The Anti Walk-In Closet Project

Last night I came home extremely inspired about Project 333. I burst in the back door and said, “Hi, Honey! I saw something really cool on the internet I want you to try with me.” Tom was still in his office, finishing up with work for the day. He came out with an eager expression, I think anticipating something much sexier than what I said next.

“I read about this minimalist challenge called Project 333 where you pare your closet down to 33 items and wear only those items for the next three months.”

“Oh,” he said. Not exactly the response I was hoping for.

I kept going. “I really want to try it. And I thought it would be cool if we did it together. Plus I could turn it into a fun blog post.”

“But I already have a minimalist wardrobe,” he said. “I only have two or three pairs of pants and a bunch of T-shirts.”

He’s right. Tom has always been cheap—er, a minimalist. He doesn’t buy much, especially not things for himself like clothes. He also works from home, so jeans and a T-shirt suit him just fine most days. For Tom, I think this challenge will be more about parting with things that are no longer useful. He has trouble throwing things away.

Project 333 is the brainchild of minimalist blogger Courtney Carver. She challenges participants to whittle their wardrobes down to 33 items for 3 months, starting on October 1. Jewelry (except wedding rings), accessories, shoes, and outerwear are all included in the 33 items. Pajamas, in-home loungewear, and workout wear are excluded. Everything else gets boxed up and stored out of sight until January 1, 2011.

I’ve been gradually trending toward minimalism over the last several years. At one point in my life I was a borderline shopaholic with loads of credit card debt and no savings other than what I contributed to my employer’s 401(k) plan. I knew I needed to change my ways if I wanted to ever own a home or retire before I turned 100. I realized that “things” weren’t making me happy, and were holding me back from living the lifestyle I wanted.

I am inspired by blogs like Be more with less, Rowdy Kittens, and Miss Minimalist to simplify even further.

Tom and I recently moved in to our current home, about a month before our wedding. Neither of us had a tremendous amount of stuff, but somehow when we combined it, we found we had too many of some things, and too few of others. We want our home to feel peaceful, welcoming, and clutter-free. We’ve been purging things we don’t need, and thinking carefully before bringing anything new into our space. (Note from Tom: And when Cheryl says “we,” she means the royal “we.” I haven’t been doing any of this.)

Before we made our final Project 333 wardrobe choices, we perused the lists of other participants. I’m going to guess that not many of them live in a cold-weather climate like we do. Courtney’s list has a bomber jacket and a classic trench to take her through December 31. We live in Wisconsin, where you need outerwear for when it’s cold, more outerwear for when it snows, and even more outerwear for the days where it’s so far below zero that you absolutely have to cover everything except your eyeballs. So, we’ll see how this goes.

We’re a bit late to the game, but Courtney welcomes participants to join any time. Our official start date is October 10. Here are our Project 333 lists.

Cheryl’s List

1. Gray khakis
2. Tan pants
3. Black pants
4. Denim trousers
5. Skinny jeans
6. Boot cut jeans
7. Olive corduroy blazer
8. Yard work sweatshirt
9. Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt
10. Black cardigan
11. Black V-neck sweater
12. Scarlet cami
13. Grey and white checked long sleeve shirt
14. Striped long sleeve shirt
15. White long sleeve shirt
16. Grey ruffled sleeveless shirt White T-shirt
17. Blue patterned turtleneck
18. Black sleeveless dress
19. Wide black belt
20. Black shawl/scarf
21. Earrings
22. Necklace
23. Purse
24. Sunglasses
25. Black vegan boots (no heel)
26. Black pumps
27. Winter boots
28. Merrel walking shoes
29. Brown vegan boots (no heel)
30. Dressy coat
31. Parka
32. Gloves
33. Hat

Tom’s List

1. Grey pinstripe suit pants
2. Jeans
3. Jeans
4. Yard work jeans
5. Black vegan belt
6. Grey pinstripe suit jacket
7. Vegan “silk” tie
8. Black vegan dress shoes
9. Black casual vegan city sneakers
10. Yard work shoes
11. Blue dress shirt
12. Blue striped long sleeve shirt
13. Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt
14. T-shirt
15. T-shirt
16. T-shirt
17. T-shirt
18. T-shirt
19. T-shirt
20. T-shirt
21. T-shirt
22. T-shirt
23. Long sleeve shirt with Packers throwback logo (Note from Tom: Whooooo, Packers!)
24. White long sleeve waffle T
25. Olive long sleeve waffle T
26. Flannel shirt
27. Liverpool Football Club sweatshirt
28. Winter coat
29. Windbreaker
30. Fall coat
31. Winter hat
32. Gloves
33. Sunglasses

I’ll post updates about how we’re doing. You can also follow the Project 333 participants on Facebook. Could you get by on 33 items of clothing for the next 3 months? Join the Project 333 challenge and find out!

Have something to add? Please, leave a comment with your thoughts. If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to Peculiar Girl or share it on Twitter or Facebook.