Welcome to Tips & Tricks #3

MINIMALIST CLOSET

Welcome to another week of Tips & Tricks: How to Make an Anglican Home! Soon after having my daughter, I found myself wasting tons of time picking through my clothes to find something that fit, looked somewhat flattering, wasn’t super worn down, and coordinated with my other clothes. Imagine getting ready in the mornings and having to put the baby down for just a few moments so that you can get dressed. (Yes, the baby starts screaming, and you start flinging clothes out of your closet frantically!) I believe my baby was only 2 months old when I told my husband that I was thinking about starting a minimalist closet. He scoffed at me because he had already been living off of a rotation of about 10 items in his closet; but then he really did encourage me to do it.

What is a minimalist closet? A minimalist closet is a wardrobe limited to essential items ranging from 10 to 40 items of clothing. There are many variations on creating a minimalist closet, but the best one I have found is Project333.  The idea behind a minimalist closet is having high quality essential items that can be used over and over again with great flexibility mixing and matching to create unique yet coordinated outfits.

Why start a minimalist closet? It saves you time. I realized that there were clothes in my closet that I hadn’t worn in months, if not years! And yet for some reason (usually a sentimental reason) I held onto them, and had to wade through them to get to the real clothes that I actually wore. Saving you time in getting dressed in the mornings allows you to focus on more important things like praying, reading your bible, taking care of your baby, preparing healthy foods to eat, putting on your makeup, and etc.

Not only saving you time, having a minimalist closet saves you money. I often buy clothes not because I really need it, but because “it’s a great deal,” or I need “retail therapy.” Choosing to have a minimalist closet helps you say “no” to those shopping sprees and “yes” to investing in good quality clothing that not only lasts a long time, but also has resale value! When you’re ready to turned them in for a newer item, you have the option of using companies like LikeTwice, Threadflip, or ThredUp to sell your clothes for cash!

How to start a minimalist closet? I found an excellent resource from Project333 that cost me about $20 to download, and got started right away. Project333 gives you clear instructions on how to get rid of the bulk of your clothing and limiting it down to 33 items that you use for 3 months. These minimalist closets called “Capsule Wardrobes” are seasonal, so you can rotate your items in and out depending on the season. The next season starts January 1st, so I have just one more week to get my Capsule Wardrobe together! FYI, the 33 items include your shoes, jewelry, and clothing you wear in public. Exceptions are workout clothes, pajamas and undergarments. These items do not count in your 33 items in your Capsule Wardrobe.

I started my first round of Project333 in July 2014. Clearing out my closet was such a great relief. It was adventurous, challenging, and so worth the 7 days it took me! I ended up donating 3 huge bins of clothes to church families, sold about $50 worth of my brand-name clothing (note: I had very few brand name items), and threw out the rest of my clothes. I boxed up a large bag of “maybe” items only to donate them later, and saved one other large bag of “love” items. I cut down my wardrobe to 35 items (I added two more nursing tanks since they encourage you to fit your wardrobe to your needs). I found myself swapping in and out items between my wardrobe and the bag of “love” items, which is cheating, but at least I was able to limit my wardrobe in such a drastic way! I felt so free and had much more time to do other things than figure out what I was wearing each day!

My goal is to create a wardrobe as simple and beautiful as this one (though I’m not a fan of her shoes): 

Now with the baby, I’ve learned to limit her wardrobe as well. She does not need any more items that I have in my wardrobe and we do laundry at least twice a week so she never runs out of clean clothes anyway! I’ve started to apply this minimalist theory to other aspects of the home: my makeup, the kitchen, decorations, and even credit cards. Minimalist living is not an end, but a means to an end. That end I search for is how to glorify God. The means of cutting out the distractions and will help me achieve more for God’s glory! I have more time for introspection, for reading, prayer, and even more time to share this tip & trick with you this week.

Have a wonderful close to the third week of advent!

Previous Tips & Tricks:

• Tips & Tricks #1: CONSIDER HOME DECOR
• Tips & Tricks #2: HOW TO FEED YOUR HUSBAND