15 Capsule Wardrobe Tips to Help You Simplify Your Closet
If you want to simplify your closet, these capsule wardrobe tips will help you create space and get back to basics. With a smaller wardrobe, you can begin to experience all of the benefits of dressing with less.
This is my favorite time of year to whittle down my wardrobe. These capsule wardrobe tips will help you simplify without getting overwhelmed. You can experience the benefits of dressing with less without getting rid of all your stuff.
Here are the benefits you’ll get from the capsule wardrobe tips
- More space in your closet and your mind.
- Less decision fatigue.
- You get to wear your favorite things every day.
- Less shopping.
- More confidence that you have enough.
- Less stress.
- More ease.
As the creator of the Project 333 challenge, I have more than 15 years of experience and capsule wardrobe tips to share. I’ve been dressing with 33 items or less every 3 months (or longer) since 2010! I know that 33 items isn’t the right number for everyone but starting with some of these capsule wardrobe tips and ideas can help you create a minimalist wardrobe with less stress.
15 Capsule Wardrobe Tips to Help You Simplify Your Closet
I think of creating a capsule wardrobe as a bit of a journey because it takes some time to discover what you really need and want in your wardrobe. I never recommend buying a bunch of new items to start a capsule wardrobe because so much changes about how you think about your stuff over the first few months. Use these capsule wardrobe tips to get started and stay curious about the journey.
1. Hide anything you don’t wear.
Get rid of your worries about where to donate things, what to sell and what to keep. Instead, simply hide anything you don’t wear. If you don’t miss it (or remember it, it will be so much easier to let go.
2. Declutter these five things from your closet.
Decluttering clothes from drawers, closets and other storage spaces may seem like a never ending cycle. You’ve probably tried flipping your hangers and other decluttering tricks. If you are tired of a chaotic wardrobe, It’s time to skip the tricks and focus on a simplified wardrobe. Use this list to declutter five categories of items from your wardrobe.
3. Become an outfit repeater.
See if people really notice what you are wearing. Most people don’t. When I first started dressing with less, no one noticed. Between in-office sales meetings, client lunches, and community events, I was out and about most of the time, with many of the same people. No one noticed I was wearing the same things over and over again. My colleagues didn’t notice; my clients didn’t notice. I actually received more compliments. I even wore the same dress to every holiday function and event for more than a year. Now when I’m making decisions about how I want to live my life, or do my work, I can do what’s best for me regardless of other people’s opinions. I’ve also realized that other people’s thoughts about me aren’t really about me. They are about them.
4. Stop adding new clothes to your closet for a while.
Consider a shopping ban for a few months. Work with what you have before you get anything new. Enjoy the space you created and give yourself time to consider what you really want and need in your closet. Remember that even though you got rid of a lot of clothes clutter, you were probably only wearing the same few things over and over again.
5. Wear your favorite colors.
If you love wearing navy but have a few red items in your wardrobe to “mix things up” or because red was the accent color of the month in your favorite fashion magazine, let yourself off the hook. You don’t have to dress in seasonal colors or colors you think you are supposed to wear. You may choose to wear mostly black, beige or another neutral color most of the time. Remove the colors, stripes, polka dots or patterns you don’t feel good in for a while. If you love wearing lots of colors and patterns, that’s fine too but don’t force yourself into wearing what you think you are “supposed” to be wearing.
6. Keep it all in one place.
I used to have clothes for different seasons and other wardrobe items in multiple drawers, closets, and storage bins so I never really understood how much I really had. Get all your stuff in one place and then divide it into the stuff you are actually wearing and enjoying and the stuff you aren’t. There is no reason to be sifting through what you don’t wear to find what you want to wear. You don’t have to get rid of the stuff you don’t wear at first. Instead hide it so you don’t have to see it or stress about what to do with it at first. It will be easier to let go when you experience the benefits of dressing with less.
