Project 333 | Spring Capsule Wardrobe

Today marks the beginning of my 39th year of being on this earth. Well, outside of my mother’s womb anyway. It also marks the beginning of a new month, season, and project. Project 333 to be specific.

What is Project 333 (said 3-33)? It is a minimalist fashion challenge created by Courtney Carver. At the beginning of each new season or quarter you create a capsule wardrobe with only 33 items (including clothes, shoes, jewelry, and accessories) and wear only these 33 things for 3 months, thus 333. There are certain exclusions such as wedding rings, under garments, pjs, and workout gear (as long as you wear it for working out and not running errands all around town). The full list of “rules” can be found on Courtney’s website Be More with Less.

Why am I doing Project 333? I have no flipping idea! Kidding. I’m not sure about all my other mommas out there but this momma is tired. Tired of making decisions, tired of the mess, tired of the clutter, tired of the overwhelm. No matter what I do, how organized I try to be it never seems to get better (or at least for very long). It’s like I’m drowning in my own life. I don’t like this feeling. I’m tired of this feeling. I’ve flirted with the idea of minimalism over the past few years. My husband you could say is about as minimal as it gets. He was able to fit all of his possessions in a Subaru Impreza when he moved to California, minus some furniture and his collection of rifles and ammunition. Me on the other hand? Let’s just say I’m more of a U-haul kind of gal.

I’ve always held on to things. I find a lot of sentimental attachment to certain things which means I sometimes have a hard time letting items go. “What if I need it?” or “Better hold on to it just in case”. But what I’ve come to realize is having all these extra things is weighing me down, cluttering my mind, and just plain making me tired and overwhelmed. So I’ve started to slowly let go of things and minimize my life. I started with the kitchen. For some reason the kitchen seemed like the easiest place to let go, getting rid of plastic spatulas and handfuls of Eskimo Joes cups weren’t as troublesome to part with. Next, was my toddler’s baby stuff. I had been saving his clothes, and infant items in the hopes that we would have another baby, but after getting our genetics tests back and realizing any future children could have a significant chance of having some of the same delays and disorders Grey has we closed the door on adding to our family. At least adding anymore biological children.

So that led me to my closet. Which was out of control. Like 2007 Britney Spears shaving her head and smashing an SUV with an umbrella out-of-control. I have so many clothes, so many clothes that I don’t wear, that I can’t wear. Clothes from pre baby, during baby, post baby, college and even high school years. It was making me depressed to see a closet full of clothes, most of which I couldn’t fit or didn’t even really like. So I found Project 333. And at first I was like, “there is no way in Darth Vader hell I could do that”. Then I was like, maybe I could. To finally thinking, I’m going to do this. I can do this. It took me listening to several podcasts, reading Courtney’s Book, and watching other’s Project 333 Youtube videos to feel like I had the guts, tools, and desire to try this. So here is my closet before. Packed full of clothes, shoes, and accessories…

This is after a purge! Unfortunately I can’t get the entire closet in the photo, but the entire thing is stuffed. It’s difficult to move things around to find what I’m looking for or even hang up freshly laundered items. It’s overwhelming and it drives my husband nuts. It took me an entire day to pull everything out, clean the floor and shelves, and pick my items I’ll be wearing for the next 3 months. Now, I did end up with a few more items than 33. I’m closer to 40. But as Courtney has talked about, this project is not one of suffering. Modify the number of itmes to fit you but try to stay close to 33 and make it challenging. If 40 items is challenging and it feels right then do that. I expect that over the first few days/weeks I’ll whittle down my items even more.

Now, where did all this stuff go? Well some items were donated immediately. Things I knew I needed to let go of and that someone else could get some use out of it. Other items are going to be sold. Everything else, got packed away and put in the attic. I didn’t have the guts to take a picture of the huge stack of tubs and trash bags of clothes, shoes, and accessories. It was a LOT! Courtney doesn’t recommend getting rid of everything right away. That’s one of the things that makes this challenge a lit bit easier to swallow. You don’t have to get rid of everything. In fact there are several items I love but maybe aren’t appropriate for the spring season in Oklahoma. But she recommends getting everything else out of sight so one, you don’t have to sort through items you can’t wear right now, and two so you can see if you really miss these things.

My hope is by the end of the 3 months I’ll be ready to let go of some more items. That I’ll feel lighter and more empowered. That my morning routine will be less hectic and getting dressed will be less cumbersome and more enjoyable. And if there’s even a small chance that I’ll not completely hate doing my laundry like I do now then I will consider that a HUGE win! I also hope to create less waste, become more intentional with my clothing purchases, and steer towards more sustainable pieces and brands. Fast fashion and the toll that the clothing industry has on our planet is a whole other blog post.

I plan to share more of my day to day experience on my Instagram stories, so feel free to follow along there. Life is a journey, and we learn as we go. It’s always my goal to improve and be the best that I can. I don’t always get it right. I fail a lot. Way more than my perfectionist self likes to admit. But as I get older I realize more and more that it’s in our failings and vulnerable moments that we are able to connect and grow. I’m a work in progress and so is my wardrobe. But I’m excited for what the next few months are going to bring.

Cheers to growth, more time, and a lot cleaner closet!