2979: 7 Things I've Learned By Wearing The Same Things Over And Over Again by Courtney Carver of Be More With Less

[00:00:00] It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily Episode 2979, 7 Things Ive Learned By Wearing The Same Things Over And Over Again by Courtney Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com and I'm Justin Malik. Happy Monday!

[00:00:15] This is where I read to you from some of the best blogs I can find and get permission from, covering personal development, minimalism, happiness, and productivity on this show. We cover a bunch of other topics in the Optimal Living Daily Podcast Network.

[00:00:29] You can check out the other shows if you like this one, just search for Optimal Living Daily and all of them should pop right up. Now let's get right to our minimalist Monday post and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:45] 7 Things Ive Learned By Wearing The Same Things Over And Over Again by Courtney Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com On my first book tour I spoke in 13 different cities. With the exception of one city, I wore the same outfit to every single event.

[00:01:01] I wore black leggings, a lightweight gray sweater, and black boots. I even wore this outfit during other outings on my trip. I wore the same things over and over again. Because I am a proud member of the Outfit Repeaters Club, I can think about things

[00:01:16] that matter more to me than what I'm wearing or what other people may think about what I'm wearing. Even though I can make many different combinations of outfits with a tiny wardrobe, I usually gravitate towards wearing my favorite things.

[00:01:29] I can probably do the same thing even if you have lots of different choices. In 2010, my first round of minimalist fashion challenge Project 333 changed the way I thought about my clothes, my stuff, and my spending habits.

[00:01:43] The challenge invited me to embrace the joy and ease of dressing with less and it continues to teach me things. 7 Things Ive Learned By Wearing The Same Things Over And Over Again 1.

[00:01:56] I Need Way Less Than I Think To Be Happy The more I had, the more I wanted seemed like my clothes needed more clothes. That sweater would go great with those jeans I have, I would think. Or a new scarf or belt would really pull this look together.

[00:02:14] My constant quest for more resulted in frustration, overspending, and discontent. In contrast, choosing from a small selection of clothes made me feel light and I almost immediately felt gratitude for what I had instead of thinking about the next thing I needed.

[00:02:30] When I applied this to the rest of my life, I finally realized I had enough and that I was enough. 2. No One Cares What I'm Wearing Between in-office sales meetings, client lunches, and community events, I was out and about most of the time with many

[00:02:46] of the same people. No one noticed I was wearing the same thing over and over again. My colleagues didn't notice, my clients didn't notice, actually received more compliments. I even wore the same dress to every holiday function and event that year.

[00:03:00] Now when I'm making decisions about how I want to live my life or do my work, I can do what's best for me regardless of opinions that might not be supportive. I've also realized that other people's thoughts about me aren't really about me, they are about them. 3.

[00:03:17] Finding what to wear requires mental energy better spent on other things. Have you ever experienced decision fatigue? I used to spend so much brain power buying things, chasing sales and figuring out what to wear.

[00:03:30] I remember trying on several outfits, getting ready in the morning in hopes of finding the perfect thing. Now in curating a small capsule wardrobe, there are no daily decisions required. I get to wear my favorite things every day.

[00:03:43] I streamline other decisions too, so when it comes to being creative and making the big choices, I have energy and clarity. 4. Spending less energy being creative in my wardrobe has freed up more creative energy for things I am more interested in.

[00:04:00] Instead of planning outfits, shopping for colorful scarves to complete a look or figuring out what to wear every morning, I use my creative energy for actually creating. Spending less of that energy on my wardrobe means I have more of it for

[00:04:14] writing, photography, brainstorming and other things that I care about. When you turn off the creativity faucet in one area of your life, it flows in other ways. 5. A simple closet is the gateway to a simple life.

[00:04:30] Once you begin to enjoy the benefits of dressing with less, you may get very curious about living with less. Simplicity in the closet seeps into every other area of your home and life.

[00:04:41] Once I realized how little I needed in the closet not only to get by but to thrive, I wondered what else was holding me back from even more joy and ease. Did I really need all of those spatulas and wire whisks?

[00:04:54] Was anything in the junk drawer worth holding onto? Did I even need a junk drawer? 6. My wardrobe is the least interesting thing about me. I used to try to prove who I was by what I wore.

[00:05:08] I had long conversations about the brands I wore, what I got on sale and what I was looking forward to buying. All of that got in the way of me being me and connecting with other people on a deeper level.

[00:05:19] We have more interesting things to talk about than what's on sale where we got our shoes or what looks flattering, another word meaning what makes us look smaller than we are. There are better ways to connect, compliment and feel confident than focusing on what's on the outside. 7.

[00:05:36] The challenge was never about clothes or fashion. I realized that all those times I thought I love shopping or I love clothes, I didn't really know what I loved. Removing all the more more more from my closet helped me figure out what mattered to me, what

[00:05:52] I was curious about and how I wanted to live my life. I'm so glad I decided to trade the excess in my closet for more joy and ease in my life. A tiny wardrobe has taught me so much more about life than clothes.

[00:06:10] You just listened to the post titled 7 Things I've Learned by Wearing the Same Things Over and Over Again by Corny Carver of Be More With Less.com. And thank you to Corny, so true. To her point, the fashion world can obviously become very superficial and can

[00:06:26] keep conversations superficial even. I can't argue with that. But at the same time, I'm not going to judge if you have a big wardrobe or shoe collection or something. I relate it to having a passion for, I don't know, sports.

[00:06:41] You might invest a lot of time watching sports, talking about sports, listening to podcasts about sports, maybe even buying sports merchandise and memorabilia. That's your choice and it could add a ton of value to your life in the form of community and entertainment.

[00:06:55] And the fact is you could say that about clothing too. Some people watch a lot of TV and movies about clothing, talk about clothing, listen to podcasts about clothing, maybe, I don't know, buying clothing. That could be a form of community and entertainment too, right?

[00:07:10] I think that's fair. What Corny is providing though is another more rare view and suggesting if you don't get that high quality value from clothing but you still find yourself shopping maybe out of boredom or because you think you have to to impress other people or whatever.

[00:07:26] Well then maybe this will hit home for you and you could try something like Project 333. That's wearing only 33 items for three months. It might be the perfect experiment for you or maybe it's not but you can apply

[00:07:38] this idea to a different area of your life that isn't adding value. She mentioned junk drawers and other things so it's really up to you to decide. You'll know best what's adding value to your life truly.

[00:07:51] So that's my take, a good one to think about especially with Black Friday coming up this week. Thank you for being here listening every day including the holidays and I'll see you tomorrow. Where your optimal life awaits.