Unexpected benefits of a capsule wardrobe

I was able to get my "active" closet down to this. I have donation items in my trunk and I plan to put my dormant work clothes in storage bins. Then I have some seasonal items under my bed which I will "shop" first before I purchase any supplemental items. 

These stages have made this process much easier to handle.  This whole process made me realize that I was just holding on to stuff just because I liked the idea of having a lot of stuff, not because it was actually useful.

So...I get my closet down but then this

happened to my husband's side of the closet. The entire rack fell without warning!  

Maybe he can use part of my side ☺️
So, with a capsule wardrobe, you avoid hazardous closet rack breakdowns, you avoid wasted time repairing the clothes rack, and you have more room to share in the closet just in case your spouse doesn't join in on the declutter movement.

I hate consigning

I took all those unwanted clothes to my nearest consignment shop. It is actually the only one in town that I know about since we moved here only six months ago. 

It took about four trips to bring in all my items. They only took about four items and here is a picture of my earnings. 

Their comments were that my pieces were a bit too "business-like" and they prefer more casual items (code for, we don't want your old clothes lady). 

I almost feel like you have to be a professional buyer to sell at a consignment. 

Because I hate shopping around for consignment deals, they will go straight to donation. On to the next step. 

My capsule wardrobe experience

February 7, 2016
2016 is going to be big for me on the subject of organization.  I need more time to get things done and feel like I am the biggest loser in wasting my own time.  There are a number of things on my list to do this year to get more organized.  This all started when I read a couple articles on the capsule closet.  Most people say that this snowballs into other areas of your life.  When I introduced the idea of the closet capsule to my friends, they were less than enthused.  And I have made so many excuses for why not to do it and so, I haven't.  I won't have anything to wear, 37 items is too few, I need all this stuff, some of it is classic, blah blah blah.


This is a picture of my closet.  And while I have a few beautiful pieces, I overall hate my wardrobe.  I think the problem is that some of these things have been in my closet since college.  Then add too many pieces that were on-sale but just don't fit into a good outfit, some target shopping that occurred all throughout my medical training because hey- when I felt like shopping, it was usually at a time when only Target and Walmart were open.  I now have banned myself from buying clothes from Target.  Not because there is anything wrong with Target because I know many friends who find great clothes there however, everything I get has an awkward fit- probably because I 'm curvy petite (I just made that up and I like it!).

Anywhoozle, back to my bottom line...This is my closet and I hate that it takes me forever to find the right outfit and I want to stop wasting my money on useless clothing that eventually gets donated because it does not work.
Those boxes that you see lined on the bottom are all my shoes. Sideline comment: the left is my husband's side and the back and right are my side of the closet- and this is after a good cleanse when we moved.  I doubt I will be capsuling the shoes but we shall see how this thing goes.
So, the first step is to empty my entire closet and sort into 4 piles.
1. Love it and would wear it right now!
2. Maybe
3. Nope
4. Seasonal
...this should be interesting

February 8, 2016
This is what I have so far.  My maybe pile ended up being two piles- pile #1- maybe maybe and pile #2 are work clothing storage.  I have accumulated a lot of work clothes that are good but since I wear my uniform almost all the time, I can store those clothes for later.
And btw, as I am walking through this process, I am buying more into the concept.
So, the idea is to have a capsule for every season and shop only once at the beginning of the season for the additions and mix and match for the rest of the time.  For me this will equate to no more constant online searching for deals which equals more time in the bank-okay, in my Wendy Williams' voice.
Why is this so important, you ask?  You will soon learn what I have learned, if you haven't already LEARNED.  You can make a whole lot of money and buy a whole lot of nice things but the one thing money cannot buy outright is time.  And time is more precious than gold, period.
My plan is to set aside about $180/month (about $540/season) for shopping.
And just so we are clear, this is not a new concept and some of you have been on-this for years.  I'm just late to the party.  These ideas and my inspiration are from www.un-fancy.com
Okay.  We are technically at the end of the winter season.  Spring starts March 1st and I plan to schedule fixes (Stitch Fix) at the beginning of each season to aid in supplementing the wardrobe.  I probably will have to stop shopping online for clothing so I can guarantee a perfect fit, but I am guessing that plan will backfire.  For now though, I am still working on the first two steps so check back with me.