the capsule wardrobe: five benefits.
At the risk of sounding dramatic, the capsule wardrobe is changing my life. I am 1.5 months in to my nursing-friendly spring wardrobe, and here is everything you could possibly want to know about it:
1. Getting dressed is a breeze. I don't even think about it. I grab an outfit based on the weather and outing and it takes 10 seconds. I don't wonder if the clothes fit right, I don't stare at my closet for ten minutes before making a decision, I just grab and go. THINK OF HOW MUCH TIME I COULD SAVE OVER A DECADE OF THIS!
2. The less I have, the less I want. This has been the biggest (and most positive!) change for me with the capsule wardrobe. I haven't had a desire to shop, or a desire to buy new clothes. I feel overwhelmingly content. I'm not online shopping, or pinning clothes I don't need, or wandering the aisles of Target lusting over things. I have more than enough. If anything, I'm suddenly hyper-aware of how much pressure lies all around me to buy buy buy and have have have. Consumerism is alive and well in our culture and I am just so dang tired of being bombarded with messages about stuff stuff stuff.
3. I have a better idea of what I like to wear and what looks good on me. Even within such a small number of clothing, I find myself gravitating towards the same few looks and items. I love my high rise skinny jeans and my slouchy tees. The more I pick and choose within limited options, the more I develop and embrace my personal style for this specific season: the one that involves chasing a toddler all day and nursing a baby around the clock. I love to get dressed up once or twice a week but the rest of the time, I'm down on the floor with my kids and I'm dressed like it. And it feels good to just … own that.
4. I can see what my wardrobe is missing. A few times I have thought to myself, "It would be really nice if I had ________ (a denim sleeveless blouse, a few more form-fitting layering pieces). I'm thinking about clothes more intentionally and more specifically. I'm not shopping "just because" or buying aimlessly. I'm starting to think about my summer capsule wardrobe and can pinpoint specific items I'd love to have the next time around. It feels good (and financially responsible!) to curate a short list based on what my closet is lacking, instead of just adding to the masses. I'm finding it's a lot easier to assess your wardrobe as a whole when you can look at everything you own in one organized closet.
which brings me to....
5. I love having a clean closet. Let's be real. I have two kids, and my house is a mess 98% of the time. All day long I am cleaning up messes and dishes and attempting to put laundry away before Everett jumps on stacks of neatly folded t-shirts. Our house is a public space; it belongs to all of us. We all contribute to the mess in some way. But my half of the closet? That is a private space, and it only belongs to me. I can keep it clean 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And I do. Because it's easy. Because there are hardly any clothes in there now!
Notes for next time....
It's really important to LOVE every item in your capsule wardrobe. I've learned that I don't really love 20% of my current capsule. If I stare at the same top ten days in a row and think, "I don't want to wear that," it probably doesn't belong in my closet.
It's also really important to take the weather into consideration. I made my capsule wardrobe during an unseasonably hot week, and I mistakenly assumed the rest of spring would be 85 degrees. I did not account for much variation. We've had a few random cold days and I've been … well … cold.
Have you ever done a capsule wardrobe? How'd it go?