Project 333...

Phew! I've completed my project 333 wardrobe clear out! My Docs and Converse made the cut, along with the newer of my dog walking trekking shoes. I had a toss up between various slippers and flip flops for indoor wear and in the end my felt Birkenstocks won because they can double up as outdoor wear too.

Here's how the rest panned out:

5 pairs of jeans

5 t shirts

2 long sleeved t shirts

3 shirts

2 coats

1 gilet

2 cardigans

8 jumpers

1 bag

1 pair of Docs

1 pair of Converse

1 pair of Birkenstocks

1 pair of hiking shoes

I haven't included underwear, hats, scarves, gloves, socks, gaiters or my bathrobe. Though frankly I plan to sort through the hats, scarves and gloves and add one of each to the list. I did condense my nightwear too, down to just two pairs of pj's but apparently they don't need to count in the 33.

I filled up one black bin liner of charity donations. The rest I've stored in several large holdalls and placed on top of my wardrobe. Amongst the stored items are some old favourites but mostly I don't think I'm going to miss anything. In three months time I'm hoping to go through it all again with the knowledge that I didn't need/miss anything and therefore it can all go! That's the dream anyway!

Apart from the fact that I can now see and get to everything in the wardrobe (the doors close properly and the drawers aren't stuffed full) I also 'rediscovered' things I'd forgotten I had. This is good news for varying both my work clothes and my dog walking wardrobe. It was like getting new things!

It's quite a novelty having such a sparse wardrobe. I keep going past and having a peek inside just for the hell of it. I guess the real test is whether this is going to be enough. Will I need to add a few bits or change a few bits? On the whole I am amazed at how easy it actually was. There was a bit of last minute swapping and counting going on but the safety net was knowing that I wasn't parting with anything, I was merely living without it for three months. I feel fairly confident that not very much is going to be kept after this length of time. Of course I will need to do this four times this year so that I end up with seasonal '33's' but each one can be edited accordingly and the previous seasonal stuff can be stored away again.

Riding high on the success of this I bravely decided to empty M's entire wardrobe onto our bed and give it the same treatment. He wasn't impressed with having try on about forty shirts when he got home after cricket training and a football match. His pile of clothes was four times higher than my own and I thought it was women who famously had too many clothes! He was much more reluctant to get rid of things especially if they cost a lot. He wanted to save a huge pile of shirts 'to slim into'. He had sentimental attachments to a full length wax coat because it was a dog waking one (with our dog that died 4 years ago). So it seems men have the same reasons for hanging on to things as women.

I've learnt that one of my reasons for hanging on to things is that I seem to chuck things and then find that I do actually need them. I got rid of all my photography books the year before Ella said, oh I'm going to take GCSE photography, have you got any books on close up photography? Um yes, I did have! I'm always telling Ella of a brilliant book I once read, only to find my copy is long gone. The same seems to happen when I get rid of clothes that would have been ideal components of a dressing up outfit. Last year we had to put together a pirate and a hippie for Ella. I had gems of clothing for both of these but had already donated them to charity. So I think for me, it's not about the money or about the sentiment it's actually the worry that I might chuck something that is useful. I'll just have to plough on regardless!