When You Let Go of the Plan, You Discover What Matters
- Mary McCorvey
- Dec 17, 2025
- 3 min read
Originally published on Mary McCorvey's Substack.
Dear Friends,
I want to share something with you today that feels deeply aligned with the work I do, and more importantly, with the season we’re in.
My friend Rita Wilkins, who is America’s Downsizing Designer, just released something that’s been on my mind all week: a Holiday Minimalist Bundle. Four ebooks, bundled together for $35 (originally $60), designed to help you navigate this season, and the next one, with more clarity and intention.
Now, I know what you might be thinking: another bundle, another thing to buy.
But hear me out. This isn’t about consumption. It’s about the opposite.
The Core Belief
Rita and I share something fundamental: the belief that our lives get better when we stop trying to force them into someone else’s mold.
In my work, I talk about this constantly. I spent years, decades, really, living according to someone else’s plan. The plan of my parents, my culture, my conditioning. And let me tell you: it was exhausting. It kept me from hearing what I actually needed.
The turning point came when I finally asked myself: What if I let go? What if I stopped trying to perform someone else’s life and started listening to my own?
That question changed everything.
Rita’s work is about the same principle, applied to the physical world.
She helps people let go of the stuff they don’t need, not out of shame, but out of clarity. Not because the stuff is “too much,” but because accumulation, whether it’s in our closets, our calendars, or our minds, clouds the signal. It makes it harder to hear ourselves.
What I Love About Rita’s Work
Over the years, I’ve watched Rita help people transform their spaces and, in the process, transform their lives. Here’s what makes her different:
She doesn’t shame you for having too much. She doesn’t push minimalism as a virtue or status symbol. She doesn’t pretend that simplifying is easy.
Instead, she offers something grounded and generous: a framework for getting clear about what actually serves you. And then, a permission slip to let the rest go.
This time of year especially, that permission slip matters.
Rita’s bundle isn’t about adding anything to that equation. It’s about subtraction. It’s about creating space, in your home, your schedule, your heart, so that what you actually need has room to breathe.
What’s Inside the Bundle
Her Holiday Minimalist Bundle includes four ebooks:
Downsize Your Life, Upgrade Your Lifestyle A guide to letting go of what no longer serves you and making room for what does.
A Journey to Less: A Life Designed for More A framework for understanding why we accumulate and how to change that pattern.
The Letting Go Workbook Practical exercises and journal prompts to help you get clear about what to keep and what to release.
Rita’s Minimalist Essentials Quick-start guides for simplifying specific areas (your closet, your kitchen, your digital life).
Each one is designed to be approachable, non-judgmental, and genuinely helpful.
Limited Time, Limited Offer
This bundle is only available through the end of the year. It’s Rita’s holiday gift to the people who need this work most. At $35 for all four, it’s a major discount from the original $60 value.
If you’re sitting with any of these questions right now:
How do I simplify this season?
What would it feel like to have less, but live more intentionally?
How do I let go of expectations that don’t serve me?
What does clarity actually feel like?
Rita’s bundle might be exactly what you need.
A Personal Note
I want to be transparent: I’m promoting this because I believe in Rita and her work. Not because I’m getting paid, but because I genuinely think what she offers is valuable. And because I know many of you are carrying weight that this could help you set down.
If you know someone in your life who’s been talking about decluttering, simplifying, or just feeling overwhelmed by the season, share this with them. It’s a gift that keeps giving long after the holidays end.
You can grab the bundle here: 👉 https://www.designservicesltd.com/the-holiday-minimalist-bundle/
As always, I’m grateful for you, for reading, for being here, for the conversations we have about what it means to live on your own terms.
Here’s to letting go of what doesn’t serve us, and making space for what does.
With love and clarity,
Mary
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