Project 333 - Four Years On

Back in December of 2012 I joined in with Project 333 for the first time, so although I've recently been doing some posts about it over on this years challenge blog  'Living Without ...'  I thought I would do my main post about this seasons P333 selection on here, so I have it recorded for posterity.

You can go way back to my original post HERE, if you want to read about the rules etc.  But basically you choose 33 items of clothing and accessories to wear for the next 3 months hence P333.  You don't include underwear, sleepwear, specific work wear or workout clothes, but should include accessories and usually jewellery.

Anyway this is the selection of things that I have chosen to see me through the next three months.  The hanging things in my half of the wardrobe, the accessories on top of the box underneath them and in close up above.  (Also on the box is a stack of vest tops that I wear under the shirts that are hanging, but as they are never worn on their own they do not have to be counted.)

In my drawer are my long sleeved t shirts, cardigan and jumpers.  And looking back at the old P333 posts this cardigan has been in my Winter collection every year since the beginning .... I think I have had my moneys worth here :-)

My waterproof jacket. 

I had to hang it on the mirror to photograph it as the colour wasn't true when I hung it on the door!!

And my footwear selection.

I was going to count my jewellery as one item but I reached thirty three items before I could add it and I honestly do not want to put anything that I have chosen back, so I have decided to be lenient with myself and just not count it.  After all it's a challenge, not a punishment.

How many of you have counted and gotten to 34?  Sorry to confuse you .... one of the tops that is hanging in the top photo was folded and put into the drawer (front right) in between the photos being taken!!

And now I've done my usual trick of turning all the hangers round to the way I don't usually have them, as things are worm washed and returned to the wardrobe the hangers will be hung the right way, and this way I will be able to monitor which clothes get worn and which are not earning their space in the collection.

Are any of you doing either P333 or something similar, to keep your clothes to a manageable level?  I would be interested in finding other blogs and bloggers that do this as I'm in a real 'getting rid of clutter' frame of mind again at the moment.

Sue xx

And it Grinds to a Halt ......

Stoptober has ground to a halt for us in many ways.  Spending the weekend down in Berkshire with Lovely Hubby at his midweek digs we ate out, we drank out (coffees and booze) and generally relaxed completely.

Stoptober was the last thing on our minds!!

With two of the dogs in kennels and two of them travelling down with me, the first thing I have to do today is go and bale out the Jacks.  It feels like I'm paying a ransom when I walk into the kennels office and hand over our hard earned cash to get our pooches back.  But I don't mind too much, we like the kennels we use for the dogs and more importantly they like it too, so much so that when Rosy's collar slipped off as the guy was leading her round the corner she carried on walking beside him with her tail wagging rather than coming back to me.

But it starts this week off badly handing over cash.

I am still frugalling away in other more day to day ways, but only in the ways I normally do, nothing specially thought out or extra.  Cleaning my shoes the other day for instance.  The shoes are only two years old so I think I will easily get this Winter out of them if I keep them polished and cared for, I do hope so they are so comfortable.  The boots are ancient now, they have done so many rounds of Project 333 they are like a permanent Winter fixture.  I have just bought them some new inner soles to make them a bit more comfy and snug.  With age the soles are thin and the leather has stretched, no bad thing further into Winter when I will be able to wear two pairs of socks but they are a bit roomy with just one pair!!  I was trying to work out how old they are, I bought them off Ebay when our country lifestyle was just an idea ...... which means I have had them just over six years, they were used when I bought them but not excessively so.  They definitely deserve a little bit of care over this Winter.  I hope I can make them last.

I didn't take an 'After' picture unfortunately, I just put the boots on and went out with the dogs, which of course means that now they look just like the 'Before' picture again, oh well at least they have a coat of polish to protect them.  I must get in a weekly habit of keeping both pairs nice and looked after.

And speaking of Project 333 today I must finalise this Autumn's clothes.  I had a bit of a sort out last week and took some things to the charity shop and sorted through my shirts and jeans, now I need to pull out the jumpers I stored away at the end of last Winter and see what I have that will do for this next round.

Are there any of you who still do Project 333?

(If you want to read some of my old Project 333 posts, just type those words into the Search box at the top left of the Blog.)

Sue xx

Project 333

 

 

I've been doing Project 333 for over a year now and I have to say it's the best thing I ever picked up on here in Blogland.  This is my final assortment for this fourth round which should see me from January through to the end of March.

 

(Link to original post way back in December 2012 HERE.)

 

 

I usually start with my outer waterproof jacket, a necessity when you have dogs ...

 

... and then pick a few really seasonal items, in the case of Winter a couple of jumpers.

