I wore the same shirt every day for 3 years.

Matt D'Avella

15 Oct 202010:46

Summary

TLDRThe speaker shares his minimalist wardrobe journey, explaining how simplifying his clothing choices has freed up time and reduced decision fatigue. He started by decluttering his closet, keeping only his favorite items, and eventually buying multiples of his favorite shirts to wear daily. This approach not only streamlined his mornings but also taught him that most people don't notice or care about the clothes one wears. The video, sponsored by Squarespace, encourages viewers to embrace simplicity in their lives and offers a seamless transition to discuss the benefits of using Squarespace for building websites.

Takeaways

👕 The speaker has simplified their wardrobe by wearing the same shirt almost every day for the past three years, with exceptions for special occasions.
🎉 They humorously express disappointment at not being invited to quinceaneras, using it as a metaphor for the rarity of needing special attire.
🛍️ The decision to wear the same shirt daily is rooted in practicality and a desire to reduce waste, rather than fashion sense.
🏠 The speaker's journey towards a minimalist lifestyle began in 2010 with decluttering their closet, questioning the purpose of keeping unused items.
🚮 They chose to donate and sell over 90% of their clothes, keeping only their favorite items that they wore regularly.
👚 The speaker committed to only buying new clothes when absolutely certain they would use them, to further reduce waste and shopping time.
🔄 After realizing they always chose the same favorite shirt, they decided to buy multiples of it to simplify their daily dressing routine.
📦 The speaker purchased 10 charcoal and 10 gray shirts from J.Crew, establishing a uniform look for their daily attire.
😟 The discontinuation of the favorite charcoal color shirt is a source of disappointment and uncertainty for the speaker's future wardrobe.
🕶️ People generally do not notice or care about what others wear, unless it's inappropriate, supporting the idea of a simple wardrobe.
🛌 The major benefit of a simplified wardrobe is the reduction of decision fatigue and the time saved in the morning for more important tasks.
🏡 The speaker's wife serves as a contrast, spending significant time deciding on outfits, highlighting the personal nature of clothing choices.
🧘‍♂️ Embracing a simple wardrobe can lead to increased mental clarity and focus on more meaningful decisions and activities.
🛋️ The speaker suggests that simplifying daily decisions, like clothing, can create a compound effect that positively impacts other areas of life.
🌈 The video ends with a promotion for Squarespace, a platform the speaker uses and recommends for creating professional websites.

Q & A

Why does the speaker wear the same shirt nearly every day?
-The speaker wears the same shirt nearly every day as a part of a simple living experiment that began in 2010. It's not due to a lack of fashion sense but a practical approach to decluttering and reducing decision fatigue.
What was the first step the speaker took in decluttering their life?
-The first step the speaker took in decluttering their life was going through their closet, deciding what to keep and what to discard, focusing on items they hadn't worn in the past year.
How did the speaker's approach to buying new clothes change after decluttering their closet?
-After decluttering, the speaker committed to only buying new clothes if they were absolutely certain they would use them, aiming to reduce waste and the time spent shopping.
What did the speaker do when they realized they always chose the same favorite shirt?
-The speaker decided to buy multiples of their favorite shirts, specifically 10 charcoal and 10 gray shirts, to simplify their morning routine and further reduce decision-making.
What brand of shirts does the speaker typically wear, and what happened to the specific color they are known for?
-The speaker typically wears shirts from J.Crew. However, the specific charcoal color they are known for has been discontinued and is no longer available.
What is one psychological concept the speaker refers to regarding decision-making?
-The speaker refers to 'decision fatigue,' which is the deteriorating quality of decision-making after a lot of decisions are made consecutively.
How does simplifying the wardrobe benefit the speaker's morning routine?
-Simplifying the wardrobe has freed up the speaker's mornings, giving them one less thing to think about and reducing the time spent deciding what to wear.
What advice does the speaker give for those interested in simplifying their wardrobe?
-The speaker advises looking into one's closet and assessing what hasn't been used over the past year, considering what can be donated and what items provide value.
What is the main benefit the speaker found from embracing a simple wardrobe?
-The main benefit the speaker found was the reduction of decision fatigue and the freeing up of time in the morning, allowing them to focus on more important aspects of life.
How does the speaker suggest using the time saved from simplifying decisions in daily life?
-The speaker suggests using the saved time to focus on things that really matter, such as side projects, passions, hobbies, or even building a new website.
What is the role of Squarespace in the speaker's narrative, and why did they choose to partner with them?
-Squarespace is the sponsor of the video. The speaker chose to partner with them because they have found value in the platform for creating a simple and professional website and appreciate its ease of use for various online projects.

