Alright, I’m a few months into my capsule wardrobe process and I’m still obsessed! If you got to read my last post called: “What is a Capsule Wardrobe, Anyway?” or if you caught a glimpse of my current capsule, I want to dive a little deeper. If you’re taking the plunge, I hope I can help equip you with the tools you need to get your own capsule going. There are so many benefits to doing a capsule wardrobe: from losing the overwhelm, extra closet space, easier to pack and pair clothes, less shopping trips, more money to invest in quality pieces, less excess, and my favorite, less time standing in the closet hating what you see! It’s kind of like when you go to a restaurant and the menu is ten pages long and you feel so overwhelmed with the options that you get nervous and just pick your favorite go-to (which in my case is either chicken tenders or macaroni and cheese!)
Now, I was a little leery on the process because I kept thinking: I can just get rid of stuff and I will somehow have a “capsule” but I think the best part of the process is pulling everything out of your closet and really having to intentionally decide if it is worthy of going back in. Seriously guys, don’t skip this step! The week beforeI dove in, I went through all of my tee shirts, work out tanks, and sweat shirts and got a load off to Goodwill from those things to get the movement of less is more going! I also pulled together a ton of old tee shirts and am sending them in to Project Repat to be made into a quilt! Alright, you ready to really do this? Here we go!
- Empty your closet. Put everything on your bed, lay it all out there… everything, even the stuff shoved in the corner back there.
- Start by only putting your FAVORITE pieces back in. (These pieces must be pieces you will wear now, they fit now, and they are in season.)
- Assess your style as these pieces get in, you’ll see themes in shape and color. It will be easier to pinpoint gaps in your capsule!
- Have bins and bags ready. Bag up any clothes to be donated, put seasonal items or items you just can’t part with in the bins.
- Make a shopping list of the pieces you need to complete your capsule wardrobe. Be specific with color, size, and style.
- Go on your shopping trip (or shop online!) Be intentional with your budget, pick transitional pieces, and avoid shopping the rest of the season!
- At the end of the season, carry over clothes that you can. Reassess the items in your bins and create a new shopping list!
Remember, your capsule does not include: jewelry, accessories, work out gear, or formal wear! This is more the everyday clothes that you could wear to work or coffee or a night on the town! For me, I needed a new pair of black boots, a leather jacket, a few neutral tees to layer, and a white collared shirt. When I had this little list of items, I was able to shop super intentionally, not get pulled into the clearance racks, and really look at where my gaps were in the clothes that were hanging! I also opted for less pants, more shirts because I really only wear 3 pairs of pants anyways! So far, I feel liberated to grab just about anything in my closet because I know it fits and I like it, I am excited to have “less” stuff in my closet, and I’m really owning the whole getting rid of excess thing which is awesome because we just moved into a home with limited closet space!
[…] I plan to do a post on just how much I was left with after all this purging as well and after fitting it all into the RV, maybe even doing a capsule wardrobe! […]