Project333

At the moment we're starting the process of buying a house, and getting decorating and interior ideas. I've also been reading and researching a lot about minimalism, and the idea that we are owned by the 'stuff' that we have. I recently read Stuffocation and it got me thinking about my 'stuff', and what it means to me. In the past few years, in fact for the last 10 years maybe, I've been moving around from place to place, country to country, and pretty much everything I own is in a box! This time will be my 21st house move, and hopefully my last for a while! I want somewhere that I can finally relax, and feel at home.

However, I've been thinking, if all this 'stuff' has been boxed up for so long, how much of it do I actually want, and need? I've lived in a camper van for four months in the past, and I've also backpacked around Asia with literally whatever I could carry. So do I really need 15 coats? (I have a coat issue. My name's Claire, and I'm addicted to buying coats.)

Yesterday I was thinking about the perfect 'capsule wardrobe' and came across Project333. The basic idea is to choose 33 items of clothing, and live with them for 3 months. The original challenge includes jewellery and accessories, but my own version doesn't, and I rounded mine up to 40. Because, why not? This was a huuuuuge task, involving taking every single item of clothing I own and laying it all on the bed, which seemed very excessive when it was all laying out in front of me. I went through and had a massive sort out and ended up with about 3 bin bags worth of bits which went to Lymington Cat & Kitten rescue, and the rest I whittled down to 40 items.

Everything left over has been put in a box in the roof, out of sight until January. I figure it'll either go straight on eBay / to the charity shop, or it'll be like shopping for a whole new wardrobe, but I'm curious as to how much I'll actually miss!

My wardrobe now contains;

5 pairs of shoes

3 coats

1 'leather' jacket

1 denim jacket

3 jumper dresses

3 dresses

4 cardigans

6 jumpers

1 pair of jeans

1 skirt

8 tee shirts

2 shirts

2 bags

I purposely picked some things that I don't wear that often, to try and get my use out of them! The challenge officially starts on October 1st, so there's still time to join, and runs until January 1st, when you can then 'shop' from your own wardrobe for the next 3 months! Let me know if you're joining, or if you think you could live with only 33 items in your wardrobe!

Claire x