I don’t need anything. The mindset of not buying clothing can be difficult to get into, but try.

Have a color scheme. Using lots of neutrals helps. I have mostly blacks and whites, a few greens, some denim, and a yellow shirt. That’s about it.

Don’t tell anyone. Obviously, do whatever you want, but my advice is not to broadcast it. I haven’t mentioned my project 333 to anyone and nobody has said anything to me. Two reasons. A) Talking about it means you have an audience if you make a mistake. B) people have so many opinions. In the long run, I plan to tell people after I’ve finished my 3 months, but while I’m doing it, I’m seeing if anyone notices. They haven’t.

Adapt your wardrobe to your lifestyle. I work at a veterinary hospital, so 3 pairs of scrubs were included on my list. I had one dress. Don’t copy me; copy your lifestyle.

Choose versitale clothing. Button up shirts are a must have. They can be worn in at least 3 ways. Long sleeve shirts can roll the sleeves; tuck in, leave out, tie the front. So many different combinations.

Mix and match. Have fun. Minimal jewelry is key: you don’t want to look too cluttered. Decide what you want to “count” and what you don’t. There’s no capsule wardrobe police, but it is important to keep your clothes functional and minimal to achieve the capsule wardrobe “look.”

And so I made it to the last week of Project 333. Three months or 91 days to be precise of dressing with 33 items. I’ve had so many fascinating conversations with people along the way. Some who were confused that I would have more than 33 items to begin with and others who confessed to having 33 pairs of shoes alone. Here’s the questions I most frequently heard...

Was is boring?

It was surprisingly less boring than I expected. There were only a couple of days when I genuinely thought ‘wow I’d quite like to wear something else’. But that was far out-weighed by the fact that getting dressed in the morning took zero brain-power and entirely removed an annoying decision process from my morning - I didn’t get bored of that feeling!

Did you have to do laundry more?

Honest answer was no. However I did need to get quicker at the post-washing process of ironing and putting away or I quickly found that all my clothes ended up in the ‘to iron’ pile rather than being ready to wear. It was also a good motivation to do laundry rather than having to make the washing machine work overtime at the weekends!

Anything you missed/wish you hadn’t chosen.

Yes, I realised that I don’t own any smart long sleeved tops! The great thing about living with less is that you notice the gaps (as well as the excesses) you’ve been living with. There were two tops that I hardly wore and one top I needed to replace after my child splattered me with non-washable paint!

What was the best things about it?

I LOVED having everything in one place. I could open my wardrobe and see everything, all in one place. No opening drawers or rummaging through shelves. This was a game-changer for me in terms of the speed it took me to get ready. I also enjoyed the simplicity of seeing space between my clothes and knowing that each was hand-picked to be there, no ‘just-in-case’ or ‘maybe-one-day’ items. Packing to go away was also a dream!

Will you keep going?

Yes and no. I will aim to stick to around 33 items but will probably give myself a little more grace with it. I’ve loved dressing more seasonally and this is definitely something I’m going to keep up (I’ve already been thinking about what items will be swapped out and in for the winter!).

The last three months have reminded me once again that we live in a world of excess where we are constantly told to get more, more, more. The aims of a more simple and minimalist lifestyle isn’t to end up living in an empty house and only wearing black (though if that’s your thing, great!). The aim is to work out what you value and remove anything that doesn’t align with that. For some that means saying yes to less committees, groups and events, to some it means cutting certain foods from their diets and for others it means choosing to own less physical items.

So here's my time lapse of cleaning my closet. I donated years of clothes: worn out, too tight, too triggering, never used.