Toward the end of the Uncluttered Course, I challenge each participant to try an abbreviated version of Project 333.
Project 333, the fashion challenge started by Courtney Carver, invites people to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months— underwear and workout clothes don’t count, but everything else does: jewelry, shoes, outerwear, tops, bottoms, etc. You can find more details on the Project 333 website or read here how it changed my life years ago.
I encourage people to try the experiment because, as Maya Angelou once said, “We need much less than we think we need.” The project helps people realize that truth. Besides, 33 articles of clothing in a closet is more than most people think.
Pamela Mullins is a teacher and piano instructor in North Carolina. Recently, she accepted the Project 333 Fashion Challenge and emailed me a list of her 33 items.
Her son, Eric, is a principal software architect with a mind for mathematics. Pamela decided to include him in the challenge by sending over her list of 33 items and a specific breakdown mentioning which items could be worn together. Based on that information, Eric created a mathematical model to determine how many unique outfits she could wear with the 33 articles of minimalist clothing.
His conclusion? 25,176 unique combinations.
That is 25,176 different outfits from only 33 articles of clothing. To put that into perspective, Pamela could wear a different outfit every day for the next 69 years without ever repeating the exact same combination of clothes.
I found the number almost too unbelievable to be true. So I asked Eric to share how he reached that conclusion. The math looks like this:
First, here is Pamela’s list of 33 items for Project 333:
1. Jean Jacket
2. Black Boyfriend Jacket
3. Long Black Pants
4. Black Capris
5. Jean Pants
6. Dress
7. Black Skirt
8. Pink Print Skirt
9. Denim Shirt
10. Checked Shirt
11. Elephant Shirt
12. White Shirt
13. Cream/Black Print T-shirt
14. Black 3/4 Sleeve Slight V T-Shirt
15. Paisley Blouse
16. Polka Dot Blouse
17. Blue Sweater
18. Black Scarf
19. Floral Scarf in blues, reds, etc.
20. Black and White Scarf
21. Long Necklace
22. Bicycle Necklace
23. Flower Necklace
24. Fake Diamond Earrings (but you would never know the difference)
25. Silver drop Earrings
26. Red music note Earrings
27. Silver Bracelet
28. Silver Bracelet
29. Black Wedges
30. Black Sandals
31. Black Flip-flops
32. Black Close Toe Shoes
33. Purse
Second, Pamela included detailed information about each piece. Here are a few of the examples she provided:
- Four pairs of black shoes, various styles, go with all outfits.
- One dress (#6) can be worn alone, or with the black jacket (#2), and with all jewelry combinations.
- Two black pants (#3 & #4), one black skirt (#7), and one jean pants (#5) can be worn with every piece.
- Jean shirt (#9) can layer with black camisole or t-shirts.
- Jean jacket (#1) cannot be worn with sweater (#17) or dress (#6).
Third, with the information for each item of clothing, Eric built models “for each terminal condition and added them together, approaching the most restrictive terminal models first, broadening the baseline for subsequent models.”
In other words, he took every article of clothing, multiplied out the number of outfit configurations for each, and added them together :
*Never changes: 1 purse, 2 silver bracelets – only one configuration.
*Can go with every configuration: 4 shoes – top level (baseline).
Model Dress: 4 (baseline) x 2 (black jacket or no jacket) x 3 (earrings or none) x 3 (necklaces or none) = 72
Model Pink Floral Skirt: 4 (baseline) x 3 (jacket + sweater + none) x 1 (camisole) x 3 (earrings + none) x 4 (necklace + none) = 144
*Can go with every other configuration: 4 bottoms x 4 shoes x 4 (2 jackets, sweater, none) = 64 new baseline
Model Jean Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 5 (shirt + t-shirts + camisole) x 4 (earrings or none) x 4 (necklaces or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 15,360
Model White Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 3 (2 necklaces or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 2,304
Model Elephant Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) = 512
Model Black Checked Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) = 512
Model Blouses: 64 (baseline) x 2 (blouses) x 4 (earrings or none) x 4 (necklaces or none) = 2,048
Model Black Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 3 (scarves or none)= 768
Model Cream Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 3 (2 earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 1,152
Model Striped Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 3 (2 earrings or none) x 4 (3 necklace or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 2,304
72 + 144 + 15,360 + 2,304 + 512 + 512 + 2,048 + 768 + 1,152 + 2,304 = 25,176 Outfit Combinations.
It should be noted that some of the configurations contain very minor changes (with earrings or without earrings, for example). But still, a different outfit combination every day for the next 69 years is pretty unbelievable—and accomplished with only 33 different articles of clothing.
There is a reason Project 333 is such a popular experiment in owning less. Most people who try it discover there are numerous benefits to owning fewer articles of clothing and creating a capsule wardrobe. And many people discover 33 is more than enough—including Pamela who recently wrote this about her experience, “I actually love the simplicity and feel I have more than enough to wear.”
Mark Andrews says
Genuinely asking, not trolling:
In addition to workout clothes, does one also get a pass on sport/activity specific clothing? (Motorcycle gear, snowboarding gear, hunting clothes, etc)
Thanks in advance.
Elizabeth Rusaw says
Yes, I believe so. Specific/special clothing is not everyday wear. There is a lot of info on YouTube about 333. It’s quite interesting and I hope to try it someday. As one person told me , we probably only wear about 33 pieces in our wardrobe anyway.
