The More of Less Report (July)

Well, I'm junking up the house again. (The decluttering book warned me of this trap.) I've bought two new clothing items (without swapping out old ones), as well as bought gadgets to make my life easier (silicone muffin liners). I could argue that my dietitian told me to buy clothes in bigger sizes. I could argue that I "need" new clothes to feel better, but I really don't. I just bought clothes because I wanted to feel better (and they did-kind of). I could argue that new kitchen gadgets brought me joy and made cooking a little easier, and they did, but could I tolerate without them? Yes. So should I have bought them? I don't know. I just did. I told myself to spend less money this month. Did I? No. But I also got some joy from buying things, and made some memories. Did I live more of life? Overall, I would say, yes. And that was what I wanted from this year anyway.

In other updates on my goals--

January-LESS scrolling: I don't know if I am or not. Some days, I am on social media less, other days more. I have started using at least Instagram more for information (eg for information on topics like stress fracture recovery). I notice when I am not getting anything out of scrolling, and sometimes I keep scrolling. Other times, I move on. I am playing more word games again. It is a good "out" for my brain, and maybe a little more beneficial than doom scrolling?

February-LESS picking: I do not really know here, either. Maybe I just have not been paying attention as much? I do know that I am going through a season of just feeling uncomfortable in my body overall.

March-LESS hunger (judgment): I want to keep healing from my stress fracture, and I want to gain muscle. I hate waking up in the middle of the night hungry. So I have been eating a lot, and and continuing to gain weight. I hope eventually things even out, but I don't know when that will happen, and if I am truly hungry, I guess my body needs all this food? I hope I continue to gain awareness in this area.

April-LESS goals: Yeah, well. I probably did not do too well here. In working on my July goal, I added quite a lot of activities. The physical therapy exercises have piled up. I need to reduce my list of daily things to do next month.

May-LESS no: I caught myself saying, "No," a lot, but thankfully God gave me plenty of chances to rest and say, "Yes." I am thankful for that. I want to live a full life, and that means saying more, "Yes" (though I am learning to do so with boundaries). Yesses this month included attending several very last minute social gatherings, trying several different foods my husband offered me, and going on a surprise location trip that my husband planned--good things, all.

June-LESS lying to myself: This is a bit of a mixed bag. I need to have realistic expectations for myself, and as my mom pointed out, I need to be willing to change and learn and grow as the Holy Spirit prompts. I have realized that most things in life require sacrifice. If I do something for myself, I say, "No" to doing something for others. If I prioritize one thing, I have less time for others. (For example, when I choose to write at night after work, I generally end up going to bed later and getting less sleep.) I am realizing that sometimes, I need to compromise on my priorities, doing a little bit of what I said I would do, and letting a little bit go. That is probably better than the all or nothing trap in which I find myself too often.

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Overall, it has been a better month. Maybe I am not quite living by my "LESS" word, but less is not my end goal in life. Loving God, loving others, and loving myself are my goals. Whatever paths lead me to those goals are my path, less or not.

Project 333 (I Pretty Much Failed Before I Started)

I learned about Project 333 by reading Courtney Carver's (2017) book Soulful Simplicity. She designed Project 333 to help reduce nonessential items on her closet and pursue a life of simplicity. She would wear 33 items of clothing (including shoes and jewelry, but not her wedding ring, undergarments, socks, or workout clothes) and wear only those items for three months (Carver, n.d.). Her efforts went viral and thus the "official" challenge was born.

I read about Project 333 again in Joshua Becker's (2018) book The More of Less and figured, "Why not?" Originally, I thought that the challenge would coincide with Lent, and I would be good. Then I realized it was for three months, which would stretch into and over hopes for a weekend trip, and a family wedding. Still, I thought I might be able to do it.

I made some intentional choices to rewear clothes that first week. I tried to use the same accessories and to keep workout clothes for working out only (a rule of the challenge according to Carver, n.d.b.). I realized I would need to be resourceful to keep in my wedding clothes, as I thought I needed to dress up to be respectful. I was doing okay until I realized I had already worn three different pairs of sunglasses, plus added a hat. I could argue that I "needed" these for sun protection, and I did, but I didn't need all three pairs. One would have done.

As I read more about the challenge, I realized that I missed some key steps. I was supposed to box up all the clothes I wasn't going to wear (Carver, n.d.b.). So I basically set myself up for failure there. Carver also suggests doing a closet clean out and choosing only loved items for the capsule wardrobe. I didn't do that, either. I didn't categorize (Carver, n.d.a.). I didn't make a preemptory list of my capsule wardrobe (Carver, 2024). By failing to plan, I basically planned to fail.

