Project 333 – A minimalist fashion challenge that will leave you wanting more… of dressing with less!
Feeling overwhelmed by too many clothes? I was, too.
So when I discovered Project 333 – a simple, minimalist fashion challenge where you wear only 33 items for 3 months – I knew I had to give it a go!
If you’re thinking, “That sounds extreme!” I totally get it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the results were life-changing.
I’d love to share my Project 333 journey with you – and why I’m never going back to a wardrobe crammed full of clothes and shoes again.
If you’re tired of clutter in your closet and want a simpler, more organised life, keep reading. This was exactly what I needed to help me climb out of my wardrobe rut, and it might just be the solution you need too.
So, what exactly is PROJECT 333?
“Wear just 33 items for 3 months and get back all the JOY you were missing while you were worrying about what to wear.”
Courtney Carver
Courtney Carver created Project 333 in Salt Lake City in 2010. She devised the challenge to help herself and others live simpler, less complicated lives, starting with their closets.
Courtney describes her closet back then as ‘out of control’. Even with lots of clothes and accessories she’d collected for decades, she still felt she had nothing to wear. She was fed up with the continuous cycle of always needing something new, shopping for more things and clearing out when it all got too much.
She wanted peace, relief from running late in the mornings after trying on multiple outfits, a break from excess, and to feel good in her clothes again.
Courtney looked for a challenge online but couldn’t find what she was looking for, so she made it herself. She promised herself she would dress for less for three months and, because it was a challenge, she chose the number 33. Project 333 was born. Soon it was changing closets and lives around the world and it wasn’t long before the word was out and it began featuring on social media, in magazines and on TV too.
In Courtney’s words…
“Project 333 is an invitation to create space in your closet, time in your life, and love in your heart. It’s a call for less and a chance to completely redefine your relationship with stuff and shopping, especially the stuff you put on your body every day. Project 333 is an opportunity to think differently, dress differently, and learn about what you really want and need in your closet and in your life.”
What are the benefits of Project 333?
Reduced Decision Fatigue: Simplifying your wardrobe means fewer choices.
Increased Clarity and Focus: A simplified wardrobe means you are not distracted by excess items.
Time Savings: With fewer clothing options, getting dressed is quicker.
Enhanced Creativity: Limited clothing options encourage mixing and matching, helping you develop a signature style.
Financial Savings: By avoiding shopping and limiting the number of items you have, you are less likely to make unnecessary purchases.
Environmental Impact: Reducing the amount of clothing you own and buy helps decrease waste and promote a more sustainable lifestyle.
Stress Reduction: A simplified wardrobe can reduce the stress and anxiety associated with clutter.
Improved Self-Image: Wearing clothing you love, that fits well and suits your style improves your confidence and self-image.
Mindful Consumption: You become more intentional and aware of your shopping habits and the true value of each item you bring into your life.
Quality Over Quantity: With less shopping and spending, you can afford higher quality pieces that will stand the test of time.
What are the ‘rules’ of Project 333?
33 items only: Choose 33 items to wear for the next 3 months. This includes clothing, accessories, jewellery, outerwear, and shoes.
Uniform: If you wear a uniform for work, all the pieces together count as 1 item.
Exclusions: Your 33 items do not include underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, and activewear (as long as it’s used for working out only. If you wear your yoga pants as regular daywear, they count towards your 33!).
Sentimental jewellery: Sentimental jewellery you wear every day, such as your wedding/engagement ring, does not count.
Seasonal rotation: The challenge is divided into three-month periods to align with the seasons. Rotate your wardrobe every three months to adjust for weather changes.
Store the rest: Pack away the rest of your clothes. Out of sight means out of mind, making it easier to focus on your 33 chosen items.
No shopping: Avoid shopping for new clothes during the 3 month period. This helps you appreciate and make the most of what you already have.
Mix and match: Use your 33 items creatively to put together different outfits.
Adjust or rotate as needed: If you find you need to swap an item due to damage or extreme weather changes, do so mindfully and keep it minimal.
Above all, Courtney reminds us to have fun with it. It is an experiment, not a project in suffering. Rules are meant to be broken!
Why did I decide to try Project 333?
As my business name suggests, I’m obsessed with simplicity, organisation and optimising every area of my home and life (you can read my story HERE). And although I’ve been simplifying and decluttering for years, having a capsule wardrobe was something I had only ever dreamed of. I mean, I LOVE clothes, shoes and fashion. Especially shoes! At the last count – a few years ago – I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I had over 60 pairs!! This was the one and only area of my life where I was not minimal!
Being an organised person, my wardrobe was pretty full but under control. My large shoe collection was stored expertly in a way that kept them neat and tidy, so it didn’t seem like too much of a problem. In fact, my wardrobe had become a lot more minimal than it had been years earlier but I still believed I loved clothes too much to be able to have a capsule wardrobe. I thought it would be too restrictive. I liked having choices. There was no way it could work for someone like me.
