The Ups and Downs of Dressing with Less

Project 333's blog offered a chance to write about your own personal experiences with the concept of capsule clothing projects.

I really enjoyed the challenge of downsizing. Always have. I was that person in college, who purged their paper pile before they went home for the holidays. And now, even with the fact that I live in a 1,500 sq foot house, I try to squelch any clutter as quickly as possible.

We bought an extra wardrobe when we first moved into our house because the closet in our bedroom is long and narrow. I also had a three drawer nightstand and a dresser to house clothes. Slowly, but surely, I began whittling down my clothes. (I really loathe doing laundry.)

I never sought to stick with 33 items for 3 months, so I only purchased two accessories, a pair of shoes and a shirt since July 1st. But I try to stick to the one in, one out method. For the aforementioned purchases, I am donating a pair of earrings to make room for the pair purchased and the pair of shoes were a pair of boots I'd been eyeing for awhile, from Modcloth, that went on super sale. I'm donating my old four year pair of boots that had become a bit faded in color.

Upsides of less:
-Laundry is so much easier. I do about two full loads a week (husband's and I clothing together).
-I don't have to paw through piles in the morning.
-Our closet usually looks like this (when there isn't stuff hanging to dry from laundry):

-I spend less overall, even though when I do buy, I may spend more per piece. Quality over quantity.

-I usually haunt thrift stores, so there are less new pieces (and waste from making of said new product) introduced overall.

Downsides:

-I still have the urge to splurge because ooh, shiny! when I'm out. But I've learned that very rarely do splurge purchases pay off. I usually end up hating them, honestly.