Seven (Part 2)

Last month we survived our first installment of Seven (check previous post for more details).

I wouldn't say that going a month with only seven items to wear was easy, but it honestly wasn't bad. I didn't have to worry about picking out an outfit every morning, I stressed far less about having the perfect accessories or shoes, and I gained a new appreciation for the wealth of clothing in my closet.


I also realized a few things:

• I have WAY too many clothes. Even after paring down my closet earlier in the year, I still have too many. 
• No one really seemed to notice (or care) that I was operating on a limited wardrobe, making me realize I don't need to stress so much about finding the perfect outfit each morning.
• I still enjoy assembling outfits (even if folks don't notice), and I missed it.

I'll definitely be more thankful for the outfits I have now, and I won't be spending a ton on new items. I have a great closet and far more than I need.

That lesson learned, we move on to the next focus in Seven: Food.
We have to choose seven foods to eat for the month. Y'all...that is NOT very many things (bless my sweet husband.)

We looked at our typical diet and choose the items we eat most often:

• Eggs
• Chicken
• Spinach
• Green Beans
• Cheese
• Apples
• Toast

With those items we can have salt, pepper, and butter...but that's it. No other spices, no yummy sauces, no fancy additions. We are allowing ourselves a salad dressing of choice each, but that's it.

Drink wise, we can have as much water as we want - hooray! (slight sarcasm) - and that's it. To keep ourselves sane, we're also allowing one cup of our chosen caffeine each day (coffee or soda).

Simple enough, right? Right. It's gonna be hard, y'all. I anticipate several angry words spoken against chicken in our future. I just have to remember, I'm doing this to myself. I'm sure I'll remember why when I get to have steak again.

Here goes nothing. 

Seven

A little while back I fell in love with a blogger named Jen Hatmaker - she's real and funny and adorable and sassy - all the things a Southern lady should be. Plus, she loves her family fiercely and loves Jesus even more. Her posts are a bright spot in my news feed and I love checking in on her blog (for a sample, read this. I don't even have kids and that had me ROLLING.)

Anyway, a few years ago she wrote a book called Seven. I picked it up last year sometime and kept meaning to get around to actually implementing it in my life...but then life happened and, well, Seven didn't.

So, with the beginning of the New Year, The Boy and I are taking a fresh run at it (bless him for putting up with my crazy streaks).

The basic premise of the book is that each month, we focus on one area of our life where we can attack excess - food, clothes, media, spending, etc. We make simple choices, focused on one area at a time, and slowly but surely, find ways to more permanently simplify our lives (and be grateful for the excesses we're blessed to have.)

For January, we're attacking clothes. That means that for this month, we each chose seven (yes...SEVEN) items to wear...and that's all. For a month. (*panics a little*)

Sounds crazy, right? Well, it probably is.

I mean, I have a job where I have to see people everyday. They're going to notice! It's not so much the noticing that I mind, it's the noticing then not telling me but just assuming I'm a crazy person who forgot she wore that same shirt three days ago...

But, this isn't about what people think about my wardrobe or memory, it's about learning to be content and thankful, so I'm going to deal.

We made a few concessions to make it livable for our work commitments and the current season - for example, pjs & undies (in which I'm also including camisoles and tights) don't count. Neither does a coat (it's January. That's a necessity.) In addition, "shoes" count as one item. Now, that doesn't mean I'm letting myself wear any shoes in my closet (I chose three pair), but it does allow me to have "work appropriate shoes" and "dang it's cold outside" fuzzy boots. The two are not interchangeable and are both needed.

That said, for my seven items I chose:

• A blue, long-sleeved sweater wrap dress
• A nice black sweater
• A casual brown and pink striped sweater
• A dressy teal damask blouse
• A pair of khaki pants
• A pair of dark wash jeans
• My shoe selection

That's it. For a month. That's all I have to work with. No fun belts or scarves (and we know I like scarves), not even my beloved Tiffany key necklace. I did allow myself my wedding ring - that seemed less like an accessory and more like, you know, a symbol of a lifelong commitment.

Since we didn't include our anniversary trip, this is only the second day, so I'm not minding it yet. I'm sure I'll feel a little more self-conscious when we get to day 4 and I'm having to re-wear a top my colleagues have already seen this week. We'll see.

That said, if you see me this month in the same outfit multiple times...you know why.

Thanks for stopping by, and check out Seven here for more info!