I walk into my tiny, over-stuffed closet and feel that familiar pit in my stomach.
I feel my blood pressure rise in degrees, as if my clothes, wedged like angry clowns in a tiny car, are about to jump off their hangers and attack me for putting them in this position. “Wear me! Wear me!”, they all yell. In other words, “Let me out of here!”
And the shoes? They resemble tiny toy soldiers on my shelves, vying for the right to join me in battle for the new day ahead. Each showing me their badge of honor for comfort, cuteness or ease. How on earth can I choose between such worthy “foot soldiers”. (see what I did there?)
I kid you not. This is my experience. Every. Single. Day.
My closet has always stressed me out. Too many choices. Too many combinations. Too little room.
I stood paralyzed, just gazing at the circus and daily battleground that was my closet. Wasting precious time, confused by my options.
If only things could be simpler. In my closet. In life in general.
Over the course of the past year, I’ve been discovering how much my soul craves SIMPLICITY. In every area of my life.
From my belongings to my diet. My activities to my focus.
For the sake of my soul’s well-being, LESS IS DEFINITELY MORE.
Limited options = less stress = more peace.
Gosh, that sounded good.
And so I began to experiment with elimination.
Every area of my life needed this type of purging, but I decided to start with my closet.
I was actually pretty excited with the prospect, but I started slowly. Getting rid of 5-10 things every couple of weeks got me moving. Very slightly.
The problem was, as soon as I removed a few clowns and soldiers, I found myself replacing those empty hangers and shelves with other things, defeating my purpose completely.
So, having to start all over again, I formed a plan. A deliberate way to make this idea of less is more stick long enough for me to see what the actual results were on the well-being of my soul.
I told myself I had to:
– Stop buying clothes and shoes! I know this sounds obvious, but for me, wandering through thrift stores (Now some of you are totally grossed out! Don’t judge! ) searching for treasures for decorating and staging always seemed to lead to me through aisles of clothing and stacks of shoes. I honestly could sense God saying to me, “Walk away, woman! Walk away!” Until I learned how to manage less, I decided I would not buy any more.
– Clear out the closet again. More brutal this time! I had to get serious. I meant business. I narrowed it down to what I knew was versatile, comfortable and cotton. No more holding on to things that will never look good on me or that I was keeping merely because of the designer label. Only things that fit me RIGHT NOW. 😉 For me, drastic reduction looked like: Five pairs of jeans, five white long-sleeved button-up shirts, five skirts, five white favorite T-shirts and 10 black, white and gray tank tops. Scarves to change the look on any given day. Three sweaters and three jackets. Five pairs of boots, and five pairs of sandals, and three pairs of my beloved Converse (white, gray, brown).
(Cotton, Comfy, Casual.)
(Two of my most faithful soldiers.)
– Change out all my hangers for what was left of my clothes! Sounds like such an unnecessary thing, but my multi-colored plastic hangers were taking up more room than needed. I purchased thin, velvet covered hangers. They take up less space and they keep those now-happy-clowns from falling to the floor. And they give a nice, clean look to what was once a cluttered and confused space.
– Make a prettier, more organized solution for dirty laundry! Silly? Maybe. But I will tell you that having separate good looking baskets for whites, darks and dry-clean-only has made walking into my closet way more enjoyable. Less mess, less stress.
(Yes. I just showed you my dirty laundry. You’re welcome.)
My soul smiles now when I pick out an outfit for the day. Less choices means more available time. A simple palette gives me the freedom to save my attention impaired mind for other things so much more important. More room in my closet gives my soul breathing space. Better organization takes one piece of stressful chaos out of my life.
And all of those extra things can be donated to help someone who needs them much more than I do.
If this sounds a little extreme, I get it. I didn’t do it to make a statement. I did it for the well-being of my soul. And let’s be honest – my sanity.
I am learning that this type of deliberate SIMPLICITY is essential in every part of my life. There are so many things, even really good things, that are crowding my soul. Just because I CAN do (or have or spend my time on) something, doesn’t mean I SHOULD.
Without exception, every single area of my life where I have implemented this “less is more” approach has become more peaceful. It has helped me to engage focus and eliminate stress. Less distractions make my heart, eyes and ears more aware of who God is, what He is doing, what He is saying.
I’m not afraid of my closet any more. My clowns are now friendly and I have only the best soldiers for my every day battles. And I’m not afraid to tackle new areas of my life with the same attitude, knowing that the benefits for my soul (and body and mind) are priceless.
Do you have any areas in your life that are overcrowded?
Can you sense in your soul a need for weeding out the extra fillers?
Are you willing to pick one part of your life and deliberately eliminate for the sake of your soul?
I would love to hear your success stories! I promise if you try this in even the smallest of areas of your life, your soul will thank you for the newfound SIMPLICITY.
Promise.
Hugs and Prayers,
Your Soul Sister,
J
