I go through this every now and then. It's appealing to me to pare down my wardrobe minimalist style, a kind of superfluous challenge to live within self-made boundaries, and makes sense on some levels (and doesn't on others): my clothes are a mix of Goodwill, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. I'd say I wear the same 20% of the clothes I own 80% of the time. I like some variety depending on my mood, though, and am not in any kind of crazy executive position and have to wear black turtlenecks every day because it's one less decision to make. We also have a decent amount of space.
Soo...for the time being, and as a trial, I am focusing on quality over quantity. I went out a limb and bought three pairs of Darn Tough merino wool socks (@ $18/pair, made in VT, lifetime guarantee, odor-resistant, fast drying) from Campmor and am donating all my old K-mart cotton crew socks and nylon dress socks to Goodwill. I am also donating about half of the rest of the clothes I wear 20% of the time (as a result, I am 'donating' half my allotted closet space that will be freed up to my wife). I suppose I could also put them in a giant tupperware bin temporarily in the garage, in case the experiment fails and I want to go back to my old wardrobe). I'd like to pare down to 3 tee shirts, one pair of jeans, one pair of work pants, three pairs of dress pants, 5 dress shirts, one long sleeve shirt, two sweaters, a couple v-necks, one pair of shorts, one pair of workout clothes. Just because.
I don't consider Lent a superfluous challenge, though, or a typical self-improvement regimen. What could be more serious or important than growing in love and service to the Lord? What could be more worthy of our attention? I love the season, because it gives an objective opportunity to prune out what distracts, 'work out' spiritually, and focus on what is important. Sometimes that means getting rid of some things, having a bit more structure and confines than what we are used to, for the sake of something greater and deeper, and rousing ourselves from spiritual complacency. It's not like we are called to undertake anything too burdensome (occasional times of fasting and abstinence, increased prayer) or for too long (a month and a half). It's totally doable, but pushes us to think and act differently.
My Lenten routine is pretty basic and very minimalist:
- Wake up at 5:30am.
- Go to side room/prayer station.
- Light candle.
- Find daily mass readings for the day (1 Old Testament reading, 1 Gospel reading) and spend a few moments reading the Word.
- Then maybe a few paragraphs from some spiritual reading (currently it is "Uniformity to God's Will, a thin treatise by St. Alphonsus Liguori).
- Then I set my timer for ten minutes and offer prayers for the particular person I am praying for that day.
On Friday we abstain from meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday we fast. Try to make it to Confession once a week.
Every day I write.
I'm afraid if I undertake too much, I will set myself up for disappointment. So I keep it minimal and go above if inspiration strikes. But the daily structure helps set the season apart from "Ordinary Time" (as it's called in the Liturgical Calendar).
So there you have it, a day in the Lenten life! Lent is an opportunity to simplify and refocus our spiritual lives (more prayer, less sin), and the clothes experiment is just something fun to do to maybe simplify my everyday life in some small way (more deliberateness, less clutter). After all, all John the Baptist owned was the hair-shirt on his back, and the sandals on his feet. And he had a great life eating locusts and wild honey in the middle of nowhere and ushering in the Kingdom of God before he was jailed and had his head cut off and served to the King on a platter.
Plus I'll do anything to cut down on laundry. Let the pruning commence!
"Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!"
(Mark 1:3)
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