August 2, 2021
In the fall of 2020, I finally got around to reading a book that a friend passed on to me. It’s called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.
Here’s a summary from Google Books:
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
The true story of how my family and I took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe seven sacred pauses. So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.
So I thought, why not give it a try? I started in October, ended in May/June – taking a bit longer than expected because of travel. But here’s the gist of what I did.
October – Food
I ate Whole 30 for the entire month.
November – Clothes
I only wore 7 articles of clothing for the month. 1 pair of leggings, 1 pair of jeans, 1 sweater, long-sleeve black t-shirt, short-sleeve white t-shirt, long-sleeve striped shirt, 1 pair of shoes.
December – Possessions
We got rid of (at least) 7 things a day for the entire month. More than 217 things total.
January – Media
No unnecessary media (i.e. tv, social media, music, etc.).
February – Waste
Shop local, thrift, compost, plan garden, use only 1 car, make food from scratch.
March – Spending
Only spend at 7 stores (not including auto-pay for bills). Gas station, Kroger, Walmart, Barber (for Lucas), Roots, auto-pay bills, pharmacy
April – month off
May/June – Stress
Take time to pray, meditate etc. No extra planning for the month. Slow down.
This entire experiment was so challenging, so mentally stimulating, and so rewarding.
I have highlights saved to my Instagram for each of the different months, but here are my big take-aways, things that I’m doing differently than before I read the book.
–Food: We found a way to give back to someone locally in our community, making her dinner for her each week, after feeling an intense conviction after foo, hunger, and specifically single moms needing to provide food for their families.
-Clothes: (I’m still in the process of working through my closet, but) I have a capsule wardrobe for each season, with some pieces crossing over season to season, only bringing in quality pieces that I love, that fit, and that are within our budget.
-Possessions: We have pretty rigid requirements for things that come into our home, especially when it comes to kid things. Similar to Marie Konda, does it serve a purpose? Does it bring us joy? Do we have space for it?
-Media: I set time limits to my social media apps. And Lucas has been gone all summer, but once we are all back under the same roof, I want us to implement a ‘no phones in the bedroom’ policy. I also am writing at least one handwritten letter a week to send.
-Waste: We compost now. I tried tirelessly all summer to grow lots of veggies that I could preserve for later in the year; I was unsuccessful. So for now, it’s recycling, shopping local when possible, and always checking for second-hand options first when making big (or even small) purchases.
-Spending: Budget check-ins daily (tracking the day’s purchases), Sunday budget check-in looking ahead to the week, and communication about the budget to Lucas.
-Stress: TAKE TIME FOR MYSELF, move my body every day. Read.
Have you ever done a challenge like this?
What was the hardest part? The most rewarding part?
Thanks for being here,
Regan
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