[Download video or download audio]
In this lesson, I talk to Courtney Carver of Be More With Less about paring down clothing and personal items, and ask her about issues that are especially relevant to women.
Courtney is an amazing expert on simplicity and decluttering, and has several books and a wonderful Project 333 to help people reduce their wardrobes in a manageable way.
In this interview, we discussed:
- Differences between men & women when it comes to clothes & personal items – pressures that women put on themselves
- How our identities are often tied to how we look, what we wear
- How dressing with less can help you to be yourself more
- Courtney’s journey – coming from more more more, to the wake-up call of being diagnosed with illness
- Simplifying – from diet and clutter to her debt and house and job – getting better sleep, better relationship, happier
- How minimalism help her teen-ager’s life
- How long it took to simplify – not always smooth sailing
- Her husband and how decluttering changed their life/how she got him to try it out
- Clothes and makeup/her decluttering her clothes, and Project 333
- Details about Project 333, and what qualifies for 33 things, and why 3 months feels doable to people
- Clothing ideals
- The need to shop
- Great community online for challenge & fun rewarding lessons with not a lot of pressure
- How other people don’t care about the clothes you wear unless they feel threatened about your change
- Fear of not having enough
- Jewelry and how to narrow down the amount you have
- What need did necklaces fill/expressing yourself through clothing and letting go of that
- How her husband reflected on letting stuff go and how freeing that was/getting rid of their house
- Her focusing on what she has and what counts because she’s freed the space to appreciate it and focus more on it than she did before
- Focusing on what you think you need, and how your still going to need/want things, but you bring them in your life in different way than before
- Good ways to get rid of the things you hide away for 3 months – donating/giving it away/selling it
This is a must-watch!
Check out more from Courtney at her blog and Project 333.
Exercise
Consider a challenge to reduce your wardrobe for several months, putting aside everything except 33 (or 40 or 50) things that you can use for daily life.