Bird Feeders, Project 333, and a 10 year old Cairn

A box arrived on the steps this afternoon from my father in Washington.  I picked it up and it rattled something fierce.  Uh oh!  Was it a jigsaw puzzle or broken glass?  Surprise, it was dried corn on the cob and two hollowed out gourd bird feeders!  Again . . . .it’s a perfect gift for someone who wants less.  I love them, and they remind me of that story at his kitchen sink when I was about 10 years old.

Now on to spring cleaning:  Last Summer when I stumbled upon many, many minimalist blogs, I ran across one that was interesting called Project 333.   The concept is that we only actually wear 30 percent of the clothing inside our closets and drawers. With that in mind, the challenge is for us to pare our clothing down to 33 items for 3 months.   I tried it last fall, and it was a great idea.  My closet was cleaner, I could find the clothes that I really liked (because the trick is to only keep clothes that you feel great wearing), and the laundry pile was almost non-existent.  The other important aspect of this journey, is not to suffer.  If your clothes don’t fit right, replace them.  If they are torn or stained, replace them with something that feels good on your body.

Yet as seasons changed, I pulled things from of my “out of season” box and added them to my closet without remembering to go back to only 33 items.  When I originally set up my closet with 33 things, I also only included 33 hangers.  This morning as I was stealing a hanger from my husband’s side of the closet, it hit me that I must have WAY more than 33 things hanging in the closet.

This evening, I took some time to re-group, re-count and prepare for the Spring Season.   Here’s a picture of the finished product:

Project 333 Closet for Spring 2012

The list on the door is just that — a list of the inventory.  The green tub contains off season clothes that I will incorporate into the cycle as we progress into warmer weather.  The idea is that I will replace long sleeve t-shirts with tank tops and slacks with skirts. In order to help me when I re-group for summer, I placed a sticky dot on each article of clothing.  As I wear something, I will take off the sticky dot.  If at the end of June, there are still clothes with sticky dots (meaning I didn’t wear them at all during the 3 months of Spring), I will toss those into the “Goodwill Box.”

Click here to get your closet started with Project 333.  I’d love to hear if you are giving it a try and how it’s working for you.  Note: I do not include hand-knitted sweaters (which are in the clear tub above my shoes) in the count or my “dog” clothes, which are in a separate closet.  ”Dog” clothes are things I only wear to dog shows (skirts/blazers, judging polos, and my Wicked Witch costume).

And one last Birthday Greeting:  Here’s to my very special Cairn Terrier, Brindle Anne, who turned 10 today!  Where did the time go?  She celebrated with a nice fresh bone followed by a long walk.  She’s absolutely the love of my life, and yes, my husband knows that!

Brindle Anne, April 5, 2012