A Minimal Change
2017 is all about being minimal for me. I discovered a few years ago that I was beholden to my stuff, it was taking up so much physical and mental space for me, and if actually looked at it with a decerning eye… it was costing me money and holding me back from the things that I wanted to do. I’m sure you are wondering how something I already have is costing me money, it costs money to store it. My husband and I live in too big a house for our style, but we need this much space to store everything. We don’t even go near half of it! I mean really, when was the last time I pulled one of those ‘coveted’ 1970s Time-Life cookbooks off the bookshelf? Maybe 10 years ago? Wow.
I’m just starting this minimal thing and to be honest, I’m still quite bad at it, but I’m learning. The biggest lesson for me was when I challenged myself to the 333 Project in Fall of 2015. The 333 Project is something I found on Pinterest (of course), and the challenge was to live with only 33 items of clothing for 3 months. That’s it, 33 things, damn, 33 things. Ok, ok, underwear, sleepwear, and gym wear don’t count toward your 33 items, and I am terrible at accessorizing, so I didn’t limit those… but 33 items.
The breakdown for my capsule wardrobe was something like 4 pants, an LBD, 9 shirts, a sweater, a jacket, a skirt (that I didn’t wear even once), flats, sneakers, boots, heels, jeans… and then I realized I had 11 other things I could add. All of a sudden 33 things seemed like a ton of stuff, so I added. I added things that I really wanted, things that I loved until I hit 33. I boxed up everything else with the intent to make my next capsule from what I hadn’t picked or donated to charity. Then I lived with it. The first month was so much fun, I felt so fancy getting dressed because I had to really think about how to put things together. Then month 2 hit and I realized why every French wardrobe needs a white button down shirt, whoops. Ok, next capsule, buy a white button-down shirt, not any old shirt, I’ve not purchased a stitch of clothing for 10 weeks, but THE white button-down shirt and get it tailored just because I can.
Slowly, over the next year I built my capsule of beautiful things, things that make my heart sing a little when I see them, and box by box my old things went to charity because I didn’t need so many things. It felt so nice to be so pared down, if I had to go away for a week, I could put 80% of my wardrobe in a carry on bag. What I didn’t realize was how much money I was saving, I paid off my credit cards, I came up with the money to open my online store, and I was able to make my dream trip to Africa with my dad.
All this from decluttering my closet? Not really. What it did do is it made me aware of my excess and my excessive habits. I always opened a new bottle of shampoo when I had a 10th of the last one left because I was afraid to run out. It’s crazy, but that’s what I thought, I was going to run out with a Target less than a mile from my house. I taught myself to look at what I had and use it until it was empty, expired or worn out before I would replace it. It was incredible how much waste it cut down and how much money I saved.
Admittedly, if you look into my closet right this second, there are more than 33 items in it (57, I counted), and I’m going to restart my 333 Project again because I slipped up and I miss the simplicity of it. So it’s back to having less and living more for me in 2017. Wish me luck!