I did put Carver's (2020) Project 333 book on hold at the library, and am currently reading it. That way I will know how to be successful at the challenge if I really decide to do it. I am not sure I will, though. Yes, I see its benefits: It can reduce decision fatigue (Carver, n.d.a.). It can reduce clothes in my closet. But is it practical? Would it benefit me, or just add more stress? I read that it is "not a project in suffering" (Carver, n.d.c.). I read that Carver did it in 15 to 95 degrees. I am not sure the challenge is for me, though. Sure, get rid of what I'm not wearing, but why not enjoy wearing what I have? Should I lose, or grow out of, or have to throw out all of my clothes, maybe I would build a capsule wardrobe and go from there. As it is, it just seems pointless, borderline wasteful, and definitely slightly stressful and guilt-inducing to try to do the challenge. Oh wait! I guess I already tried to do the challenge and failed.

References:

Becker, J. (2018). The more of less: Finding the life you want under everything you own. Waterbrook.

Carver, C. (n.d.a.). How to build a capsule wardrobe. Be more with less. https://bemorewithless.com/how-to-build-a-capsule-wardrobe/

Carver, C. (n.d.b.). Project 333 challenge. Be more with less. https://bemorewithless.com/project-333-challenge/

Carver, C. (n.d.c.). Project 333: Getting started (Without these 5 things). Be more with less. https://bemorewithless.com/project-333-enough-is-enough/

Carver, C. (2017). Soulful simplicity: How living with less can lead to so much more. Tarcher.

Carver, C. (2020). Project 333: The minimalist fashion challenge that moves less is really so much more. Tarcher.

Carver, C. (2024). How to start a capsule wardrobe (10 easy, practical steps). Be more with less. https://bemorewithless.com/start-a-capsule-wardrobe/

Keep the Stuff

I rearranged my race medals this past weekend. I packed away some more. I barely considered getting rid of or donating any. I am just not at that place. Yes, these things take up space, but at this point, they still bring me joy, so I am keeping them.

I used to want to be a minimalist. No longer. I don't want a ton of stuff. I don't want to be a hoarder, but I also want to hold onto things that bring me joy. Yes, I have a lot of race medals, but looking at them lets me relive some of the fun I had in racing. The medals themselves are cheap, but the memories they hold are irreplaceable. 

Yes, I have a few things around the house I don't use regularly, like the bundt pan, and the doughnut pan, and the mini muffin tin. I could get rid of them, but when I use them, they are really helpful, and I have fun. I'm keeping them.

I have far more than a capsule wardrobe, and I'm working on going through it, but you know what? Some of those rarely worn things I do wear, and/or I treasure. For now, I'm keeping them.

Slowly but surely, I have gotten rid of some things, things that no longer bring me joy or pleasure or use. Cookbooks I've outgrown. Papers I thought were important, but don't seem to be (and I need to get rid of a lot more in this category). While I don't want to be a maximalist, I do want to maximize what I have.

If you are a minimalist and that works for you, go for it. But if you, like me, have felt the pressure, and even shame of not minimizing, keep the stuff. Enjoy the stuff. Thank God for the stuff. Yes, it's stuff that will go away, but might as well savor it while God gives it to us.

P.S. I know not everyone has space to keep all the stuff. An alternative is to photograph the stuff and then let it go. I also have a lot of pictures, and thanks to digital storage, I can keep them. I don't go back to look at them often, but when I do, I enjoy it. Worst case scenario, I need more storage to house all my photos, but that is easier to come by than physical space most times....

We Let Our Costco Membership Expire.

Our Costco membership expired. We let it. That might surprise people, given that we are a couple focused on keeping a budget, and Costco is a budget friendly store. We actually let our membership expire because of the budget, however. Let me explain.

I started calculating the savings we gain using our Costco membership. Gas is the largest category for savings. We save an average of 10 cents per gallon of gas we buy. Multiplied by the approximate six gallons of gas I use to commute to work each month, that is 60 cents of savings, or $2.40. We save some money on products we buy, but we don't shop regularly enough for me to calculate them monthly. We also have another bulk store right next to Costco and shop there more often. We could save on eyeglasses and prescriptions at Costco, but for various reasons, we don't use Costco for those services. With Costco membership costing a minimum of $60 a year, we need to save an additional $2.60 a month to make the membership cost a wash. I'm not sure we're doing that.

Then there are the time and convenience factors. I learned about grocery pickup when COVID-19 hit, and have stuck with it since then. Costco doesn't have this service. Costco is also more difficult to enter and exit due to lines and extra precautions. Honestly, going to Costco lately has become more of a stressor that a stress reliever. I really like Costco products (think cheese, peanut butter, cocoa, cinnamon, etc.), but I wonder if my preference is really worth the costs to both our budget and our time. So we're letting our membership expire to see.

Will we likely renew our Costco membership at some point? I believe we will. Maybe in a few months. Maybe in a few years. Maybe never. If/when we go back, I want to make sure have a good rationale for doing so. I want to make sure it's worth it, and not just for budget reasons.