In March, I decided to give a capsule wardrobe a try. Now that we’re well into summer, it’s time to recap what I learned from my spring capsule wardrobe project.

We own a lot of clothing

It’s no secret that most people own way too many clothes, and the number is growing all the time. This article from Forbes reveals that, in 1930, the average American woman owned nine outfits. Today, that figure is 30 outfits. Add it all up, and each of us probably owns well over 100 items of clothing.

Interestingly, though, a study in the U.K. reported that the average woman wears only about 10% of the clothing she owns on a regular basis. The other 90% is simply taking up precious space in our homes and our heads.

I’ve decluttered a lot of clothing in recent years, but there’s always room for improvement. That’s what led to my spring capsule wardrobe project. My main goal was to identify opportunities to further reduce the number of pieces of clothing I own.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

Simply put, a capsule wardrobe involves putting together a seasonal wardrobe with a limited number of items. The idea is to simplify your life by paring down your closet to a smaller number of pieces that mix and match well. Theoretically, owing fewer clothes should simplify life by reducing the time spent deciding what to wear on a day-to-day basis.

Learn more about the concept and find out what was in my spring capsule wardrobe in this post.

What I learned from my spring capsule wardrobe project

This was an interesting experiment, and I had a few lightbulb moments very early in the project. Let’s look at some learnings and observations.

I picked the wrong time of year to try this

Spring weather in Canada is unpredictable, to say the least. I was far too optimistic when I filled my spring capsule wardrobe with crops, shorts, and summer dresses.

Just two days into my experiment, I was already in search of a warmer sweater to wear. A few days later, I needed to dig out warmer dress pants to wear to church on Easter Sunday.

I think I wore the crop pants once or twice in May, and the shorts didn’t see the light of day until June.

I suspect it would have been much easier to try this in winter or summer.

33 items is quite a lot

Limiting yourself to a wardrobe of 33 items doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was more than enough for me. Although I added a couple of items due to changeable spring weather, I didn’t feel deprived and there were a few clothing items in my spring capsule wardrobe that I didn’t wear.

Lifestyle dictates how many clothes you need

Lifestyle and day-to-day activities have a big impact on how many clothes you need.

For example, my spring capsule wardrobe included two summer dresses. I didn’t wear either of them, mainly because I didn’t go to any activities that required a dress. If I were to do this again, I think a better approach may be to put together a basic wardrobe based on regular activities and keep dressy or separate occasion outfits separate from the core wardrobe.

Similarly, I need fewer clothes because I’m not going out to work every day. I likely would have found it more difficult to limit myself to 33 items in the days when I was going into the office several times a week.

A capsule wardrobe makes travel packing easier

I’m a big fan of travelling light. Even so, it’s easy to spend hours—or days—planning what to pack for a trip.

Having a limited number of clothing items to choose from made packing for our two-week trip to PEI a breeze.

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The bottom line

This was a fun experiment. Although I had already decluttered a lot of clothing from my closet, the capsule wardrobe exercise helped me take a fresh look at what remained. At the end of the project, I decluttered 7 more pieces of clothing from my closet.

The spring capsule wardrobe experiment also reinforced the importance of doing regular reviews of the clothing that I own. And, it reminded me to be choosy when adding new clothing items to my wardrobe.

You may be wondering if I continued the experiment with a summer capsule wardrobe. I didn’t. While this was an interesting exercise, I don’t spend a lot of time stressing over what to wear. For me, the effort of putting together the spring capsule wardrobe outweighed the benefits.

Have you ever tried a capsule wardrobe? If you have, how did it go for you? If not, how do you prevent clutter from creeping into your closet? Drop me a comment below to let me know.