I’ve been practicing the The 100 Thing Challenge for 50 days and am happy to report that just like Project 333, living like this is not extreme or even very challenging.
That’s not to say that they wouldn’t have been challenging if I jumped into them without making other changes first. If I had started either of these experiments before I started to simplify my life, they would have seemed impossible.
If the 100 Thing Challenge had come before our last yard sale ever, decluttering, paying off debt or even Project 333, I would have likely given up and gone shopping.
Nicole, a woman who spoke at a recent conference I attended said “Big sexy dreams are only accomplished one tiny, very unsexy step at a time.” I couldn’t agree more. Living with less than 100 things has never been a big sexy dream of mine, but without smaller unsexy steps, it never would have happened and I never would have been able to live my really big sexy dreams like quitting my job, working for myself, and spending more time doing things that I love with people I love.
My 100 thing Challenge Update
I’ve bolded the items I’ve used in 50 days and made notes to a few others.
- Yoga mat
- Sunglasses
- Laptop bag
- Purse
- Travel bag
- Bracelet
- Cross bracelet
- Gray/white scarf
- Green scarf
- Black pashmina
- Casual hat
- Red Sox hat
- Winter hat
- Winter mittens
- Winter coat
- Winter vest
- Trench coat
- Leather jacket
- Black rain coat
- Blue hiking coat
- Robe
- Yoga pants
- Black undershirt/tank
- black hiking/workout shorts (I lost these traveling. It happens)
- Workout shorts
- Workout shirt
- Workout shirt
- Sweatshirt
- Bathing suit
- Bathing suit cover up
- Underwear (grouped)
- Lounge shirt
- Lounge shirt
- Lounge pants
- PJs (cool weather)
- Lingerie
- Lingerie
- Night gown
- Night gown
- Tank top PJs (warm weather)
- Purple heels
- Black flats
- Black boots
- Snow boots
- Hiking shoes
- Sport shoes (I replaced these with a new pair)
- Tennis shoes
- Flip-flops
- Jeans
- White dress capris
- Blue outdoors capris
- Dress pants
- Khaki pants
- Black skinny pants (added a pair of leggings)
- Black sleeveless dress
- Orange/white dress (replaced this with simple gray dress from storage)
- Green/white dress
- Blue sleeveless dress
- Holiday dress
- Gray maxi skirt/dress
- Gray short skirt
- Tweed skirt
- Black wrap short sleeve
- Black tank
- Yellow tank (I replaced this with a blue/gray short sleeve shirt)
- Black tank flower detail on back
- Gray ruffle shirt
- Plaid button down
- Light blue button down
- Black long-sleeved tissue tee
- Gray long-sleeved tissue tee
- Black cardigan
- Cream cardigan
- Black blazer
- Cream blazer
- White sweater
- Green sweater
- Laptop/charger
- Phone/charger
- Camera/charger
- External hard drive
- Rosetta Stone headphones
- Ear buds
- Photo card reader
- Office supplies (pens/pencils/paper/paperclips/files)
- Diary (planner/calendar)
- Bible
- Kindle + charger
- 1 book in progress (+ small rotating library of less than 10 books)
- Toothbrush
- Hairbrush
- Blow dryer
- Flat-iron
- Makeup (grouped)
- Tennis dress
- Tennis racquet
- Journal
- Candle set
- Bike gear (grouped)
- Ski gear (grouped and stored until Winter)
I mentioned in my original 100 thing challenge post that I was storing things instead of donating everything that was left over. As it turns out, I’ve donated more than I’ve stored. Anything replaced on the list was donated and after boxing everything up, I realized that I didn’t really need it after all. So what did I keep in storage?
- Clothing (2 small boxes)
- Jewelry (1 shoe box, not full)
- Journals, Books (1 small box)
My takeaway 50 days in, is that living with less than 100 personal items is not extreme, but only because it’s not where I started. I leaned in to less and can’t imagine a better way to make any change.
What will you lean in to today?
P.S. The Goodblog Project is open and starts on August 20th. If you have a blog and are interested in growing readership, generating revenue and doing it simply and honestly, I’d love to work with you.
