Introducing Simple on Purpose

Over the past few months I have been searching. Searching for ways to sculpt my life into something meaningful.  I want to say yes to the opportunities that line up with my life's purpose. Say no, with out regret, to the things that don't, and create deep relationships and fantastic memories along the way.

A big part of being able to live with more intention is to simplify.

Which is why I am super excited to be teaming up with the totally funny and completely fabulous Shawna over at Dovetail Blog to share some (or maybe all) of the ways we are living Simple on Purpose.

Now don't think we're being bossy and telling you how to run your life... That's not what we're about. We're about sharing stories and experiences and some tidbits that have worked for us. (If you're lucky we'll include some failures just so you don't start to think we're doing this simple living thing perfectly).

I'll be posting over here about books that have inspired my journey, practices we've adopted for keeping clutter at bay, ways I keep white space in my schedule, sharing my life mission statement and more...

So join Shawna and I on our journey to clear away the chaos (well you know not all of the the chaos,  we'll hold on to the chaos we gave birth to and named), breath deep and invite freedom in to our day to day intentional lives.  Keeping things simple on purpose.

Cleaning Out The Closet... Before and After

Sooo this week I kind of flaked in the taking pictures of my outfits department. I do have 1 to share with you though...  (I did get dressed more that once this week I promise) and then a before and after closet reveal.

Outfit 1:

 Target (RIP) cardigan, grey tank, American Eagle skinny jeans, purple scarf from the fudge shop on the way to Vanderhoof.

I wore this on Tuesday to my kid's gymnastics class and then to the dentist.

I'm actually looking to replace this pair of jeans, so I went shopping, and of course fell in love with $98 Silver skinny jeans.  Perhaps this Cost Per Wear post will help me part with that kind of cash for a pair of pants.  In the mean time I'm still thinking on that purchase.

 On to the bedroom closets. 

Here they are before:

(Note that I couldn't even open the closet door all the way to take a picture of the shelves.)

With the amount of purging we have done recently it was decided that Craig and I really didn't need separate closets.  What we really needed was a place to keep the vacuum, broom, mop, linens, and adult board games. One garbage bag of stuff removed and a whole bunch on hangers tossed...
Tada!


What have your minimizing projects looked like this week?

Capsule Kitchens

There's a new idea circulating social media.  In the minimalist circles at least... it's called a capsule kitchen.  It's similar to a capsule wardrobe. 

With a capsule wardrobe you only have a certain amount of clothing items and you can generally mix and match those items to create various outfits. Case in point my 33 items of clothing for 3 months commitment.

When it comes to a capsule kitchen replace clothing items with food.  So for 3 months you only shop for and eat 33 food items which you can of course eat on their own or use in recipes with some of the other items on your list.

This fascinates me.  I mean really how great would it be to have your shopping list streamlined for 3 months.  Eat more in season produce and get your creative juices flowing to try new recipes.  Exciting right?

It also terrifies me.  I mean how much zucchini and squash can a person eat?  And what about cravings?  What if I really want Kraft Dinner?  But it's not on my list of 33 foods... so I don't even have it in the house... and then I just stand there staring at my sadly bare cupboard... totally uninspired because there is no mac and cheese!  Do you feel the anxiety?

I promise to let you know if I decide to take this on.

What do you think?  Does the idea of a capsule kitchen appeal to you?  What would be on your list?

33 Clothing Items for 3 Months... What I Wore Week 2

Week 2 of the challenge... Here's what happened:

1. 3 year old had the flu... so I didn't actually get dressed every day this week.
2. I am discovering that I feel quite vulnerable posting pictures of myself taken by my 9 year old...

On with the (fashion) show:

Day 1:

 I was headed to a surprise party to celebrate my
mother-in-law becoming a Canadian citizen... So my outfit is black and white leggings, chambray button up, grey tank top  (borrowed flag headband and red scarf from my kids dress-up)

Day 2:

Play date and dinner at my mom's were the agenda... Outfit: Grey American Eagle cardigan, Silver jeans, Sevenly Love shirt, carriage necklace and navy tank top.

Day 3:

An afternoon at my grandma's inspired this slightly wild but super comfy combo: Patterned leggings, grey tank top, Sevenly education is freedom shirt, black Target (RIP) cardigan and the necklace my dad made for me.

So there you have it... What did you wear?  Are you purging your closet?  How's that going for ya?

I'm Taking the Plunge! 33 clothing Items for 3 months.

Is it pathetic or perfect that I am struggling to actually find 33 wearable items in my current wardrobe?  The shopaholic, impress the world, person in me says "Wahoo lets shop!"  but the simplifying minimalist wanna be says "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for... check under the bed."

So for the next 3 months I will be getting dressed by choosing from 33 items (or less) in my closet and following the rules Courtney Carver of Project 333 has laid out.

Here is my list thus far:
2 sweater dresses
3 pairs of leggings
2 pairs of jeans
2 belts
2 necklaces
3 scarves
3 cardigans
4 tank tops
2 pairs of boots
2 little black dresses
2 t-shirts (I may need to do some purchasing in this area but I will see how it goes.)

And that's it!  That's all I have, but having fewer than 33 items gives me a little bit of space to possibly add a few quality pieces to my capsule wardrobe if things aren't working.

"Remember that this is not a project in suffering." Project 333

I will also from time to time be posting pictures of my favorite outfits on Instagram so feel free to follow me there.

Are you doing anything to simplify your wardrobe? Tell me about it!  Maybe we can encourage each other.

Minimalist Inspiration...

Over the last little while our family had sort of fallen off the "Minimalist Wagon".  We're not drowning in stuff over here... but there are definitely things around here that are just excess and not serving a purpose.  



To slay this clutter dragon (again... ahem).  I'm making a list of inspirational minimalist blogs to give me motivation.

This 30-day minimalist challenge from Into Mind  looks like it will be very encouraging to participate in. It doesn't just deal with cleaning out closets and dealing with your physical junk... the daily suggestions are mostly about doing things that are good for your peace of mind and I could totally use a little sanity here.

Clutter Free With Kids by Joshua Becker is the book that really motivated me to consider living with less ( and it's less than $6 for the Kindle edition).  I suppose it's only natural that I would continue to me motivated by his Becker's blog Becoming Minimalist.  He has some super practical tips for helping you keep your resolution to declutter.

Oh my word!  Make Room for Greatness has the mother load list of articles about exploring minimalism.  I haven't read all of them... but I plan to dive in once my kiddos are in bed tonight.

What are you doing to regain control of your stuff?  Where are you gleaning your minimalist inspiration?