#nothingmoresatisfying

There is nothing more satisfying than a wardrobe purge!!! Seriously. Decluttering and reorganising the space around you has some amazing effects on your perspective - it creates calm and brings clarity. Who has ever gone to through their wardrobe, which is bursting at the seams, and exclaimed "I have nothing to wear?!" I think you'd be lying to yourself if you said you hadn't. Whilst many of us end up at the shops or online to try and fix this "problem", the answer isn't actually buying more, it's having less.

As I emptied out the entire contents of my wardrobe I was daunted - there was just so much. 220 individual items of clothing and accessories to be exact {the only thing I hadn't counted was my underwear, which honestly could have brought the final count to 300}.

I won't sugar coat it. It took me 4 hours to get through everything. My trash and purge piles grew with ease, and to my disgust. It seemed like such a waste; of recourses, energy, time and money, all precious, all wasted on stuff I didn't really want, let alone need, in my life. It felt good purging all the excess as I silently vowed to never let my wardrobe get to this state again.

The hardest part was reducing to 33 items from my love and maybe piles - but the restrictions I laid out for myself in my previous blog saved me and it kept me honest. My bed, which earlier was overflowing, suddenly looked empty in comparison. It was strangely deceptive, because to my surprise, the count came in at 33 but it felt like I had considerably more!

If I was to include the items I packed away for winter (x17), my work uniform (x5), my gym gear (x18) and my all-year-round lounge/sleepwear (x16), the total items left in my wardrobe amounted to 89, including shoes, bags and accessories. I was now left with 40% of my original wardrobe {honestly, I'll admit that I was a little disappointed at first as I was hoping to reduce it significantly more, but progress is still progress!} So for my first Project 333 Capsule Wardrobe I have: 3 x Bags {including my everyday bag which I hadn't included on counting!}, 1 x Hat, 1 x Rain Jacket, 4 x Dresses/Bodysuits, 3 x Skirts, 2 x Shorts, 8 x Tops and 6 x Jewellery items. Easy.

Putting these 89 items back in my wardrobe, I felt more in tune to myself than I did to begin with - and that was just simply by having less, not gaining more. All the white noise had been silenced and what remained was a clearer picture of who I am and how fashion adds value to my life, not as a consumable, but as an intentional extension of my sense of self... and there is seriously nothing more satisfying than feeling like yourself!!!

✌