What I Discovered When I Created My Capsule Wardrobe

If you have ever said something along the lines of… “a capsule wardrobe sounds nice but is impossible for me”…welcome to the club. I once same the same thing. In this blog post, I want to share my journey to having a capsule wardrobe and what I discovered along the way…

What is a Capsule Wardrobe? 

A capsule wardrobe is a cohesive wardrobe of clothing, limited in number, that are for the most part interchangeable with each other.  The purpose is to have minimal items that can mix and match in a variety of ways.  Ideally, a capsule wardrobe has between 25-50 items.  I have a blog post detailing my capsule wardrobe here.

My Journey to a Capsule

My journey to a capsule wardrobe started with having way too many clothes.  I had so so much. I used to store bins in the basement of extra clothes, only having my in-season clothes in the bedroom.  There was a time I had those bins (I think 3 of them?), a closet, and two dressers full. Each was packed to the brim and keeping my clothing organized was a constant chore.  My bedroom was nearly always a mess.

Back then, the thought of a capsule wardrobe did not appeal to me.  I would have told you it might work for other people but it was impossible for me. Then, I picked up Marie Kondo’s book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. It awakened a desire in me for simplicity. And so in 2014, I found myself in my first major clothing purge. I became a pro at the KonMari Method. I followed all her tips and tricks about folding and clothing storage. I loved the KonMari Method of decluttering and reorganizing so much that I even made my way into my friends' closets to help them with the process as well.  I decluttered many items and followed her rules as best I could, however I found myself stuck in a cycle of excess that had not been broken despite my best efforts. You see, I had not uncovered the source of the problem and thus, organization was still impossible to maintain. 

What I discovered…

Marie Kondo says in her book that you should only have to declutter once. I had not found that to be true. I decluttered many times and still found myself struggling to tidy. The root problem was a hidden attachment to material things.  This hidden attachment made it difficult to see clearly which items I should keep and which I should let go of. Despite my best efforts, I always kept more than I needed. In order to truly simplify, I needed to uncover the root problem.

I did just that in 2021 with my “Homemaking Project.” I had a friend whose capsule wardrobe ignited a determination in me to do the same. So, I dove in. I sat on the floor of my living room and went through every article of clothing that I owned.  I made three piles. Keep, Let go, and Decide Later. The decide later pile was for me to go through at the end when I had a better idea of my own preferences. Some decisions were easy. But most of them were hard. I came up with many reasons why I should keep an article of clothing. “This still fits well.” “It looks good on me.” “I like the material.” “It reminds me of a good memory in the past.” “It is expensive.” “It is a name brand.” “It was a gift from so and so.” In fact, I could come up with a good reason to keep each item.

Do you want to know how I got into the mess I was in? Because somewhere along the way I bought into the idea that if I liked something or if it was worth a certain amount of money or if it was one of a kind, then, I should have it. This is not true. Yes, it is good to like the things you own but it is also good to let go of things you like! Just because you like them or just because you love them, does not mean you need to keep them. Choosing to let go of these items is when the process of detachment really happens.

What I discovered

There was a large pile of items I felt resistance to letting go of. As I looked at that pile, I felt a tremendous amount of discouragement and shame. I wanted to give up this idea of simplicity and just keep what I had, that would be much easier, much more comfortable. Detachment is uncomfortable before it is freeing.

I was determined.

When I felt this resistance I asked myself why? Why was I holding on to these things? I pressed into the attachment and uncovered many fears and lies I have believed about my identity in clothing.  I felt shame for feeling this trapped by something I knew was so meaningless. I found myself bound by the amount of money I spent on something. Somewhere along the way love for fashion and my appearance to others became disordered. I was ready to be free and that meant letting go of not just the excess but also letting go of the identity that the excess had created. And so, next I took it to prayer. I read many bible verses about letting go of things, reminding myself where my true treasure is found. I surrendered it all to the Lord asking Him to strengthen me and show me who I was in Him.

Clothing is meant to serve us to help us live out our vocation. I discovered that I was actually more of a slave to my clothing than the other way around. I discovered that all my excess clothing was the source of shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, lies, and an attachment to appearance and wealth. Once I discovered this, they were no longer worth holding onto. I looked at the items and saw now the hidden weight they had been bearing on my soul. I was now disgusted by them and was eager to get rid of it all.

Never Going Back

For me, decluttering my wardrobe was a long process of letting go and refining.  It took months of going back into the closet and getting rid of more clothing.  It took a lot of reflecting and praying. But, I am happy to say I have finally gotten to a point where I agree with Marie Kondo…I won’t ever have to declutter my clothing again.  I am certain of this. My mindset has changed, the way I shop has changed, how I see myself and my fashion has changed, and in the simplicity of my wardrobe, I see clothing differently now.

I am free.  Totally free. Honestly, if all my clothing were gone tomorrow, it would be ok. I wouldn’t have been able to say that before but I am truly detached.

I love having a capsule wardrobe!!