When The Cats Away ....

The mouse does play - she plays in the kitchen re-organizing everything.

As part of my Project 333 I'm going through the kitchen again. Thinking about what I need and what I don't need. I have 4 full sets of dishes. I have a lot of silverware sets. I have too many dishes.

So, what does one do about this? Well I apply my Project 333 criteria to my dishes. I've found that sentimental plays into my kitchen more than my closet. What I've decided to do is move dishes into a temporary cupboard until I can decide what to do with them. Live without them for a while and see what I love and dislike about the stuff that is currently out.

So my cupboard now looks a bit empty - but we'll see how it goes.

Project 333 - What Works.

Are you wondering how Project 333 is going as we transition into spring/summer? It is tough with all my summer clothing out and yet it is cold in the mornings. I've figured out something interesting though. My clothing can be categorized into three things; daily work (winter/summer), special meetings, and weekends.

I've broken down my wardrobe so that now I have ~33 items in each of these categories. I'm not including shoes, or jackets, or jewelry. But, I'm focusing on clothing. The first three months of 333 it was harder because my weekend (gardening/dying/working around the house) clothing were included. I felt limited with my work clothing.

One thing I have noticed through out this spring change over is that a) I don't buy new things each season just because they are new b) I end up buying the same looking thing over and over (and have ended up with 5 cotton blue sweaters for summer) c) thinking about what I have and what I need is so much simpler when I have so few items.

Project 333 really is amazing.

Project 333 - Summer Edition.

Spring is here. Not coming, not soon to be seen, but already here in Northern New Mexico. I decided that wearing sweaters and close toed shoes might just be a bit wrong this week, so I did my full clothing swap out. As I did it I purged more winter clothes that I didn't wear and summer clothes that I know I wont wear. I also got rid of a couple of items that are a, "need them once in 5 years". I took 3 large trash bags out of shoes, jackets and clothing to take to the thrift store. I haven't done a full purge or counting up 33 items for spring/summer ... but what I plan to do is see what this transition is like and decide as I go. I'm down to just a few tupperwares of clothing to move around for the seasons and it feels fantastic!

Project 333 February Update

We made it through January and then February. You might be wondering, where is she now with project 333. Well, let me give you a little hint.

I've purged 15 sweaters (handmade and store bought).
I've found that only 3 pairs of pants actually fit correctly (out of a stash of over 20).

I've been slowly working through my whole closet and finding that fewer than half actually fit my body or desire for style correctly.

I'm betting by April, when I move onto my summer wardrobe, I wont have to migrate summer and winter clothing any more.

Project 333 is amazing. Less really is more!

You'd Think ......

I love funny error messages from websites. This one came up yesterday while I was at a buddies blog. Pretty cute! Seems like people are getting a sense of humor with their error messages.

A few updates in this blog. We picked up our new car last night. It is so dreamy. Like riding in a spaceship. I'll have to post more photos and maybe a video.

Project 333 is still moving along and I'm making a lot of progress with getting ride of stuff that isn't right. Just this past week I wore a blue shirt that has been in my dresser for the past 3 years. I hated it. I know I was keeping it in case I needed a long sleeve blue shirt. But, it has never fit right and is way too heavy of a t-shirt for me. Another one GONE! What I've been doing this month is rotating things in that were pulled out for January and testing them out. Wearing them for a day and seeing if I have any problems with them. Seems like now that I pay attention I have issues with some of my clothing more that I love them. I have a small set of "perfect" things that I just adore wearing and the rest is so-so. All so-so items go into the charity pile. I'm sure once spring/summer comes (which shouldn't be long) I'll be doing this same thing with all of those clothes and I might - just might - be able to fit both winter and summer wardrobes in the closet at the same time.

How Life Goes.

I realized that it has been a bit since I posted. Life here has been a bit busy. When Mike is out of town I end up taking care of all the animals and all the regular life stuff which just seems to take up all of my extra blog time. Go figure. February first is nearly here and that is when I'll be switching out clothing again. Testing new things and packing for a beach vacation (testing summer stuff in the middle of winter should be fun). While cleaning out my closet and keeping in step with a bit of minimizing "stuff" I've also been looking at our kitchen.

