Project: SIMPLIFY!

A while back I heard about Project 333 and I was intrigued. Recently I read about it in more detail here and started seriously considering whether I should try it. It's essentially an experiment (lifestyle change?) in which you are encouraged to condense your wardrobe to just 33 items over a 3 month period or season. My top takeaways from reading about the concept include a) less stuff = less stress, and b) fewer but smarter wardrobe choices helps focus on what you truly like and what looks best on you. It's about simplicity.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Life is complicated enough right now! Marriage, parenting, owning (and soon-to-be renovating) a home, work-life balance, planning for the future... these are all complicated and sometimes challenging things. Getting dressed every day does not need to be complicated; and yet how many times lately have I found myself standing in front of my closet, half-naked, frantically pulling out pants to find a pair that fits or flinging shirts around in search of a top that doesn't accentuate my "problem" zones? I've already adopted an approach to my week that involves putting together outfits ahead of time for the days I have to be in the office (typically 3 days per week). Unfortunately, I'm not always consistent with doing this, and even when I do, I still encounter last-minute stress when I realize something I picked out either doesn't really fit or look as good as I imagined it would.

A key "rule" of Project 333 is that you have to choose quality items that fit well and look good on you now. Since my mom was here visiting, I decided this past weekend was a good time to tackle the initial phase of this project. Disclaimer: While I like everything suggested in the original Project 333 and think it's a good goal to work towards, for the time being I'm doing my own modified version of the experiment. There are a lot of reasons for doing my own version: 1) I'm in a weight-loss situation where I still need to lose about 20 more pounds, 2) I may be transitioning into a new job soon, which may require some upgrades to my wardrobe for certain aspects of my work, and 3) I'm learning that it's harder than I expected!

Here's what I've done so far... it's still a work in progress (and probably will be for a while!):

• The original Project 333 says to include "accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes" in your 33 items. I don't think I'm quite ready to do include those yet (which would mean paring down my clothing choices even more), but I did go through my shoes and purses and have a pile of each ready to donate. I also pulled out some jackets that I haven't worn in years. My next goal will be to figure out what my basic shoe and purse options are/should be, and then see which ones need to be tossed/replaced. I'm not going to mess with jewelry right now (I don't have tons of it anyway), and the only other accessory I really use is scarves, which I use as layering pieces in the winter.
• I've gone through my closet, hope chest, and dresser drawers. I packed away all fall/winter pieces (even though it SNOWED another inch here last night... ugh!) except for some sweaters and a couple of shirts that I already knew I didn't want to keep. My plan is to go through these items in more depth when it gets closer to fall again and I am further along in my weight-loss plan (hard to anticipate what will or won't fit several months from now). I then sorted the remaining spring/summer items into "work/going out/nicer" clothes vs. "lounge/home/recreational" clothes. I think technically some of the items in the latter category are supposed to be part of the 33 as well, but again, I'm starting small for now! From there, I pulled out anything that I knew I didn't love or wear often enough. If it was in good shape, it went into the donate pile; if it was in poor shape, it got tossed.
• I then tried on almost all of the remaining spring/summer clothes (both categories) and was pleasantly surprised to find myself fitting into several more pre-pregnancy items! I'm currently down about 7 or so pounds since early February, and while I haven't been measuring I can tell I've lost some inches too. As a result, I was able to pull out some of my "bigger" items that are actually too loose now and don't look right anymore. For now I'm packing these away in a separate container; someday if I have another baby I may need them postpartum again (or if I don't I can donate them later). I also made a small pile of items that I really love but that don't quite fit yet. This may also be against the rules, but they're quality pieces that I would really love to wear again if I reach my weight-loss goals. I'm not keeping them out with my current rotation of clothing (they're going into another storage container for now), but I'm not getting rid of them either!
• Lastly, I went shopping.Yes, shopping. After getting rid of several things, I was better able to identify the holes in my remaining spring/summer wardrobe (like plain, black dress pants). There was a sale at the outlet mall, so mom and I hit it up and I was able to find some reasonably priced replacement pieces to fill in the gaps. I was good though, and limited myself to key basics that have multiple uses. I also bought only things for spring/summer, even though fall/winter stuff was on clearance (going to make myself wait until I know what size I am when the time comes). 

So... to sum it up, here's what it looked like when I got started:

Piles galore!

And here's how it looks at this point:

Less clutter = no more cramming hangers to make everything fit!

 

I'm definitely not down to 33 items total yet (I count about 46 right now), but I'm making progress! My donate pile is probably about double that (no joke!). Also the way I'm doing it, my current wardrobe will actually cover me for 2 seasons or approximately 6 months, so I feel pretty good about that. My current work/going out/nicer clothes consists of:

•  6 pairs of pants
• 4 dresses
• 5 skirts
• 22 shirts & tops (everything from sleeveless to long-sleeved-but-lighter-fabric)
• 7 cardigans or layering pieces (may put away for fall/winter when it warms up more)
• 2 pairs of jeans

I already feel less stressed when I open my closet door! And now... I'm going to go workout because I totally slacked off while my mom was here and I don't want to undo the progress :)