Or could it?
33 items for 3 months? I was game and willing to get stuck in.
For many years, I had idolised the idea of being the kind of woman who had a beautiful capsule wardrobe. A small collection of beautiful, high quality clothes, shoes and accessories she dressed effortlessly in and looked chic and put together. She lived simply and intentionally with time for all the important things…
On the spur of the moment I decided to try creating a capsule wardrobe when I was preparing to edit my wardrobe in the spring. I’d heard so much about Project 333 and I was intrigued.
The only problem was, I hadn’t planned it. I hadn’t read the book and I didn’t really know how to go about it. But, I love a challenge, so I ordered the kindle version of the book and over a couple of days, began reading and watching as many Project 333 youtube videos as I could. I got my head around the main key rules and got started.
As I mentioned earlier, in theory, Project 333 is a simple challenge. And it is simple – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! Selecting just 33 items to wear was hard.
But once you’ve set yourself up to live the Project 333-way, your life becomes so much easier!
Let me share with you what I learned from doing the challenge and why I ended up loving it so much…
10 things I learned from the Project 333 Challenge
1. Having boundaries and restrictions forced me (in the kindest sense of the word) to be very intentional and decisive about what I put in my capsule collection. It was like a test or experiment that was indeed, as the name suggests, a challenge.
2. When I began selecting my items, I noticed something very interesting about myself straight away. I was instantly choosing certain pieces over others, making it seem easy all of a sudden to understand what I loved in my wardrobe and what I wasn’t so fussed about. The clarity of mind that came with it was amazing and decisions became easier to make.
3. It also seemed crazy to me that I had things in there that I obviously wasn’t in love with. So I began to question why I had them at all. When I really thought about it, it was clear – some things had been impulse buys, some bought just because they were on sale, some were gifts I hadn’t chosen myself. They hadn’t been intentional, conscious purchases and I had to admit they were there by default. The harsh reality was that I had wasted my money, I didn’t care about them and I didn’t love them.
4. Creating my capsule collection in the beginning was trial and error. Pieces went in and then were taken back out. Some favourites couldn’t stay because It would have meant another pair of shoes in a certain colour-way, which would have taken me over my target number. Some items didn’t go with many other things, meaning they couldn’t be mixed and matched. They were removed too. A few things were donated that I knew I wouldn’t wear again, but most of the excess that didn’t make the cut went into a separate section of my wardrobe, out of sight.
The nice thing was, I already knew that I was going to be excited to see some of those pieces again next season when I created my second capsule. And that’s when I realised it was a cyclical process and everything was going to be ok. More than ok. I didn’t need to have all my clothes stored in my wardrobe all of the time, taking up precious space. I could enjoy all my favourite things at the right time, when the season suited.
5. And that leads me onto the S P A C E that was created. Oh my goodness, it was and is absolutely wonderful! My wardrobe is so spacious and calm now. There are even gaps between the hangers. G A P S ! The clothes hang freely and have plenty of room to breathe. I even treated myself to new white wooden hangers, something I’d always loved the look of but didn’t have room for.
My once busy shoe shelves now have a few carefully chosen items sitting on them that I truly love. It is so easy on the eye and I love it. Getting ready in the morning is a pleasant experience. It’s so much quicker and I feel like I’m in a boutique when I’m choosing what to wear.
6. Another interesting thing I found was that getting dressed feels more exciting and fun. There’s less to choose from and because the planning and hard work has already been done during the selection process, I already know what’s going to look nice together. I can pretty much put my hand in, select a few things and just know it will work.
7. Packing for a trip in a similar climate is easy peasy because I can simply pack light by selecting items from my capsule collection, pop them in a packing cube and go.
Want to pack your suitcase like a pro? Access my free Summer Holiday Packing Checklist Bundle HERE!
8. When I went away on my summer holiday to Spain for a week, for the first time in my life, I took a cabin case. A CABIN CASE!! In the book, Courney talks about how she never ever packs anything bigger than a cabin case no matter where she’s heading to or for how long. That inspired me so much to try something new and consider that there were different ways of doing things than what we’re led to believe we are ‘supposed’ to do. It also saved me an absolute fortune as I had been planning on buying a bigger case to complement the luggage collection I already had. Thank you Courtney, I am eternally grateful to you for inspiring me to try this – it’s a cabin case from now on!
9. Boredom with my wardrobe and seeking the thrill of the next purchase is a thing of the past. I notice that I am wearing all of my clothes, shoes and accessories more and it feels good. As if I’m making them work hard for the money I spent on them. There’s something very satisfying that comes from actually wearing something out. Holes in my socks when they come to the end of their life make me smile. I’ve allowed them to do their job and serve their purpose.
