Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Maria Badillo

I’m not the average female; I already only owned about 33 pieces in my wardrobe when I discovered Project 333. Not exactly a challenge then, is it? And yet, I think I have learned just as much from the notion, if not more than the average female.

Instead of boxing things up and putting them out of view, I took my roughly 33 articles of clothing and used the three-month period to determine that I had indeed been favouring about half of those items and neglecting the rest. Odd, considering how little I had started with.

I took several of these items to a charity shop or otherwise resolved to incorporate the neglected pieces into my wardrobe again. More importantly, this challenge sparked an interest in cutting back in other areas of my life, not just clothing.

Around twice a year, I country-hop between my family home in the United States and my own home in the United Kingdom. Despite owning the least amount of stuff in comparison to my housemates, I still found myself struggling to carry that relatively low amount of possessions in my own suitcases to the airport and back. This is when my new technique kicked in, and I resolved to own only that which I could carry myself without injury. I cut back on the amount of books and DVDs, ridded my possessions of redundancy, and even took up better eating habits by adopting the One Bowl technique. Less kitchenware for any future move: my back is already grateful.

This last trip, I found my suitcase to only be half-full for my six-week visit to the United States. The return journey was just as simplified, even with the added items I was bringing back for housemates.

Living with such simplicity has ultimately been the reason for the increase in my creativity of late. By owning less and minimising the excess worry, I have found myself to be more productive in my writing, a lifestyle which I explore further on my website ‘Minimal Author.’ Perhaps challenges like Project 333, 100 Thing Challenge, and OBL (One Bag Living) are the path to artistic freedom.

Read more from Maria Badillo at Minimal Author.