 

I couldn't resist this one, I must wear it at least two or three times a week.

 

I try and pick a smarter cardigan in case we go out in the evenings.

 

 

And of course there's the little extras that you really can't do without, gloves ...

 

... a scarf, my watch and my necklace of choice for this round of P333.

 

 

Of course there's always my bag to count too!!

 

I've reverted to my across the body bag for the moment, makes life much easier when you have three doggies walking on leads to control, and it stops me carrying too much junk around with me too.

 

 

I did a collage thingy of all my clothes but I'm sure the programme for it has upset my computer so I've deleted it pretty sharpish, I did get chance to print and scan the finished article before I did though.  I don't know if you will be able to see all the things that are on it, but it's a good record for me of this my fourth selection of clothes for Project 333.  (If you click on it you will be able to have a closer look.)

 

I've stuck the original in my diary ... do you stick things in your diary, it's my obsession ... by the end of the year my A4 desk diary is always soooo fat, but very interesting, and a real record of the year !!

 

 

 

I'm trying to have a year of NOT buying any clothes this year.  My last clothing purchase was this lovely fleecy top from Asda just before Christmas, it's gloriously cosy and I look and feel like a teddy bear in it!!

 

Hopefully I have enough t shirts and lighter weight things packed in a suitcase under the bed to see me right through Summer and I also have some summer shoes packed away after last year so that should help in my no spend effort. 

 

How many items of clothing do you have in your wardrobe?

 

Sue xx

 

Project 333 - Round 3

I know ....  I'm late starting this third round of Project 333, but I've had a lot on my mind :-)

I like choosing my Autumn clothes, somehow I think you can cover all eventualities with Autumn items, I mean in this country we know we need something warm, something waterproof and something practical, and these are the sorts of clothes I like best.

The shirt I'm wearing in the top picture taken at the start of this round of P333 was one of the ten items that ended up at the car boot sales we did over the Summer.  Yes, you read that right ... out of the 33 items I chose for the season, 10 of them ended up getting sold.  If you have limited clothes at your disposal they have to be right, no more than that, they have to be perfect for you and that is why I love Project 333 it streamlines your wardrobe so that everything in it is perfect for you.

To tell the truth it all went a little to pot this season, with everything that was going on in our lives it was bound to.   The clothes I bought to replace the ones I sold were never photographed and if the truth be told I don't even know how many items I actually have in my collection at the moment, a quick glance tells me it's more than 33 !

This was the star of Round 2, early in the season and over the last couple of weeks, my waterproof jacket has been the most worn item alongside my usual jeans.

  

Now it's time to get my wardrobe away from looking all Summery and light and ready for whatever Autumn and Winter has to throw at us.  Luckily I won't have to count my decorating gear in amongst the clothes I choose.  It's very liberating packing away for next year what I know I will need and wear and getting out some of the favourites from last Winter, almost like shopping from home but with no money leaving my purse.

If you want to find out a little bit more about me doing Project 333, have a read HERE or click on the Project 333 link in the 'Labels' list.

Sue xx

Simple September - Top Tip #11

Sort through your clothes, do you wear all that you have, if not why not?   Does it fit properly, does it need repairing or is it just 'not you', if you have any doubts at all be ruthless, either sell things through EBay or something similar, give to family or friends or donate to charity.  Yes, you might have paid for it but if you're not going to wear it why keep it, either liquidate your assets or just take away the guilt that is hanging in your closet looking back at you.  I swear this is the most liberating thing about getting rid of things.

 Have your wardrobe looking neat and tidy and arranged to suit your way of life.  Wash, mend and then store out of season clothes and shoes out of the way.  Using your holiday suitcase for this is a brilliant idea and means that if you did need something you can lay your hands on it immediately, and if you were going somewhere warm or unseasonal you will have all the right clothes in the right place anyway.

After you have sorted through your clothes hang up whatever is going back in the wardrobe with all the hangers facing the way you do not usually have them hanging, then when you wear things put them away with the hangers facing the way you do normally hang them.  At the end of a month or so you will instantly be able to see which clothes are not being worn and figure out what to do with them.

Taking control of something as basic as the things you choose to wear means that each day starts simply and therefore better.

The Year of Less - Project 333 - Review of Season 1

 

 

At the end of last year I joined in with Project 333, (read more about it HERE) and I can honestly say it's been brilliant. It makes day to day dressing so easy, and when Lovely Hubby surprises me (which is not very often ... he knows that's a very dangerous thing to do) with a meal or a day out getting ready to go takes me no time at all. There's not much to think about when there are only a few items in the wardrobe that are earmarked as suitable for 'special occasions' the fact they aren't reserved for special occasions at all, but they are available for me to wear whenever I want to, is great as there simply aren't any pieces that languish at the back of the wardrobe.