7. Identify 5 favorite outfits.
We wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, but we still show up and ask “what am I going to wear?” every morning. Instead, photograph yourself in your 5 favorite outfits and before you look in your closet, choose from your favorite looks. Again, pick your favorites. If you don’t like button-up shirts and heels, don’t include them. Your ideal outfit might be a classic blazer, white t-shirts and jeans with sandals or boots, or maybe you prefer skirts, tanks and cardigans or denim jackets with your favorite pair of shoes. You can’t do this wrong and you can make adjustments along the way.
8. Get rid of the tags.
If there are things in your closet with tags still on them, say goodbye. Give them away, consign them or sell them. Maybe you can even return them. The tags may not seem harmful but seeing those bad purchase decisions every day can be a stressful reminder of impulse shopping, overspending and bad purchase decisions. Holding on to things because you got a great deal (looking at you BOGO) or because you spent too much is never a good idea. When it’s time to let go, give yourself permission to do so.
9. Only keep one size in your closet.
Multiple sizes may feel comfortable but it’s just adding extra clutter to your closet. Instead, focus on only including what fits your body and your lifestyle today. You can always use the other stuff later if you need it but you don’t have sort through it on a daily basis. I used to keep multiple sizes of clothing in my closet but when I stopped doing that, it didn’t just change my closet, it changed my mindset too.
10. Let go of the guilt.
Closets are full of emotion with guilt often at the top of the list. Guilt for spending too much, for not wearing what you have, for clothes fitting poorly and for not enjoying pieces other people have given you. Unfortunately the guilt is completely unproductive. Take a look through your closet and pull out anything that makes you feel guilty, sad or bad. Box it up and revisit in 3 months. If you don’t love it by then or it still makes you feel bad, give it away.
11. Lift yourself up with music instead of stuff.
This capsule wardrobe tip might seem silly but sometimes when we think we need something new, we just need a break. Instead of continually adding new pieces to your wardrobe because they are on sale, or because you need a shopping lift, or whatever excuse you are using to buy something new, add music. Create a playlist of 10 songs that make you smile and when you feel the urge to shop, turn the music on instead. Those 10 songs will lift you up and the time that passes while you are listening will be enough of a delay to ease your mind and distract you from shopping. If you don’t want to make a playlist, try this one.
12. Ask a friend for help.
Invite someone over who isn’t emotionally attached to your stuff to go through your clothes with you. They can look through your sweaters, blouses, and trousers and make recommendations. As you are sorting through, consider quality clothes instead of quantity of clothes. Trust them to help you let go.
13. Eliminate jewelry and/or accessories.
Instead of trying to figure out what scarves, handbags, necklaces, or other things you accessorize with, eliminate all or all but one. This may not be a permanent step, but removing the decision-making process for a few months will help you experience the benefits of dressing with less without struggling to choose.
14. Release the clothes that don’t match your lifestyle anymore.
Are you holding on to clothes you wore for a prior life, or for a life you aspire to have? Dress for the life you have right now and you will move through it with more ease and grace. The rest can go.
15. Try the Project 333 Challenge!
Give minimalist fashion challenge Project 333 a try. You have nothing to lose except stress, spending, and closet chaos. As a capsule wardrobe beginner, don’t give everything away, just get it out of sight for a while and see how you feel dressing with less. Remove the stress and emotional attachment by separating yourself from your stuff. All you have to do is to choose 33 items (clothing, jewelry, accessories, shoes) to wear for 3 months and hide everything else. Spoiler alert: doing it is much easier than thinking about doing it.
More Project 333 Resources To Help You Start A Capsule Wardrobe
Looking for more resources? Here’s a list to help your capsule wardrobe efforts:
- Read Project 333, The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More
- Listen to Wardrobe Declutter: 10 Things To Remove From Your Closet Today
- Watch: Minimalism, A Documentary About The Important Things
- Read 7 Perks of a Minimalist Wardrobe
- Listen to a 1:1 Project 333 coaching call.
Use these capsule wardrobe tips to ease in and have more fun decluttering your current wardrobe and closet.