Capsule Wardrobe Progress Update

So guys, I lied. I like to you and I lied to myself.

Twice I have gone through my closet in an attempt to rid myself of anything I haven't worn so I can make space for new clothes. I've decided to give the "Capsule Wardrobe" a shot, which means going through everything and keeping only the things I love. The first time I thought I had done a good job. There were still some clothes in there that didn't fit the season. Still some maternity clothes that I might need later on. It wasn't good enough though, so I went through it again.

The second time I said, "Not joking around this time! No keeping any 'maybes' or things I sorta like. Get rid of it if I don't love it."

The second time I thought I really had it. I thought I had a fairly clean closet. Turns out that wasn't true. I woke up yesterday morning after a nice Thanksgiving-dinner-pumpkin-pie-induced snooze and looked at my closet, spilling out with clothes I could tell I wasn't planning on wearing again anytime soon. So while the rest of America went out to shop the sales and acquire new things, I stayed in a purged my closet for the third time. Wardrobe Clean Out Phase 3 commenced.

I filled donation bags with all those "maybes" and "kinda likes" and packed away anything I thought I might want next spring into space bags. I packed up my maternity clothes. I even separated out my lounge clothes and workout clothes so I could count the actual items that would be going into my capsule. I went deeper into the closet and pulled out out old duffle bags containing winter coats I don't wear anymore and even old bed sheets and other random things I had forgotten about. I went into the hall closet and took out shoes and old flip flops and threw them into the donation bags.

Six bags! Six donation bags full of stuff. This doesn't count the stuff I've sold on Ebay, things that went into the trash and things that are still lurking around. There is a box full of crap in the bedroom that has been there since we moved in (we don't have bedroom furniture yet so it kinda turned into a space to pile stuff on top of) and I still have a bunch of things I want to sell.

I feel so much better, guys! I feel like a burden has been lifted off of me. I no longer have a closet full of stuff I don't even like. Some of my keepers are honestly take-it-or-leave-it, but I can't get rid of everything or I'd be naked! Right now I have a total of 18 pieces of clothing for rotation.

1 grey cardigan sweater
2 pairs of skinny jeans, one dark and one light
1 pair of black leggings
2 blouses
1 dolmen sleeve hounds-tooth sweater
1 grey striped tank top
2 t-shirts, one grey and one black
2 fitted tees, one grey stripes and one grey leopard print
1 green winter coat
1 hooded cape
1 pair grey converse
1 pair black boots
1 pair moccasins
1 pair brown boots

My lounge clothes/pajamas have been sized down to a pair of boxers, yoga pants, pajama pants and a couple of tees and tanks that I can wear with them. My workout clothes are a minimal two tops, a workout hoodie and a pair of black capris. I have some sentimental items like a few pieces of my grandmothers clothes, a college t-shirt from my dad and my old sorority letters, but I think those will just get packed away for now.

This leaves me with a ton of room for new clothes! The max number I'm going for is 37 items.

This means I can shop for the following number of items:

5 pairs of shoes
2 jackets/coats
5 bottoms
7 tops

I plan on shopping in 6 month increments rather than the "seasonal" capsule like lots of people do. I don't have money for that and I don't see a big need to replace items when there isn't too big of a difference between fall/winter and spring/summer. All I have to do it layer up or down. Not to mention it's taken me practically a month just to start out my first capsule so by the time I finish it will be a new season already!