We normally have a well stuff pantry. Things on hand in case we might need to cook something. This method of storing is something I got from my father. As a kid we always had stuff on hand in case we got snowed in or just in case. Now it just seems silly. We live half a mile from a grocery store. It is walkable even in the worst weather. While Mike was out of town this time I ate through things that were just in the freezer or cupboard. As I see items leave and only tings that get used remain I feel much better. This doesn't mean that there is no chicken soup in the pantry or crackers. What it means is that I don't have 15 meals to choose from on any given night. I have a handful, and I'm alright with that.

Project 333 - 2 Weeks.

The first two weeks of my 2011 Project 333 are over. Here is a sampling of the photos I take every day to document the outfits. Here is a re-cap.

1. I've learned to love the accessories.
2. Out with the wrong fitting. As a matter of fact if it doesn't fit right I've given 2 sweaters to co-workers while at work. I don't even bother with bringing them home.
3. On the lookout for perfect items. I've been digging through other items and wondering what is perfect and what can fill gaps.

I only have another 2 weeks of these clothes and then I switch it up. The first week in February we are going to Hawaii so I'll be digging out the shorts, skirts and new Bev gifted shoes!

Project 333 - Tired Yet?

Well if you are tried of hearing about Project 333 you can just skip this post. In my attempt to minimize my wardrobe I've been testing and wearing each item thinking,"Is it perfect." This morning I put on a purple sweater that I've thought I liked but I noticed it was too short in the torso. I instantly put it in the giveaway pile. Tonight I went through my clothing and decided something else, any items that are handmade or hand knit don't count in my list. They take so much time and I try to make them as perfect as possible. So here is my current list.

4 pairs of jeans
1 handmade skirt
3 tan pants
1 pair of corduroys
1 pair of lounge pants
3 skirts
5 sweaters
8 long sleeve shirts
1 white fleece
2 short sleeve shirts
7 hand knit sweaters

That comes to a total of 36 items but of those 8 I'm not really counting. Project 333 is helping me reevaluate all kinds of things, not just clothing.

Project 333.

Project 333 is teaching me so much about need versus want versus usable items. I cleaned out my coat closet today and found that I had over 10 fuzzy jackets. Sporty fuzzy jackets. I love them, but what the hell am I going to do with 10 of them. Cleaning out what I really need and what I will really wear makes me feel good all over!

Project 333.

Happy 2011 everyone. I hope that 2010 ended well for all of you. Today marks the start of my project 333. I sorted through my clothing and picked out my 33 items to wear for the next month. My list includes:
3 pairs of jeans
1 pair of corduroys
1 pair of lounging pants (I wasn't sure if I should count these but did).
3 skirts
3 pairs of tan pants
8 sweaters
9 long sleeve shirts
2 short sleeve shirts
1 lounging sweater

This is only 31 items (and I am not going to include jackets, jewelry or shoes). I have a long green skirt that I made a 10 years ago that I just found in a box of fabric. I want to put some embroidery or felted flowers onto it. I might include this in my 33 items - we'll have to see how it comes out.

What you see in the photo is everything I plan to wear. I know it isn't the "full" 333. But, baby steps - right?

2011 Minimalist Approach.

If you remember a while back I posted about living well versus better. The difference between buying bigger and instead living with what you have and enjoying the "wellness" of it. I've been working on this for the past year and find that I ask the question of, "Do I need this or could I do with less and give extra money to charity." Which is a great feeling. But, this past October a buddy of mine, Bev, told me about Project 333. Project 333 started in October and ends December 31. You cut down your wardrobe to only 33 items for 3 months. These 33 items include jewelry, shoes, outerwear, and all clothing (except pajamas or underwear). I thought about doing this in October, but after the fire I was feeling a longing for my clothing. But, now that the new year is upon us I'm feeling the need to scale down and minimize my life. I've decided to try the 333 but with my own little twist. I'll keep you posted as January draws near.