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Organizing your home: Could you wear the same dress for a month?

I did. Three years ago, I joined a local woman in her year-long One Dress Protest. I only joined up for 30 days.

I was so nervous, I didn’t even take any photos of my closet, my dress, or the daily wearing (I was a new blogger! What did I know!?).

Lately I’ve been reading about minimalist wardrobes, capsule wardrobes, and I’ve even tried creating virtual ones of my own. Because all these blogs about paring down our “stuff” and using just what fits us and brings joy reminded me of that month-long experiment.

closet organization

So many people are sharing about these minimalist wardrobes and asking, “Can people really do that!?” I’m here to say, yes it is possible! We’re emotionally attached to the clothes in our closets for various reasons, but the reality is, I’ve read most people only wear 20% of what is in their closet!

Wearing one dress for thirty days (plus sleepwear and workout) was entirely possible and not even all that painful, except for a few social moments where I hoped nobody would say anything. Ha!

I remember these things from the 30 day one-dress affair:

Almost nobody noticed what I was wearing. If anybody realized I was wearing the same dress day after day, they never said anything! I hadn’t told anybody except my mom, sister, and the friend who did it with me. I also had the option to wear a cardigan, leggings, and a few other accessories to vary my look. So my conclusion is that 1) people didn’t notice, 2) people didn’t care 3) people felt so bad for me they couldn’t say anything!

I didn’t NEED all the clothing I had in the closet. When I went back to my regular wardrobe thirty days later, I was at a loss for what to wear first. I almost felt like “scrap all this!” because if I could go thirty days without it, was it necessary?

It’s helpful to have more than one item in your closet! (haha). Now… for variety’s sake, and laundry sanity, yes, I’d recommend having more than one item to wear! But I also realized that so much of my closet was just storage, so I did a huge purge of  my closet, and kept only what fit right then, and what I liked. I still have probably 70+ items in my closet, but I got ride of at least 50!!

I doubt I could do another 30 days in one dress, but I know I could reduce more. It was an interesting experience, but rather boring and I had to wash my dress a lot! But I would be interested in the Capsule Wardrobe idea, where you have about 33-54 items in your closet (for each season) and that’s it (plus sleepwear and workout wear).

Could you do a capsule wardrobe? Have you ever?

Read more about how to create a versatile wardrobe using detailed solids.

What’s the biggest area of your home that you need to re-organize?

closet organization

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Deborah

Saturday 25th of April 2015

I really appreciate this post; I recently started working on weeding out of my closet and dressers what I haven't worn in a while. It's a liberating feeling! ;)

And in God's gracious providence, just yesterday I first heard the idea of a "capsule" wardrobe -- right when I needed some real guidance. So, I'm now *very* interested in *really* pairing down and owning *only* what I *love* to wear -- because it fits well and I feel good and look good in it! ;)

I'd be *very* interested in your doing a follow-up post on this topic, Julie, with guidelines, pics, tips, etc. What do you suggest we include in a capsule wardrobe (besides a black dress, a denim jacket, khaki slacks, and a couple pairs of nice jeans)? ;)

Keara B.

Saturday 25th of April 2015

That's a really interesting idea. I'm sure I could get rid of a lot of stuff in my closet (and I'm sure I will once I'm back to my normal weight after baby), but I'd have a hard time wearing just one thing all month! Mostly due to the constant spit-up, pee, and baby food that end up on my clothes on a daily basis. The laundry would be the hardest part for me.

Keara B.

Saturday 25th of April 2015

That's a really interesting idea. I'm sure I could get rid of a lot of stuff in my closet (and I'm sure I will once I'm back to my normal weight after baby), but I'd have a hard time wearing just one thing all month! Mostly due to the constant spit-up, pee, and baby food that end up on my clothes on a daily basis. The laundry would be the hardest part for me.

Susan

Saturday 25th of April 2015

This intrigues me -- I'd love to see a before/after photo of your closet! I agree that I wear a very small % of what's in my closet, and the older I get, the more minimalist I definitely want to be. Interesting that people didn't notice your "rewearing." That is honestly my biggest thing -- I'm afraid people will notice I wore something yesterday/last week. You raise a good point: most people don't notice!

Susan

Saturday 25th of April 2015

This intrigues me -- I'd love to see a before/after photo of your closet! I agree that I wear a very small % of what's in my closet, and the older I get, the more minimalist I definitely want to be. Interesting that people didn't notice your "rewearing." That is honestly my biggest thing -- I'm afraid people will notice I wore something yesterday/last week. You raise a good point: most people don't notice!

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