“Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers.” – Charles Dickens
A few years back, I experimented with reducing my wardrobe by joining Project 333.
The idea behind Project 333 is simple: Wear only 33 articles of clothing for the next 3 months. All clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear,and shoes count towards your number. Exceptions include wedding rings, underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear,and workout clothing.Clothing that no longer fits or becomes in poor condition may be replaced during the time period.
Originally, I decided to try it for a number of reasons:
- I needed an extra push to reduce the clutter in my closet.
- I find boundaries to be helpful in minimizing.
- The project sounded both challenging and reasonable.
- The Project 333 community seemed encouraging.
The project began on October 1 and concluded on December 31. And other than a few minor exceptions (think Ugly Sweater Christmas Party), I was able to stick to the rules of 33 articles of clothing with only minimal adjustments to my weekly routine.
It became an experiment that I valued and often recommended to others. I learned some valuable lessons about boundaries over those three months.
Consider the benefits of living life within boundaries:
1. Boundaries keep us restrained.
Artificial boundaries can keep us in check when our natural self-control does not. Over the years, I had amassed a closet full of clothes—far more than I truly need. Looking back, I am embarrassed at the amount of time, money, energy, and attention devoted to my clothes.
In similar ways, the average American carries $7,200 in credit card debt and watches over 32 hours of television per week. We are in need of boundaries. Good parents set boundaries for their children… and good adults should set boundaries for themselves.
2. Boundaries force our values.
When you are challenged to pare down your clothing to 33 items, you are forced to identify which items are absolutely necessary. You are forced to single out the most important, most versatile, and most loved items. You are required to identify the most valuable things in your closet.
Similarly, boundaries in life help to force this exact same thought process. Boundaries force us to identify the difference between “really important” and only “somewhat important”—just ask anyone who has ever been given a limited amount of time left to live.
3. Boundaries promote creativity.
Orson Welles said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” Limiting your clothing items to 33 items for 3 months forces art. Limiting your wardrobe to a capsule wardrobe does not rob you of personal style…it causes you to truly find it. For help getting started, try this: A Practical Guide to Owning Fewer Clothes.
4. Boundaries bring freedom.
This may sound contradictory…and depending on the exact boundaries, it may be. But in the example of clothing, I found great freedom in the project. It is a refreshing feeling to look inside a closet and see only clothes that you love. Getting ready in the morning is less time-consuming. Laundry is easier. And I saved a few dollars over the 3 months as well. The experiment granted me more time, energy, and money—the very things I was losing without it.
For me, Project 333 became something far greater than wearing fewer articles of clothing. It became about recognizing the value of boundaries. And the value of boundaries reaches far beyond our closets. It begins to spill into how we decorate our homes, the toys we buy for our children, our yarn supplies, and even how we choose to spend our time, money, and energy.
Why don’t you try giving it a shot?
You’ll enjoy the challenge. And you’ve got nothing to lose but the clutter in your closet.
FAQs
The idea behind Project 333 is simple: Wear only 33 articles of clothing for the next 3 months. All clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear, and shoes count towards your number.
What is the 333 wardrobe method? ›
The 333 styling method is a minimalist fashion challenge encouraging individuals to select and wear only 33 items for 3 months. This includes clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear, and shoes, aiming to simplify wardrobe choices and promote sustainable fashion habits.
What is the 333 rule outfits? ›
Enter: the '333' method. Coined by TikTok creator and self-proclaimed fashion girlie, Rachel Spencer (@rachspeed), the '333' method challenges you to select nine items from your wardrobe (specifically, three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes) and create as many outfits as you can, using only these items.
What is the 30 clothes rule? ›
The 30 wear challenge is a commitment to wearing a new item of clothing at least 30 times. It forces you to pause before clicking buy and ask yourself, 'will I actually wear this 30 times?” If the answer is not 100% yes, then you don't make the purchase.
Does the 333 method really work? ›
While there is no formal research into the effectiveness of the 333 rule, many people find it to be a helpful and simple technique to handle anxiety. Although it won't completely get rid of your anxiety, it can be a useful tool to manage it in the moment.
What is the famous 333 method? ›
333 or 3x33 Manifestation Ritual is a one of the quickest and most powerful ways to attract your goals and desires. This technique uses the power of repetition, focus and the spiritual significance of the numbers 3 and 33 to allow you to easily manifest what you desire.
What is the 333 method of clothes? ›
What Is the 333 Method? The 333 method is simple: Pack three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes, then mix and match for at least nine different outfits or 27 different looks if you're counting the various shoe options, too.
What is the 1 3 2 3 rule clothing? ›
The key is to create a visual break in your outfit at either the end of the first third, or the end of the second third. Avoid putting the visual break of your outfit in the middle, because this can make you look frumpy.
What is the 3 3 3 outfit method? ›
The concept is simple: select 3 bottoms, 3 tops, and 3 shoes and see how many cute outfits you can make! We could immediately see the genius of such a simple styling strategy and decided we wanted to take on the challenge!
What is the 333 styling method? ›
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.
It's an easy technique to remember and use in the moment, it's available to us the majority of the time, and it can be a simple strategy to help us focus and ground when anxiety overwhelms. Put simply, you name three things you can see, three you can hear, and move three different body parts.
How do you use the 333 rule? ›
The 333 anxiety rule involves observing three things you can see, three things you can hear, and three things you can move or touch. It is a grounding technique — a coping skill to manage intense emotions by steering the mind away from anxiety and toward the present moment.
How long should you keep old clothes? ›
Clothes that haven't fit for a year.
If things no longer fit and they haven't fit for at least a year it's okay to let these go. They're just taking up valuable space and cluttering up your wardrobe. The one exception to this tip is if you have a concrete goal or plan to lose the weight to fit back into these clothes.
How many times should you wear clothes before throwing it away? ›
For years, the benchmark has been 30 wears. This spawned from the 30 Wears Challenge, first conceived by Eco Age co-founder Livia Firth and journalist Lucy Seigle in 2015.
How many times can you wear clothes before washing them? ›
Shirts and blouses: after 1-2 wearings. Dress pants or slacks: after 2-3 wearings. Jeans: after 4-5 wearings. Sweaters: up to 6 wearings, if worn with an undershirt; 1-2 wearings if worn without an undershirt.
What is the 12 12 12 rule for decluttering? ›
The 12 12 12 rule is a decluttering strategy that involves three simple steps: finding 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to return to their rightful place. This method helps reduce clutter while promoting a sense of accomplishment by achieving small, manageable goals.
What is the 20 20 20 rule for decluttering? ›
Then we tested our hypothesis: the 20/20 Rule. Anything we get rid of that we truly need, we can replace for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from our current location. Thus far, this hypothesis has become a theory that has held true 100% of the time.
What is the 5 second rule for decluttering? ›
The five second rule is picking up an item, and making the decision as to whether it stays or goes within this amount of time. 'The basic premise behind this rule in decluttering is that you should know within five seconds whether you should keep something or not,' explains Amanda Wiss, Founder of Urban Clarity.
What is the 90 90 rule for decluttering? ›
Have you used that item in the last 90 days? If you haven't, will you use it in the next 90? If not, then it's okay to let go,' write Joshua and Ryan on their blog. The 90/90 rule isn't limited to the wardrobe (in fact it's applicable to many areas of the home) but it's definitely a good place to start.