Webster says
always have to keep my closet full so I don’t BUY more and keep hoping having more storages
Traci says
I have a rule, one item in, one item out, I keep a bag in the closet where I put the items I give up to donate. I don’t have to buy more hangers either.
Tom says
I’ve always been quite minimalist, but I was really pleased when I decided to do the 333 challenge to find that I actually only had 26 items of clothing – assuming I don’t count underwear and workout clothes. I’ve even included my belts and watch, which I’m not sure if I should or not.
Benjamin Ehinger says
This is incredibly inspiring and I am pretty sure Courtney Carver is where my wife first got the idea for minimalizing her clothing. There is no way she is down to just 33 items, but I bet I am close. We both cut out quite a bit and ended up donating about 6 big bags of clothing and other things to a local thrift shop last spring.
Living simple means living lighter and it’s the best way to go!
Minimalist45 says
Ok, that just messes with my head! Lol.
Caroline says
My issue with the small wardrobe is that I’m one person and I’m not about to spend the time (or money) doing so much laundry. It cost me $2 to wash a load and I don’t want to waste money doing half loads. If I were doing laundry for a family of 4, things would be different.
I have enough clothes to be able to do full dark and light loads. And plenty of underwear/socks so I always have a clean pair.
Julia Hufford says
Well, I’m just starting to actually plan this, but since I have been mulling the concept over in my mind for the last six years, (since we added our two GKs to our home suddenly). They are now 10 1/2, and 12 years old, and learning to do their own laundry, and developing their own clothing tastes.
We are a household of 4, with their sizes constantly changing, and we live in Pa, which means our seasonal clothing needs are constantly changing. I am also an artist, and color and pattern, and playing with style and accessories makes me happy.
So I am starting out with ONE big modification to the plan; I am starting out with 66 items instead of 33. This helps me in several ways:
1- It lets me commit for a WHOLE YEAR, meaning I am ONE person, (TWO if i can get Hubby to buy in), for whom there are NO seasonal changes; – (with clever choices and layering, I can be warm OR cool, and presentable year round), and I have taken TWO HUGE seasonal task out of my time and brain. My jackets and sweaters will stay out all year, and be in various weights to accommodate seasonal climate variations WITHOUT sorting/changing/moving/storing clothing out of my bedroom.
My ENTIRE WARDROBE will stay in ONE PLACE year round! The only times I will have to think of my clothing are when I am laying out my outfits for the week, or when something get damaged or worn out.
2- It lets me play with Color, Texture, and Pattern, instead of forcing me into so many neutrals. Yes, because I am limiting my wardrobe to 66 items, it pares those color choices down somewhat, but it’s really generous with jewelry and scarves. I upped my accessories, and added heavier/medium weight choices in all categories, and added more layering items such as sweaters and jackets. I added such things as, (6 necklaces instead of 3); (5 jacket instead of 3); (6 sweaters of different weights, dressiness, and colors instead of 3).
I’m not forcing my GKs to do this at this time, but am going to ask my Hubby to help him plan a similar Year-Round wardrobe. We both have a hard time parenting again at 63, so the less complicated caring for our own clothing needs is, the more time we have to keep up with homework, sports, up-coming “Teen Talks”, (and listening), and the better it is for ALL of us! We’ll try to “influence” the GKs by example.
I’ll try to “report back” how this is going for us in the next year…Hopefully this and other laundry handling routines we are starting will make our lives better and simpler.
Autumn says
Love it!! ❤
Katey says
Wow Julia I love this break down and hope it was successful for you! ❤️ Thanks for raising your GKs! I’m sure it isn’t easy to do again, but I’m glad they have you ?
Millie says
God bless you for caring for your two grandkids.
Penny says
It’s 33 per season so your 66 x 2 would be closer to the intent
Kathy says
I think I will need a different 3 dozen clothing pieces. What do you wear when you are outside working in the garden? How about at the barn with your horse? I’m not sure I really see something appropriate for all day kitchen prepping for the next day’s family gathering (does a fun coverage apron count as one of the items? :-). So I’ll work on my version of a minimalist wardrobe a little differently, then.
Jackie says
Same thoughts I had, living on a small farm. Riding boots, barn shoes (we don’t wear in the house), hiking boots, sneakers, bathing suits and cover ups, old jeans, etc are a part of our lifestyle.
I live the idea, but I think it needs to be modified for a person’s particular circumstances.
Shelley says
Nice thought and all…but one needs a pair (or two) of boots, at least where I live. Can’t walk around in winter with flip-flops or even closed-toe shoes.
Elaina says
Absolutely agree. This is definitely unrealistic in some climates. However, some of the items could be swapped out for boots or to keep the numbers down and adjust for seasonal changes. I understand the big picture of what is being said.
rosina ramon says
I have for years given courses on fashion for different types of enterprises, and fashion stores the 8 pice rule gives you 30 outfits and I do not actually count the accesesories as an item but they are what changes the look.
Everyone can have a formula this one makes 360 looks a year, If you play with a concept and a color scheme each month which is already in your closet, you would have more exciting things to wear.
Still the shoe is key it lets you know if it is formal, casual, sexy etc, and an important pice of jewelry can really transform an outfit, no matter the color.
I work a lot with color blocking and prints over prints, it is a lot of fun. I have a new rule no more black when I shop, I have enough and wear it mostly in winter. As I always say my fashion is not your fashion since my life is not your life, but fashion should always be fun with quality over quantaty.