 

This morning in amongst the Blogs that landed in my emails I went on a voyage of discovery and found this http://dailyconnoisseur.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ten-item-wardrobe-questions-week-off.html a brilliant piece about having only 10 core items in your wardrobe, which is essentially the same, as you can have extras to fill out your 10 core pieces. We can all do this sort of thing but in the way that suits us.

 

Well I'm a bit late but it's time for me to re-jig my Project 333 items,  I have worn the last lot since December last year when I began, owing to the rather chilly freezing weather we've had up until this week there has been no need to switch to a lighter weight wardrobe as I was still mostly in jumpers.  But now with a hint of Spring finally in the air I do feel the need to get some lighter things out and into action.

 

So how did my first round of Project 333 go?  Well here is a little reflect back on the actual clothes.

 

Most of the clothes got worn and worn and turned out to be just right for me and my life, they will go forward to be worn again when the weather turns Autumnal later this year. A couple didn't get worn at all and a few won't be joining in another round and here they are and the reasons.

 

 

Check M&S Shirt with a silver stripe running through.

 

This shirt not worn at all. 

 

How do I know, well at the start I hung everything in the wardrobe with the hangers facing the opposite way to how I normally have them.  Putting things back after wearing or washing I hung them my normal way.  This hanger is still facing the wrong way!!  This shirt may stay for this round of 333.

 

 

 Orange M&S Jumper

This was worn once!!

 

I don't know why I bought it (except that it is in Lovely Hubby's favourite colour), it has a round neck, I prefer jumpers with a vee, it has three quarter length sleeves, something I feel uncomfortable in, I can wear long sleeves pushed up but not 3/4, a bit weird that.  SO it was sold at the last car boot and some of the cost re-couped.

 

 

Green T Shirt

 

Worn once and then relegated to work-wear. 

 

It was too baggy and just felt 'wrong'.  When you have so few clothes available to you everything has to feel 'right'.

 

Brown cords. 

 

I don't know why I included these, maybe because they looked suitable 'wintery', maybe because they were a 'Next' bargain for just £1 at a car boot sale, maybe I thought they would be warm.  But I didn't wear them out once, I put them on to wear but they were just once again 'wrong'.  I've decided I don't like cords ....full stop.  They are on the car boot rail for next time.

 

M&S Blue Jeans

 

Bought from a charity shop a few years ago for £3.99, I most definitely got my money's worth, they fell apart last week, luckily when I got home after a day out!

 

 

Green Next Jumper

 

Bought new at the start of Autumn, never worn.  I lived in the cream version that I had bought at the same time.  This will be the basis for next Winters round of Project 333.  Still a brand new cardigan :-)

 

 

Next Jumper

 

Bought new at the same time as the cardigans, worn so many times, but now almost worn out so this will go forward into next years workwear.

 

 

Cream 'Tu' Jumper

 

Worn a few times, but then it got baggy and felt much too big.  When  I was on holiday with Suky, the Pug she was cold at night (I did seem to pick the week with the most extreme cold weather conditions), so I tucked her up in her bed with this, she loved cuddling into it for a few weeks and then it went in the bin.

 

 

 These accessories were all a brilliant success but I wore the woolly scarf to bits and I had to sadly throw it away last  week, it was unrepairable :-(

 

 

 

These were all brilliant successes and, apart from the woolly scarf, will all be used next Autumn.

 

 

The shoes and boots were all good choices and have survived well enough to be brought back into action another time.

 

 

 

And this is the star of the show.

 

Worn more than any other item of clothing, when out and about, when cold in the house, worn with all the other items underneath, it seemed to match everything and cosy up every outfit.  The colour made my heart sing and my skin light up in the most flattering way.  I felt good in it, and that to me is everything.  It has washed and washed and still looks new.  If possible I need to find a lightweight Summer equivalent, as this has a thick fleecy lining and I feel would be too warm for all but the coldest of summer evenings.

 

I love it.  The star of my wardrobe. 

In fact if I had to choose a single outfit to wear for ever it would be this, a long sleeved V neck jumper, my surviving pair of jeans and my boots.

 

So today with the sun seeming to be hiding away, I intend to get stuck in to the summer weight clothes that have been packed away and do my second round of Project 333.  It shouldn't be as hard or as time consuming as the first round because I had the major sort out then, this time there is simply one rail of clothes in the spare room and a suitcase of T shirts and really Summery things to go through.  Most things that do not make the chosen 33 will be sold at our next car boot sale or a couple of favourites may be kept as spares.  Because as I have learnt through this process when you wear your clothes over and over some do wear out.  I actually like this, to wear something out means you have truly had your moneys worth out of it and that sits well with me.

