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Last year I challenged myself to get rid of 40 bags of stuff in 40 days for Lent. It went well and I loved the idea of passing along items I no longer needed.
I’m late on this post but I decided to tweak the challenge this year. Because I’ve gotten rid of so much 40 bags seems easy now. I thought about what would make more of an impact on my Lenten journey this year and decided to focus on 40 items with some guidelines:
- Items must be mine and not the kids. I’m still donating and selling their stuff but I wanted my Lent Challenge to focus on minimizing my own things.
- Items must have value to me. A lot of what I donated last year was stuff that I didn’t even want. This year I’m focusing on things I love but are not being used. I’m making a concerted choice to let them go so they can bless someone else.
- When possible, give to a specific individual. This one has been hard. It’s SO easy to just donate bags of stuff to the Salvation Army. I’m working on mindfullness and passing items onto people who I think will love and find joy in them.
- Items must be joyfully given with no expectations. I decided that any items given as part of my Lent Challenge must be given with no strings. They cannot be sold, traded for something else, shipping reimbursed if mailed etc. They must truly be free to the recipient with no expectation of reciprocation. They should be a gift.
So far I am around 20 items into my challenge. I’m finding it to be a wonderful exercise in minimalism and sparking joy. By giving away items that are taking up physical space I have found they are often also occupying emotional space as well. It’s been very freeing to let go of what I wish had been or could be and focus on bringing joy to others now. My heart feels much lighter each time I pass on an item and see the happiness it brings to another. I’m really glad I chose this direction this year for my challenge.
What are you doing for Lent? Let me know in the comments!
