Project 333 Is a Go!

I know that I am a little bit late on the New Year’s post, but I have had a bit of a chest cold and am moving kind of slowly. But, that being said, just because I was moving slowly, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t still moving forward! A couple of days after my previous post, I made a final decision to give Project 333 a go.

After ridding myself of closet clutter and clothes that should be donated, I selected my 33 pieces (I went a tad over, but that is my option and it’s okay for a trial run), packed the rest up and put them in hiding.

Unlike some who start this Project, I don’t have an unlimited shopping budget to fill in the holes of my wardrobe to make the items I selected work together and play nice. While there are a couple of items that I would like, unless I find them at a super sale or at a thrift shop (or make them myself, which is only partially an option as I am not a great seamstress), they won’t be joining my selections.

So, I am making do with what I have already and I think I can do it.

I am starting out with (in no particular order):

1 dark denim dress
1 purple vest
1 brown heavy coat
1 denim jacket
4 pair of jeans (2 are really only for muck work and horse riding, so I may move them to workout clothing)
1 pair dark dressy jeans
1 pair gray trousers
1 gray ballet cardigan
2 long sleeve black shirts
1 purple short sleeve shirt
1 aqua short sleeve shirt
1 burgundy long sleeve shirt
1 aqua long sleeve shirt
1 purple print tunic
1 aqua short sleeve sweater
1 charcoal waffle weave long sleeve shirt
1 white button up dress shirt/tunic length
1 green short sleeve camp shirt
1 purple long sleeve shirt
1 black skirt
1 brown skirt
1 black jersey short sleeve dress

That is only 25 items (not counting the horse riding jeans). That leaves me 8 items to spare for shoes and accessories. I am cutting myself some slack in that department as my shoes are all utilitarian and orthopedic (doctor’s orders) and not fun. I have brown and black boots, black and brown flats, tennis shoes, and horse stall cleaning, brown tie granny boots. I only own 3 scarves and only wear 1 necklace and a choice of 2 pairs of earrings.  I don’t consider this an ideal wardrobe by any mans, but this is what I have to work with.  I can honestly say that after looking for ideas about capsule wardrobes, etc., I will be far more picky about what I obtain in the future.  So, to that end, I feel that my wardrobe will be slowly becoming more ideal for me and my lifestyle over time.

So, there it is in it’s ugly truth. My bad denim habit! LOL! Okay, I am a mostly stay at home Mama who writes, takes horseback riding lessons and who volunteers to help take care of the horses with her oldest son. So, I guess that the denim isn’t too bad, considering.

I think that many people want to clear out their wardrobes so that they can focus on a few things instead of being overwhelmed by too many choices. I am using Project 333 to create a better looking wardrobe and not spend my life in either pajamas or ratty t-shirts and jeans (the homeschool mom wardrobe). This is forcing me to look a little closer at making an effort when leaving the house (and even when staying at home most days). I think that my family is worth looking human for.

My outfits aren’t terribly exciting, but I have enough pieces for layering for warmth. It will be interesting as the weather warms up early here in Georgia to see how I do before April 1st, when I will be transitioning over to warm weather clothing. I do reserve the right to trade out some items for warm weather gear, but if something comes in to the closet, something else must leave. For example, I may end up trading a pair of capri pants for the purple down vest if it gets really warm in March. We’ll see. I won’t do any swapping unless it is necessary.

Ditto to new (to me) items. If I come across a great dress pant in brown or black, they will have to swap for something like a pair of jeans (I can spare some–ha!). I will end this with the same number of items (or fewer) in my closet as what I started with on January 1st. And my current wardobe fits just perfectly in my side of the tiny closet that hubby and I share. That alone is good incentive!

Are you paring down your wardrobe in 2014?
Till next time,

 

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