Why I'm Wearing The Same Thing Every Day In May

My Life Is Too Complicated, So I'm Simplifying In Quite A Radical Way.

Some of my happiest memories are from my year in India. I owned 7 outfits - 5 traditional salwar kameez - plus 2 sari's to wear for special occasions. They all fit in my backpack. I long for that simplicity in my life right now as a busy mother and entrepreneur.

I read this article about how Art Director Matilda Kahl wears the same silk blouse and black trousers to work every day for more than 3 years! Well, not exactly the same, she has 15 identical silk blouses - and it really got me thinking, and googling.

It turns out some people think you have to be a powerful man to be able to pull off wearing the same thing every day - think Obama, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.

As Soon As I Read That I Was Up For The Challenge!

Research shows that people become mentally exhausted from making so many tiny and irrelevant decisions, and they don't have the endurance or energy for the bigger, more important decisions in life. This is called decision fatigue.

I'm not pretending I have to make daily decisions that affect the future of the Western world - like Obama, but I can relate to Mark Zuckerberg when he says:

“I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community.”

Right now I'm wasting my energy on trivial decisions - like if I can wear this bra under that top, or if my dress needs ironing, or if my shoes match. This means that later in the day I'm more likely to be worn down by my children and give in to more treats or more TV. Decision fatigue also makes it harder for me to stay creative in building my interactive online programs for new mums.

Simplifying My Wardrobe Might Make It Easier For Me To Be The Mum I Want To Be.

It Also Might Help Me Better Serve My Community Of Newborn Mothers.

Just to be clear - I LOVE fashion, fashion is not the problem. It's just that when my daughter has spilled milk all over her school uniform and my son is nude and we are late for school and still haven't found the library book that needs returning... the last thing I want to worry about is what to wear.

I'm also curious if there might be benefits in wearing the same thing every day for new mums, especially in the first forty days after childbirth. I suspect I would have LOVED this when my babies were born.