My Capsule Wardrobe Project Has Been Like A Juice Cleanse For My Closet. I Feel Leaner And Cleaner. And I Was Able To Detoxify My Life A Bit Without Having To Pretend I Like To Drink Kale.

I’ve been claiming a life shift as an excuse for not posting since before the summer started, but human evolution takes time. Right? Anyway, I think lately I’m really getting somewhere with this transitional thing. I’ve been channeling simplicity. Quality over quantity. This must be a sign I am clearly aging maturing.

It started in my closet. I really pared down for April and lived with only 27 items for the entire month – this included scarves and shoes. It was not easy. Not only from the standpoint that I had less to choose from every day but, dear God, keeping a handful of clothes consistently clean is no small feat. There were points during the month where I wore ridiculous combos (fancy sweats and a blazer??) simply because I had nothing clean. Or I’d pull out a pair of jeans from the laundry basket and spend 10 minutes cleaning the dog paw marks off the legs before I left the house.

Anyway, it has changed me. I no longer want a walk-in closet bursting to the seams with color and pattern. I know what I like to wear, what I feel my best in, and I’d rather have a smaller number of those items available to me than any amount of colorful t-shirts and wild printed tops. No one could be more surprised about this change than I.

I feel a little less wasteful too. In the past I’d wear something for six hours or so and toss it into the laundry bin, because who knows what it touched? And it seemed perfectly okay fill up the washing machine with steaming hot water and run it for an hour because maybe there were cooties on those jeans. But now, unless something is visibly stained or smells like fajitas I’ll usually hang it back up on the rack. I just can’t afford to have my favorite pair of boyfriend jeans lose too much rotation time.  So I’m adding less to the wash and not needlessly using precious water to wash perfectly clean items.

I also feel like this exercise has made it easier for me to think about things. Like some of my headspace has opened up because I’m not wasting my brain energy coming up with an outfit for that green ikat top I want to love, but don’t. I don’t have to think too much about what I’m putting on and I know whatever I do choose, it will be something I feel great in, so my brain can move on to other things - like what I’d like to learn and do or how to decorate our dining room. I feel like I’m making some progress in my life (finally). It’s the kind of progress that isn’t totally visible to the naked eye, but more the kind I feel inside.

It’s even made me take a closer look at some of my friendships in my life. I see better now how I could improve my role in some of them a bit, but I’m also honestly recognizing those that just aren’t really clicking anymore. I want to feel good about the relationships I have and I'll admit there are one or two that have been making me feel pretty bad for quite a while. I may have to let go of them. It’s painful to consider, but it actually feels worse to be in a friendship that feels empty, than it does to release it and make room for something better.

So basically, it’s been a lot of simplifying, paring down and streamlining, and as a result, I’m gaining clarity. It feels good. I highly encourage you to give this fashion diet a try. I don’t know if the results I’m getting are because clothes have always been such a big part of my life so it makes sense that shifting there would have a ripple effect or what. But I really feel the smaller wardrobe has triggered some bigger changes. And I am welcoming them with open arms and spacious closet.

I'm wearing this.

These are literally the only pair of pants I had clean. I'm relieved, and surprised, it's not snowing.

gratitude: the smell of our dogs, peonies, a glass of wine, talks around our kitchen island

thanks and love.