Project 333: The Rules

I’ve had a cold that has sapped all energy and motivation, so I’m still not finished preparing my capsule wardrobe for my first go at Project 333.  By the time I get it done, it’ll be time to create a new one!  In the meantime, I want to talk a little bit about the criteria.  The following rules are taken directly from the “Be More with Less” website:

The Rules

• When: Every three months (It’s never too late to start so join in anytime!)

• What: 33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes.

• What not: these items are not counted as part of the 33 items – wedding ring or another sentimental piece of jewelry that you never take off, underwear, sleep wear, in-home lounge wear,  and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout)

• How: Choose your 33 items, box up the remainder of your fashion statement, seal it with tape and put it out of sight.

• What else: consider that you are creating a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months. Remember that this is not a project in suffering. If your clothes don’t fit or are in poor condition, replace them.

So, my plan right now is to create a new capsule quarterly.  If I find that this time frame doesn’t work well with the seasons in the Denver area, I may reconfigure it.  Though many seem to choose not to include one or more categories (like jewelry), I will be including all of them listed above (clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes).

I will mostly be following the not-to-be-included rules as written.  If you are familiar with Colorado, you know that it WILL snow in March, but not everyday, so I’m not counting my snow boots, even though I’ll wear them if need be.  I wear my wedding rings and my opal ring (Alice’s birthstone), as well as my watch all the time, except in the shower and pool, so they won’t count.  My karate gi (uniform) and all tees that go underneath won’t count.  Undergarments and nursing tanks won’t count, nor will pajamas, but I did pack away most of my pajamas into storage to be “shopped” later as the ones I’m using wear out.

My running shoes have been serving as my everyday shoes, but I recently started feeling kind of frumpy dumpy, so as I create my capsule wardrobe I’ll be finding easy, comfortable ways to elevate my look a bit.  Ergo, I’ll be replacing my running shoes with my Dansko tennis shoes for everyday wear, and relegating them back to the treadmill where they belong.  They won’t count, but the Dansko shoes will.

Yoga pants are still my go-to when it comes to daily routine, and I don’t plan on changing that, so though they are workout clothes, they’ll have to count because I wear them outside the gym.

I think that’s about it.  Alice is napping off her second round of vaccinations, so I’m going to count out the rest of my capsule and make it official!  My next Project 333 post will give a list of pieces with photos and describe the strategy I used to make my decisions...like and subscribe and stay tuned!