31 Days of Decluttering, Day 27: 6 Benefits to a Minimalist Wardrobe

Guest Post by Shaindy from HappilyHectic.com

Hello KOAB readers! In the past few months I have intentionally chosen to have fewer clothing items in my wardrobe and I’ve been loving it. I am so glad to be here to share my journey with you.

Can you believe that all of this was inspired by one TED Talk? Those short, powerful lectures are designed to spread ideas and inspire listeners — and inspire this one did. A video The Ten-Item Wardrobe caught my eye, and 13 minutes later my life was changed.

The basic idea in the video was that you do not need tons of items in your wardrobe. You need 10 staples and then you can change the look and feel with accessories. You also update your ten items every season, so you have more variety and a weather appropriate wardrobe.

With this minimalist “lifestyle,” you invest in quality pieces that make you feel good. You also don’t waste time deciding what to wear each morning and you don’t waste money on impulse buys. The speaker also pointed out that most people don’t even notice what you wear every day, so repeating outfits shouldn’t be a concern.

Ten items sounded like too few for my wardrobe, but it got me to start thinking about simplifying.

Whenever I want to try something new I always find myself researching endlessly. Google, Pinterest and YouTube were my friends in this process. Some of the terms I searched included ‘capsule wardrobe’, ‘minimalist wardrobe’, and ‘Project 333’.

Project333 is a movement where people have 33 items in their wardrobe and switch those items every 3 months. It has defined guidelines, but the greatest thing I learned is that there is no one way to have a minimalist wardrobe. Each person does it in her own way and there really aren’t any rules!

Apparently there’s a whole gaggle of people out there who love having simple wardrobes. This was really surprising to me and as I kept researching, I was falling more and more in love with the idea.

Once I was hooked, there was no turning back. Now it was time to take action!

The first thing I did in this process was define my style and assess my lifestyle. I paid attention to the clothing items I liked most, which ones made me look/feel good and which ones definitely did not. I then paid close attention to the fact that I needed different clothing for work, Shabbos and Sundays.

The next thing I knew I had to do was purge. I had a closet full of items that I simply did not wear. One evening and a few garbage bags later I was on my way to a minimalist wardrobe.

After my purge I looked at what items were left. I had 3 black skirts, 5 nice work shirts, 2 pairs of flat shoes, 2 pairs of heels, belts, scarves and a whole array of colorful shells/t-shirts.

I knew that this was more than enough to make my simple wardrobe work for me. I felt that by switching my shell colors I would be able to create even more outfits than I thought I had.

Believe it or not, this approach worked for me. Now that I’ve had my simple wardrobe for a while I realized there were even more benefits than I had originally thought there were going to be.

6 Benefits to a Minimalist Wardrobe

#1. I feel good in what I wear and I always like what I’m wearing. Every. Single. Day.

#2. I save time in the morning because there isn’t that much to choose from. (Benefit of only having black skirts.)

#3. I save money on clothing because I don’t need as many as I used to think I did.

#4. My clothing purchases are well thought out so I don’t add too many unnecessary items to my wardrobe and don’t buy on impulse.

#5. I have less clutter in my closet.

#6. It’s easier and faster to find items and put them away.

Even with all these benefits, I realize that a minimal wardrobe is not for everyone. Some people need a lot of choices in the morning and that’s ok.

What I want people to realize though is that having a minimal wardrobe is also ok. We don’t need to wear a different outfit every day and we can wear the same article of clothing multiple times in different ways.

If you’ve tried or are thinking about trying a minimal wardrobe, I’d love to hear what works for you.

Shaindy is a full-time working mom with a wonderful husband and 3 young children (all boys!). She blogs at HappilyHectic.com about work-life balance and freezer cooking.