“7” update #2

“7” update:

I have continued to add more items to my get-rid-of pile. Because of bad weather and the Lenten season beginning, we were not able to have our Wednesday night study to continue on this journey. On Wednesday of this week though we will begin the 4th week of “7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess”. Week #4 is labeled as media. On Thursday I will try to update on what we discussed on Wednesday night and what the week will consist of. I’m a little nervous though because this is a weakness for me. I have numerous TV shows that are set to record on the DVR every week and some of them are multiple times per week. Some of the shows are just mine, some are just my husbands, and some are shows that we watch together in the evenings (you know, instead of actually doing something productive for our marriage). Television has consumed us and I know that I have a real problem here because I feel emotionally attached to some of my shows. Okay, now that I see it written in front of me I see how absolutely ridiculous that is. But if I’m being honest with myself, it’s the truth. Ouch. Is media really that important to me? Am I allowing it to get in the way of having a deeper relationship with my husband, child, God? That’s a scary thought. I think this coming week will be a truly soul searching experience. And to think that this was the week I was the least worried about when I began this journey 3 weeks ago. Hmm.. how perspectives change.

“7” Update

The first two weeks of this experiment were not as I would have liked. The first week (food), I chose to opt out of because I am nursing my son and I didn’t want to limit my nutritional intake. The second week (clothes), I attempted to stick to. But, I quickly realized that it was unrealistic for me to pick 7 articles of clothing to wear because I had to wash them every day due to the spit up and poop of my 4 month old somehow ending up all over me. I’m still surprised after 4 months at the amount of bodily *stuff* that comes out of such a tiny person.

This week, week three, of the study has been a success for me! This week consisted of getting rid of 7 possessions every day. We, as a group, decided to donate most of our items to the church garage sale that we have annually. There are some things that I’ve chosen to sell though such as a practically brand new toaster oven that I only used a handful of times and a magic bullet blender with the dozen or so accessories that go along with it. I decided very early on that I have enough stuff that I didn’t want to limit myself to 7 items per day. My total number of things that I’m donating to the church is: 87. The number of items that I am going to try to sell and then donate if they haven’t sold in a month is: 28. This is a total of 115 items that I am removing from our home! That’s more than 16 items per day for the week!! I’m also not finished believe it or not.. I did not have time to go through every room efficiently. For the remainder of this study though, I’m finished with this.

Something I’ve also done this week is getting back into reading the Bible every day! I had become lazy with this over the last year and I am excited to be getting back in the word more often. I feel like I’ve been very productive and accomplished since last Wednesday (when we started the possessions week).

Until next time!

“7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess”–Jen Halmaker

Ok, so I’m reading the book which I have named in the title of this post. In this book, she hashes out a 7 month journey to rid her life of excess. Each month is dedicated to a specific area.
Month 1: Food
Month 2: Clothes
Month 3: Possessions
Month 4: Media
Month 5: Waste
Month 6: Spending
Month 7: Stress
For each month, she choses 7 items that she will focus on and abandon all others. So, for month 1, she chose carefully 7 foods and only ate those 7 foods for 30 days. She chose Chicken, Eggs, Whole-wheat bread, Sweet potatoes, Spinach, Avocados, and Apples. That is all she ate for 30 days with the exception of water (only) and to flavor her food, salt, pepper, and tiny amounts of olive oil. All other foods, drinks, and seasonings became a thing of her past.
The reason I am sharing this is because I am embarking on my own adjusted-version of this adventure. A group of women that I attend church with are going through this as well and I will include some of their choices and struggles. We are adjusting this experiment so that each topic lasts a week instead of a month. Also, the rest of the group started last week with the food category. Since I have a 4 month old that I am nursing, I decided it was in the best interest of my son that I continue to eat normally so that he gets the nutrients that he needs. I will therefore begin this journey of excess awareness tomorrow with the clothing category.
Tonight after the other women and I have our meeting, I will pick out my 7 articles of clothing that I must make-do with for the next week abandoning all others in my closets and dressers. That’s right, plural closetS and dresserS. This will be interesting.
See you tomorrow!