I felt lighter.
I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure why exactly that was.
Was it the fact I was stepping out of our usual schedule, stepping away from daily to-do lists, errands, and laundry?
While all of that was true, I knew that wasn't really it--those things had not been weighing me down.
But by the end of our four day visit in North Carolina, I knew what it was.
I felt lighter because I had packed very few articles of clothing and had experienced NO decision fatigue when I woke up each morning trying to decide what I wanted to wear.
In truth, I have been purging lots of things around the house for years now, and it has felt amazing.
And while I have gone through my closet periodically, to discard old items that I never wore and to tidy up and organize things, I've never really done anything as intentional as Courtney Carver's Project 333.
Definitely check out her website if you have a chance, but I will tell you about Project 333 in a nutshell. Courtney was battling with multiple sclerosis flare-ups and stress in her life and, for the sake of her physical and mental health, adapted some major changes to the role material stuff was having in her life. One of the ways she did this was to choose only 33 items of clothing to have in her wardrobe and boxing up the rest. She did this seasonally, every 3 months, and the idea really resonated with a lot of folks through social media, so she named this idea "Project 333". (Side note: technically these 33 items do not include exercise wear, sleep wear, and undergarments, but Courtney chooses to include accessories like scarves, outerwear, shoes, and jewelry).
I'd been toying with the idea of trying Project 333 for myself since Christmas, but after I got home from our Easter trip, I decided to definitely make this a priority for myself this spring.
And so, about a month ago, I cleared out all my clothing items from our master bedroom walk-in closet, and moved into a single closet across the way. (Our master bedroom is set up with three closets--one is a large walk-in closet, the other two are directly across from it and sit side-by-side as additional closet spaces).
And so, strangely enough, my husband now has the walk-in closet all to himself (we laugh because he actually does have waaaay more clothes than I do--and has for years--because of all his military uniforms!).
So now I am over a month into living out Project 333 and loving it.
It is so freeing to have fewer things to grab from my simple little closet space.
I love my simple wooden shoe rack. My one white robe hangs on a sticky hook inside the door.
I love the two bins on the top shelf--one holds a few purses, bags/totes are in the other, and I have a backpack from my trip to Africa beside them.
And what did I do with the other side closet?
Well, thanks to my husband's and father-in-law's carpentry skills, they set me up a little desk space. This space has been making me happy since last Christmas!
I have a small shelf with my favorite resources up top and more book storage space down below. A simple piano stool slides in and out when in use, and then I can close the door on all that visual clutter if I wish.
So, how about you, dear friend?
Is there an area in your life that is making you feel weighed down?
Is there a simple change you can make to feel lighter and more clear-headed?
The change I made with my closet cost me NOTHING. Just some time and a little re-arranging and downsizing.
And by boxing up what I don't need, I am not worrying about doing without any of my clothes for now (however, I suspect they will not be missed and will head to the donation center this fall!)
Summer is a perfect time to reassess some things, slow down, and simplify, dear friend!
I am here, cheering you ON!!
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