Project 333 again!

I can’t believe the last time I blogged was last summer! Or that my last post was about Project 333. Because guess what I decided to talk about today? Yep. I am still working on minimizing my closet, and this time I think I might be pretty close to 33 items!

I have resisted actually doing Project 333 for a couple of years now (even though it intrigued me and I told lots of people about it) because everything fit in my small closet just fine and it didn’t make sense to me to put away good things I loved if they weren’t getting in my way.

Last time I posted I was taking out all the winter things I wasn’t wearing to give myself more breathing room over the summer. I had always resisted doing that because I felt like I wore the same clothes year round and since I had space in the closet, why bother? But I liked the breathing room it gave me and it was nice not having to look at things I wasn’t wearing anyway. It turned out I had more seasonal pieces than I thought.

And then I got a storage piece (there’s a picture below) for purses, sweaters, leggings, and sweats that worked great but took up some hanging space, so I removed some more things that I still liked, but which I hadn’t worn recently. I didn’t really miss the things I put away, but I had a storage tote in the top of my closet for things that I was on the fence about, just in case I decided I “needed” them.

In October I did the Project 333 Dress with Less microcourse. I was excited to unpack the wintery things I had put away but I realized I hadn’t missed some of it at all. There were several things I thought I had donated already. This time I emptied my closet completely, and put back the things I wanted to wear for the next season, which turned out to be about 60 items (plus outerwear, shoes, jewelry and bags excluded).  I was happy to put away some of my very summery dresses, but I kept out a lot of dresses that I was sure I would wear with layers in the fall. Over the season I got rid of a few more things that really didn’t work and I got out a couple of things I missed (although truthfully, I barely wore them after that).

my coats, currently

It’s funny to think that the last time I posted I was thinking that I wouldn’t want to continue with this project into the winter. I don’t really enjoy winter and I don’t enjoy dressing for winter. The truth is that when I’m at home during the winter I wear the same, very casual, things every day. This season I tossed out (donated) some of the pieces that were really just ugly. I spend a lot of time sitting under a dog so I don’t dress up when I’m at home, but I’m trying to wear things that are presentable. But I don’t need a huge variety of things. I can wear a different sweater each day of the week if I want to. I have a nice selection of tshirts to layer underneath. My jeans and my denim skirt fit well and I’m happy with them. I don’t really need extras right now.

my tshirt shelf used to be so full!

this view makes me feel a little nervous

My schedule has changed recently and I don’t need so many work clothes, so the other day I removed some more things from my closet. I realized that I was keeping things in there even though I wasn’t wearing them. I didn’t really need them. So, I’m actually right around 33 items! (plus a few extra coats, and I’m not going to count shoes, bags and accessories any time soon. I’m not there yet.)

I look in my closet and feel a little panicked, but I think what I have in there is what I really wear most of the time. I feel like I need more skirts and pants (I have 1 really great skirt, 1 pr of jeans, and the 2 pr of sweats I wear most days) but I’m reminding myself that I’m OK. When the weather warms up I can get out more skirts.

They’re only in storage.

I’m in control.

It’s not forever.

(I never wear skirts or dresses at home anyway! So what’s the problem, brain?)

I really never thought I could get down to 33 items, but now I think maybe I can do this!

It would have been easy to decide I could never do this properly and give up without even trying. But maybe it’s better to do something imperfectly and work towards a goal. Eventually I will get there, or I’ll decide that this arbitrary goal is not for me. Either way I figure I’ll learn something from this process.

Jo:)

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