Issue 44. Answering your questions about Project 333

What it is and isn't, and how to make your own capsule

I’m seeing murmurings of people trying or interested in trying minimalist style challenge Project 333 (New Year, New Me, and all). Which I think is great!

I completed Project 333 end of last year, and tracked the process from start to finish here on Substack.

In today’s post, I tackle FAQ that I’ve seen folks wondering about, and a few questions that I personally haven’t seen many people answer clearly.

If this is your first introduction to the challenge, Project 333™ is the minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months.¹

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This post is not a recommendation to try the challenge, nor is it a scathing review. The goal of this post is to provide details that might help you decide if this experiment would or would not be useful to you and the goals you have for your life.

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What is the purpose of Project 333?

Simply put, this project challenges the notion that more clothing is inherently better.

By now, many of us are familiar with the concepts of decluttering and minimalism. From my experience and what I’ve heard from others online, the true benefits of minimalism can only be experienced through hands-on experience. A short-term challenge like this can be a low-risk way to tell if a minimalistic-ish lifestyle is valuable for you, or not. Many folks who try this challenge find that it resets their expectations of what it means to have ‘enough’ clothing, and that they can actually be fine with a smaller number of items than they originally expected. I’ve also heard that the challenge—especially what to include or exclude—can be more complicated than is worth. Hopefully this guide will help you decide if Project 333 is what you need right now.

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What are the rules of Project 333?

This is a style challenge you can engage in to create clarity for yourself. No one is following you around to make sure you’re doing it right. For that reason, I’d think of the following as guidelines, rather than rules.

Courtney Carver, the creator of the challenge, makes sure to note anywhere this challenge is discussed, that it’s not a project of suffering. That being said, here are her general guidelines from the Project 333 website:

• What: 33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes.

• What not: these items are not counted as part of the 33 items – wedding ring or another sentimental piece of jewelry that you never take off, underwear, sleep wear, in-home lounge wear, and workout clothing (but your workout clothes have to workout).

• How: Choose your 33 items, box up the remainder of your fashion statement, seal it with tape and put it out of sight.

• What else: consider that you are creating a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months. Remember that this is not a project in suffering. If your clothes don’t fit or are in poor condition, replace them.

Courtney does not recommend selling or donating the items you don’t include in the capsule until the three months are up.

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Should I include “X” category?

Courtney recommends including shoes, handbags, and jewelry in your capsule because that’s what worked for her.

I didn’t officially shoes, bags or jewelry in my capsule,² but I did do light culling in each category at the start of the capsule, i.e. going from two casual sneakers to one, and removing from my capsule any handbags that weren’t seasonally appropriate.

Only you can tell if reducing down a specific area would be useful to you, or not.

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What about if “X” happens?

Project 333 isn’t a competitive sport, there’s no gold-star or “doing it wrong.” That being said, if a crazy thing happens here’s a few ways you can handle it:

• Make do with what’s in your capsule

• Pull out item(s) you need from what you stored away

• Rent something from an online retailer

• Buy something new

• Thrift something

• Borrow from a friend

Or probably things I haven’t even considered!

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Who could benefit from trying Project 333?

In particular, you may benefit from trying this exercise if you:

• Feel overwhelmed, and want to simplify one area of your life.

• Are minimalism-curious, and like the idea of having fewer things to manage.

• Have a large closet of options but typically wear a select group of things on repeat (and want permission to let go of the rest).

• Are preparing for a big trip and want to ‘practice’ selecting from a smaller set of clothing to see what really works.

• Struggle to differentiate between what you want and need. Living with less will help you identify real gaps, REAL quick. More on this below.

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Who is Project 333 not great for?

I wouldn’t recommend this experiment if:

• Trying minimalism would be performative, i.e. its for someone else, not something you’re genuinely interested in.

• You’re currently experimenting with your style and aren’t looking to refine, yet.

• You have too few options to get dressed in the morning, or not the right options. In this case, you may need to add to your closet rather than subtract.

• Versatility of clothing is not important to you, i.e. you enjoy having clothing for specific occasions without much overlap. Versatility is an extremely important success factor for this challenge.

• You’re a collector of clothing and don’t feel overwhelmed by what you have.

• You’re already aware of big gaps in your wardrobe and you’d feel pressure to rush and shop to fill them before starting the challenge.

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I’ve decided to try Project 333, what makes a capsule work well?

I’ve found that this project—and living with a small wardrobe generally—requires a few qualities to work well: