IN 2014, I DECIDED ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH.

I’d been out shopping … again. I got home with a mess of clothes that contributed nothing to my style or my needs – and immediately knew this was part of a bigger problem.

See, recently, I’d noticed that I had a bad habit of going shopping when I needed to jolt myself out of a bad mood.

Hard day at work? Shopping! Not feeling very pretty today? Shopping! Frustrated with my family? Shopping!

No wonder my closet didn’t make any sense. It reflected my emotional stress, not my style.

I wanted a change. I wanted to stop spending money on emotional purchases. I wanted to stop filling my closet with cheap clothes. I wanted to stop believing more stuff would bring me happiness.

So … I googled around. I searched all sorts of things like “how to find your style” and “how to curb a shopping problem” until I stumbled upon the term “capsule wardrobe.”

Coined in the 70’s by London boutique owner, Susie Faux, it’s all about dressing with a small collection of seasonally appropriate, mix-and-match clothes.

It was the change I’d been looking for.

With the help of two blogs, Be More With Less and Into Mind, I settled on a structure that worked for my lifestyle: dress with only 37 pieces of clothing for 3 months. And no shopping during those 3 months. Yikes!

But as I started living with a small, intentional wardrobe, I noticed that I felt joyful again. I saw, with fresh eyes, that happiness, contentment, and joy come from within — not from stuff or external circumstances.

I lived with a capsule for a year and blogged about it every day, sharing my struggles, my breakthrough moments, and everything in between. By 2016, my heart and habits were healthy again.

It was time to let my “capsule diet” melt into my real life. I let go of some of the structure, like filling out my capsule planner every three months and limiting my closet to a specific number of pieces.

But I carry the heart of it with me — smaller closet, intentional purchases, less shopping, and more joy.

If you find yourself with a shopping habit you want to kick or a closet full of clothes you don’t love, I’d love to invite you to try a capsule. You’ll find all my resources to get started below.

Because trying something new — even something small — can be a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to change your life.