 

Sue xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miserly March - Thrifty Thursday Tips - Week 4

 

The last three Thrifty Thursday tips have been about freezing, leftovers and growing, each requiring the input of the previous, well if we are looking at things that way what comes first in this list of ways to save money - YOU DO !!

 

You have to look after yourself to be able to do any of the others.  To be able to grow the food to freeze and to use as leftovers you have to be as healthy as you can possibly be and as happy in your own skin as possible.

 

Well to my mind you do.  And this is how I stay healthy on a budget.

 

 

 

The first thing I do, and this is really cheap and easy, is to drink lots of water, whether it be free from the tap, or bottled water it really doesn't matter, what I do know is the most expensive bottled waters don't taste any better really than the cheap ones.  I drink either filtered tap water or any supermarkets basic Sparkling water, sometimes I have a slice of lemon or lime in it either straight from the freezer or at the moment I have a jar of these slices in the fridge that were reduced to 39p from £1.59 an offer I could simply not say no to :-)

 

 

 

I eat as healthily as I can.  I have treat now and then, and I can rarely say no to a piece of chocolate (that would be  so rude), but by and large we eat well, we eat what we grow and supplement it from the shops and supermarkets aiming to have the fewest possible additives.  I don't read the fat/calorie/sugar content of the foods I buy I read the ingredients list on the packet or label instead.  I buy foods that have only the ingredients that I recognise and as few of them as possible.

 

The best foods to buy don't have labels at all. The longer you can stay in the fruit and vegetable aisle the healthier your supermarket shop will be, and also the cheaper.  If you buy vegetables to make a nice veggie casserole or curry you will get a heck of a lot more for your money than if you buy a pre-prepared ready meal version.

 

If you're short of time during the week have an afternoon at the weekend when you set to and make big pan fulls of soup, stews or curries and freeze them in meal sized portions, then you will have ready meals of your own for pennies rather than pounds.

 

 

 

Once you've got your insides nice and healthy, the outside is starting to look better too, so don't throw money at buying fancy products, find out what you like and what suits you and stick to it.  I make our own soaps because I like to have simple ingredients and it works out so cheap compared to buying the same quality of soap from the shop.  But you can find some really good bargains, especially if you buy supermarkets own baby or 'simple' soaps.  But find out what suits you and use that.

 

 

 

Find products you like and trust and stick with them.  I dye my brown hair blonde because it brightens me up and makes me feel good, but I do so economically, as my hair is so short I only use half a pack at a time, so these four packs bought when on offer will last me nearly all year.

 

 

 

I recently pared down my make up bag and rarely any make up now, the chickens just didn't appreciate the effort :-)

But I do spruce myself up when we go out together, using my favourite brands of foundation and mascara, even these I buy when on offer making sure I get a years supply at the time.

 

I did try switching my face creams to the supermarkets own brands, working my way down the price scale, but I honestly found that for me it didn't work, my skin was dull and sometimes greasy and I had more spots.

So now I've switched back to my favourite brand,  yes, it is more expensive but it suits my skin and I use it wisely and try to buy only when it's on a really good offer, stocking up when it is.  In my opinion being frugal is not about struggling to manage with something you don't like or that doesn't like you it's about knowing what to spend your money on and when.

 

 

 

And once you've spent your money on something, it's about making sure you get every last drop of that product available for use.  If you hear a quiet 'thud' in this house it's usually the sound of an upended bottle falling off the neck of the bottle it's been balancing on for hours as it finally lets go of every last little bit of content.

 

 

 

 

  In this picture you can see cheapo shower gel being dispensed into our handwash dispenser, I do this because it costs only 10p for the shower gel and it does a brilliant job of getting our dirty gardening hands clean, this is one cheap product that does suit us both.  I usually add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to it and give it a good shake, this helps to heal any cuts or scratches we might have picked up and makes the 'handwash' smell lovely.

 

In this house all tubes are cut in half and the products scooped out for use, usually you get at least an extra few days out of them.  If you have never done this before next time you think you've used all your hand cream or toothpaste just snip the end of the tube, you will be amazed at the amount of product left in there clinging to the sides trying to avoid being used.

 

So it's all about commonsense and getting the most for your money, spending that money wisely on products that suit YOU.  No matter what the adverts may promise us and what the airbrushed girls in the glossy mags imply that we might end up looking like, we will a;ways ever only be ourselves.  If we get the inside as healthy as possible then we can work on the outside in the way that suits us best.

