7 Experiment: Clothes Week Complete!

Day 1 in stripes!

Welp I survived clothes week of 7 (see previous post)! The first few days honestly weren't so bad at all. It felt like I had a school uniform each morning, so I'd put on an outfit from my slim picks of 7 articles of clothes and go on with my day. What's the big deal? Then, about mid-week, I went on a walk with neighbor, who is also doing the experiment. The temperature had dropped, and both of our feet and toes were turning to icicles as we pushed our strollers in our flip-flops, with our kids bundled up in coats and hats, covered with blankets. Ha. It's Indiana people!! From this Southerner, it still feels like the Frozen Land up here, okay??

The kid had on wayyyy more than 7 items on this walk alone. :)

Anyway, as we chatted about 7, I realized I was missing the whole point of it. I had approached the week kinda like a steamroller- just hunker down and get through it. It might be tough at some points, but you just keep pushing through and then it'll be over soon. Totally missing the heart and really, the whole point. What could God teach me about people who wear flip-flops year-round, who don't have hats and coats for their babies? I never even think about them. I don't even know who they are. What about the overabundance of clothes that could come pouring out of my closet on day 8, warming me and giving me an endless variety of options for any occasion? As Jen did in the book, I decided to count all my articles of clothing. I was almost embarrassed to do it. I remember sitting down with Andrew while we were engaged and combining our budgets. I was mortified to tell him the average dollar amount I spent on clothes per month while single. I've never cared about brands of clothes or spending a ton on one piece, but I like a lot of clothes from cheap stores, on sale. A lot. And it adds up. But whether I buy my clothes at the most expensive store or at a yard sale, it's still materialism in my heart. So I inventoried my closet. 248 pieces of clothes/ shoes. This is not counting swim suits, underwear, socks, or accessories. 248 pants, shirts, dresses, skirts, shorts, coats. 248. That could clothe a ridiculous amount of people instead of just me. EXCESS. And honestly, even after that, the next time I was around a big group of people, I began to notice all the cute, new, stylish clothes around me and wanted to go buy similar ones. There is a battle going on in my heart, so it is a good thing the next week of 7 is Possessions- where Jen gave away 7 items from her house each day for a month! I will give away 7 items a day for a week. God is only beginning to open my eyes and shape my heart in this area, and it's already painful. There is always an excuse not to do something like this, and mine last week was our anniversary! I wanted to wear a really cute outfit, special for that day. Last year, on our first anniversary, I was 8.5 months preggo and not feeling so cute. We couldn't travel anywhere or really do much, so I wanted this year to be different- complete with cute outfit and fun plans.

2 years baby!! Simplifying and loving it!

I finally decided just to set aside one shirt out of my 7 items to only wear on Saturday, and the night before we were planning on leaving to go to Ikea in Cincinnati, I realized there was no way I could go. We don't NEED anything for our house. Just like I don't NEED any more clothes. We are always in the middle of ongoing projects to improve our 96 year old house, but I am learning increasingly what "need" really means. I realized there was no way I could go and enjoy myself there, as I battled inwardly between wanting to buy everything I saw to make my house so much cuter and, at the same time, being disgusted with myself and how materialistic my heart is. At first, I remember muttering something about how this book is ruining my life! Ha. So at the last minute, we decided to cancel the trip and just do fun, free stuff around Indy that we've always wanted to do. And it was awesome. Sweet memories, fun times. Simple; no excess. And I'm even pumped about deciding what 7 things I should give away today!

Confession #1: My jeans were so saggy in the butt by day 5, they were falling off me. I did a wash and dry of all 7 items for the sake of everyone near me.

Confession #2: Today I relished every second of pulling on my thick, lined, warm boots and wearing three layers on the top half of my body.

Here is a quote from the book...
"There is something noble about an assembly of believers in simple clothes, where the lobby isn't filled with people saying, "You look pretty" to one another. Maybe looking pretty isn't the catalyst for the Spirit's movement. Perhaps an obsessive occupation with dresses and hair and shoes detracts us from the point of the gathering: a fixation on Jesus. When the jars of clay remember they are jars of clay, the treasure within gets all the glory, which seems somehow more fitting."-- Jen Hatmaker

Yikes. Still trying to sort through all of this in my heart, but I am more willing to go there now, more than ever before.