Project 333: April through June

Having two complete Project 333 cycles under my belt, picking my new batch of 33 items didn't seem so daunting this time around. I've come to understand that you're not picking a wardrobe for one kind of season, one kind of weather, one kind of event, but for everything. I struggled with my fall wardrobe for that very reason--I picked all cool weather pieces and then roasted. And then switched out. And then continued to switch out until December 31.

Well, learning curve. This time around, I kept the bigger picture in mind. Spring in the Pacific Northwest means a lot of rain and cold mornings and warmer afternoons. And then WARMER afternoons. And then back to rain and cold again.

With that in mind, I started The Big Swap Out by taking everything out of my closet and wardrobe and just seeing what was there. I set aside items in my winter capsule that I can't live without (light blue pullover sweater, black cardigan, black long-sleeve t-shirts, my dress pants) and went from there. I think I mentioned before that I had 19 items held over. Actually, make that 20, because I decided that my turtleneck sweater needed to stick around just a little longer (love you, Oregon!), but I will swap it out with a short-sleeved pretty once we get out of this mid-50º funk. Assuming that ever happens.

Sorry, foggy and cold at the moment. Kind of depressed.

There are many, many items I've kept because I thought I could not live without them, so it was funny to see how much stuff I had to choose from. Actually, some of it was pretty easy. I put half my items in a bag for that oft-mentioned church rummage sale coming up in June right away. Then I tried on the other half and made some serious decisions.

My hang up is I have items that at one time I loved so much. But I do not love them now. What if I love them again someday? I keep thinking that, and then shaking my head at myself, because apparently I've learned nothing since becoming a minimalist. Ah, well.

The moral of this tale is that I filled a trash bag with items I did not think I could part with previously, and my wardrobe actually has a near-empty shelf. Yay me!

Oh, and then after making my final selections, I had Abby go through and tell me what I should further cut. I can trust that kid to tell me the truth, that's why. "It's time to let this go, Mom," she said of both my purple 3/4-sleeve Eddie Bauer blouse and my purple pencil skirt from Penneys. I put them immediately into the donate pile before I could over think it. They're in great shape, who cares, someone else is totally going to love them.

A couple of my items are kind of on notice--if I resist wearing them in the next three months, they're outta here--and a couple probably need to be replaced with items that fit better. So we'll see what happens. I've been doing a lot of spring decluttering lately (another post for another time), and right now, I'm really not in the  mood to bring anything new into the house.

Also, I'm counting my shoes as one thing, my scarves as one, and my special occasion dresses as one. Technically this makes 33. Maybe someday I'll be down to a true 33. That day is not today.

My final list:

Black t-shirt

Silky black t-shirt

Beige t-shirt

Navy t-shirt

Black long sleeve t-shirt

Black tank

Beige lace tank

Orange/various tank

Navy tank—too big

Black cardi

Grey turtleneck sweater—swap for Black/beige short sleeve dress shirt later

Blue pullover sweater

Mint sweater—too big

Teal cardi

Beige jacket

Denim jacket

Black/white dot long sleeve button-down

Blue long sleeve dress t-shirt

Teal button-down

Black skirt

Beige skirt

Purple skirt

Denim skirt

Navy skirt

Black pants

Grey pants

Beige pants

Jeans

Dark jeans

Brown capris

Shoes: all black

Scarves: Red, blue, teal, orange

Special occasion dresses