My Capsule Adventure

Hey everybody!!! It’s a new year again. Can you believe it? I can’t. The last one just flew by. I actually had three different addresses last year. And I bought so much stuff!!!!!!! That’s my problem. I’m a recovering shopaholic. Like any addiction, this is serious. I could fall back into that pattern at any time. One of the worst parts about this addiction is that there is always a “reason” to buy something. Your house needs it, your closet needs it, your friend needs it. Sometimes, though, you just have to admit that you are addicted to pulling out that credit card and picking up everything that catches your eye.

There will be more on this in the Money Matters section over time. But for now, I’m here to share the start of my capsule wardrobe adventure with you.

I have literally three closets full of clothes! Plus half a dresser. My poor husband gets half of a closet and 3 dresser drawers and that is all he owns period. I’m pretty sure if I wore a different outfit every day, I could go an entire year without repeating outfits. Or close to it anyway.

The problem is, when I had all these clothes out at the same time I barely wore anything because I had so much to choose from. I had so many items last summer that everything was used once or twice. That made me sad, I loved what I bought and I wanted to use it more. I also seriously love the idea of the capsule wardrobe. Why?

Well for starters, it takes up a lot less space! It also allows you to really make good use of what you own. And by owning less and being committed to shopping less, you can spend more on each item and buy things that might be a bit pricey but will last you well in the long run.

But do I have the courage to go through and donate three quarters of what I own? Absolutely not!! I bought each item with love, spent good money on it, and most have never been worn. So I came up with the idea of the monthly capsule!

Here’s how it works:

• Go through every single item in your closet and TRY IT ON. Asses how well it fits, the condition it’s in, etc.
• Group things by season and color. (ie. I have a lot of summer clothes in navy and white but I also have a lot of summer clothes in jade and coral)
• Plan out what events and activities will be taking place each month and make sure you have items for that season in that color group that suit that activity. Don’t buy anything, you might just need to borrow for a special occasion from a different color group. No big deal.
• Then organize each pile into hanging fabric shelves or garment bags or dresser drawers, whatever you have that works for you.
• Make a written list of each item, including accessories (I have a real problem with purses and earrings), that you will be using for that month. don’t plan out every month in advance for the year. Weather, jobs and other life changes could seriously ruin that advanced planning and waste the hours it took. Just do a month at a time.
• Wear the clothes you settled on and enjoy!! This is a great time to get used to having few clothes and thinking outside the box in creating outfits. So make sure you have enough to work with for the month and DO NOT dig into whats packed away!!

I’m going to be sharing pictures of the experiment on my Instagram feed. Follow me @thegolddirection (Abigail O’Rourke). Look for new posts about how it’s going and new tips on how to try it yourself the first and last Friday of each month.

Love you all!!!

Abigail