 

The best beauty treatment of all of course is absolutely free and that is SLEEP and while you are asleep you cannot be spending any money at all ... so the most frugal tip of them all is to go for a nap.

 

I hope you have enjoyed Miserly March's Thrifty Thursday Tips, now what can we do for April :-)

 

Sue xx

 

 



The Year of Less - The Perfect Purse

 

 

Sometimes things happen for a reason and you simply have to go with it. 

 

I mentioned last week that I hadn't managed to spend the £15 of Marks and Spencer vouchers that I had tucked in my purse to help the housekeeping budget.  Well on Saturday I went into Manchester city centre shopping with my lovely Mum and youngest son.  We had a brilliant time browsing the rails, with them trying clothes on and me giving my opinion, and I honestly thought that there was nothing that I wanted to buy ... then I spotted it ... the perfect purse.

 

Just the right number of pockets, zipped compartments and card holders all in a rather fetching bright red, (won't get lost in the black bag that I'm about to start using with the next change of Project 333 things then).  I looked at the price tag and guess what .....yep, you got it right it was £15.  There was no question it was the one for me, so I handed over my vouchers (I do so love it when NO money changes hands) and it was mine.

 

 

 

 

Once I got home I sorted through my bag and unearthed my current purses/wallets, yes I have been carrying THREE around with me.  One for my housekeeping money and Nectar card, one for all my other cards, AA, business cards etc and one for my personal spending money.

 

Now all this fits into my one perfect purse and that leaves two of the above surplus to requirements, the black one has been popped into the car boot box with a price tag of £1, the card wallet has been filled with the cards that are not in regular use and will be left at home unless I know I need them and the Cath Kidston beauty has been popped on Ebay, I reckon (and hope) that I will get a little bit more cash for it on there than I would at a car boot sale, so we will see how much that makes me and how much that brings down the cost of my new perfect purse. 

 

(It's HERE if you want a peek to see how much it goes for, or are even are tempted to have a bid yourselves, let me know if you do and then go on to win it and I'll throw in a few extras for free.)

 

So this week the Year of Less challenge has resulted in less clutter in my handbag and for no extra money

- I'm happy :-)

 

 

 

Three into one does go !!

 

Sue xx



The Year of Less - Clothes

 

 

 

Over the course of the next few weeks and months I will be doing a series of posts following our progress with our 'Year of Less'. We really hope to simplify so much of our lives, little things, big things it all adds up. When you have a multitude of things to think about, look after and actually do, it takes up time both physically and mentally.

 

I hope the title of this post doesn't bring me too many new readers expecting to see a scantily dressed farm girl!!

 

 

Just before Christmas I decided to take part in Project 333 (see HERE for more information), this was to be one of my very first 'Less' ideas.  For far too long I had been conscious of wearing the same few clothes over and over, and after washing (and very occasionally ironing them)  I was struggling to put them neatly back in the wardrobe.  So I sprang into action.

 

Everything from my wardrobes and drawers in both our room and the spare room was laid out on the bed and over the course of a couple of days I went through everything.  Deciding which things I would keep, get rid of, or store for next season.

 

 

 

I managed it all pretty easily, and once chosen everything fitted in my sections of the wardrobe easily and with room to spare.  I having been using those choices for the last couple of weeks I must to say it's working out fine. 

 

 

 

I have made one substitution as I had put a green T shirt in with my 33 chosen items and when I wore it the first time I simply was not happy with it and it went into the drawer for the work clothes and was substituted for a T shirt with reindeer on, much better for Christmas time wearing!!  You do find that when you have fewer clothes in use you do want and need them to be absolutely perfect.

 

 

 

The beauty of this is that over the course of a year I should have a very good core wardrobe of items that I really love and want to wear over and over.  Obviously when you change each three months you can allow for the seasonal weather changes and the clothes you take out of immediate circulation, (heavy jumpers in Summer for instance) are never far away if the weather carries on with it's current unpredictability.

 

 

 

I have one single drawer of work and gym wear that I don't have to count in the 33, and also I decided not to include my jewellery as I only wear the same things on a daily basis.  You can do a similar thing with a number of your own choosing or simply downscale your wardrobe to a more workable level.

 

The clothes that I decided against keeping are now stored in the spare room ready for the first car boot sale of the season, when the money they raise will go directly into our house buying funds.

 

Of course Lovely Hubby has already been in this mindset for the last couple of years, (see HERE) and each December updates his wardrobe in one fell swoop  immediately ditching all that he doesn't want to keep.  At last I feel we are looking at clothes in a more similar fashion.

 

Less clutter, less stuff, more money saved = clear head and a happy heart.  It's all good.

 

Sue xx