The 80/20 rule no longer applies to my wardrobe (wearing only 20% of my clothes 80% of the time). I’m wearing everything. Creating a new capsule every 3 months with items I love, means I don’t get fed up wearing the same things all the time. Selecting items from my own collection for the new season feels like shopping in my home, but for free! I’m also discovering new ways to wear some of my clothes that I would never have tried before. Fewer clothes also means less laundry, which is always a very good thing.
10. Contentment and calm are the biggest takeaways from my experience with Project 333. I feel happy in my clothes and more content with what I already own – 33 items is plenty and feels abundant. It wasn’t a struggle to find things to wear or put outfits together. I’m not looking for new stuff all the time. I learned more about myself and my relationship with my things than I did about clothes. Living and dressing with less feels calm. My wardrobe looks calm and my clothes look happy.
I feel free. Free from the weight of too much stuff. Free from having too many things to take care of. Free from having to make too many choices. Project 333 has given me clarity and a feeling of satisfaction that goes beyond the pleasure of looking at a tidy space. Project 333 has been a truly fun, positive and life changing experience for me.
Mistakes I made and rules I broke…
You learn from your mistakes, they say! As I started the challenge before I’d read the book, I unknowingly made mistakes and broke rules along the way.
Uniform I didn’t count my pro organising ‘uniform’ as 1 item, I didn’t include it at all. Oops! It’ll be included from now on, I promise.
Buying new clothes I didn’t realise initially that I was supposed to avoid shopping during the three months and I purchased quite a few items, mainly on Vinted. I stopped when I became aware. That was the old me and the old habits creeping back in. The secret is to stay away from the shops and don’t browse online. Actually, I love this rule because it encourages you to be more creative with what you have and helps you save money as you avoid making unnecessary purchases.
Swapping things out I found I had a gap in my accessories, and needed to buy a smarter light coloured bag to go with my dressier spring outfits. It felt like I was breaking a rule by doing that, so to compensate I made sure to swap something else out to make room for it. I removed my ankle boots which had been useful at the start of the challenge but were no longer being worn due to the warmer weather. It made sense to me to do that! Thankfully it turned out that I had done the right thing, as that’s what Courtney recommends doing in the book.
Sunglasses I had three pairs of ‘fashion’ sunglasses but only counted them as one. One pair lives in the car for driving, so I didn’t think they counted. One pair lives in the conservatory for sitting outside, gardening etc, so I didn’t think they counted either. Another pair lives in my handbag, those are the ones I counted! This helps me to live an organised life and know I have what I need, where I need it. I’m going to argue my case with the sunglasses and stick with that set up.
Jewellery The jewellery was a tricky one. I love switching out and changing my jewellery normally so it definitely felt like I was missing wearing some of my favourite pieces. On a few occasions I sneaked some bracelets and wore non-capsule earrings. On the flip side, I loved the simplicity and ease of wearing the same jewellery and watch everyday. Do I really need all that choice? Do I want all that choice? Turns out, maybe not.
Special occasion/Evening Wear I didn’t know what to do about special occasion and evening wear. I still don’t really know as I haven’t been able to find any specific information about it in the book or online as yet. What I did do was keep a few options in a separate wardrobe in case an event came up. I didn’t want to include special occasion clothes in my 33 because it seemed pointless to make space for something I wouldn’t wear day to day and may not wear at all. Plus special occasion clothing is a category that is kept for years, often only being worn very occasionally. Yes it’s still good to assess and edit regularly, but I don’t feel it should be part of Project 333.
Was there anything I didn’t like about Project 333?
No, I loved it all and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge aspect. It’s made a significant impact on me and has changed my wardrobe forever. It feels nice to be part of something bigger than just me – a community of like minded people all doing the same thing for the same reasons.
In conclusion…
I’ve realised after my first three months of Project 333 is that it’s not about perfection and ‘getting it right’. It’s not a competition. It’s also not so much about the number of items but rather which items you choose. It will take time to work out what’s right for me, just as it will for you, but I’m excited about the process. If it feels like it’s not working or you find it difficult to put outfits together, maybe it’s because of the colour palette you chose or because there are too many of one type of item and not enough of another.
This is where you learn so much about what YOU need, to be able to dress in a way that makes YOU feel comfortable and happy. It becomes less about what you have, and more about curating a wardrobe that works together and suits your personal style. A wardrobe that’s truly you.You’ll notice your habits and behaviours towards clothes and shopping start to change and your mindset shift as you fall in love with the concept of ‘less really is so much more’.
Do you think Project 333 could help you transform your wardrobe and begin dressing more intentionally? At the very least, if you’re looking for change, I recommend you try it as an experiment. You never know where it might take you!
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You can purchase the book Project 333 by Courtney Carver from my Amazon shop HERE and you can follow Courtney on Instagram HERE.