Outlines

00:00

👕 The Simplicity of a Minimalist Wardrobe

The speaker shares how they have worn the same shirt almost every day for the past three years, with exceptions for special occasions. This choice reflects a minimalist lifestyle focused on reducing unnecessary decisions. Humor is used to address the lack of quinceañera invitations and the practical reason behind the wardrobe choice, which isn't solely due to a poor sense of fashion. A brief mention of the video’s sponsor, Squarespace, hints at the topic's relevance to the overall theme.

05:02

🧹 Decluttering the Closet

The speaker reflects on their journey toward minimalism, which began in 2010. By decluttering their closet, they discovered numerous unworn or unnecessary items, leading them to question their attachment to things they never used. Ultimately, they eliminated 90% of their clothes, keeping only their favorite, regularly worn items. This process taught them the importance of buying only what is truly needed, thereby reducing waste and time spent on shopping.

10:02

👔 The Decision to Simplify

The speaker explains how they embraced a simplified wardrobe by buying 10 of their favorite shirts in two colors. This decision stemmed from consistently choosing the same shirt from their dresser. They reveal that the most common question from viewers relates to where they buy their shirts. The answer: J.Crew, though the charcoal color they favor has been discontinued. The speaker humorously laments this loss, emphasizing the emotional attachment to their wardrobe staple.

🧠 The Benefits of Simplified Choices

Simplifying their wardrobe has freed up the speaker’s mornings and reduced decision fatigue, a concept in psychology where making too many decisions leads to poorer quality choices. The speaker contrasts their minimalist approach with their wife’s elaborate morning routine, highlighting the time saved by not having to choose different outfits daily. By streamlining decisions, they reserve mental energy for more important tasks, underscoring the value of consistency in routine.

🎯 The Power of Routine and Focus

The speaker emphasizes the importance of making key decisions once and sticking to them, which allows for greater focus on meaningful aspects of life. They use examples like consistent wake-up times and breakfast routines to illustrate how reducing daily choices can minimize mental strain. They humorously mention the stress of decision-making at IKEA, but the main takeaway is that simplifying routine decisions can free up mental space for creativity and other important life pursuits.

📈 The Value of Simplicity in Everyday Life

The speaker discusses how simplifying decisions, like wardrobe choices, can have a compound effect on overall mental clarity. By batching small decisions, more energy is available for significant ones. They suggest embracing consistency in areas that matter less to prioritize areas that matter more. The speaker’s partnership with Squarespace is mentioned as a seamless transition, tying simplicity in life to ease of use in website creation.

👗 Confidence in Simplicity

The speaker expresses satisfaction with their minimalist wardrobe, noting that wearing something comfortable and familiar boosts confidence. Although their favorite shirt has been discontinued, the speaker feels content knowing they made thoughtful choices. They encourage viewers to evaluate their own wardrobes and eliminate what isn’t being used, potentially finding fulfillment in a simpler, more purposeful selection of clothing.

🔄 Encouragement for Simplifying

The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to assess their own closets and consider adopting a simpler wardrobe. By questioning what they truly use, viewers can reduce clutter and donate unused items to those who might value them more. The video ends with gratitude for the audience’s time, reinforcing the message that comfort and confidence should guide personal choices in clothing and beyond.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Simple Wardrobe

A simple wardrobe refers to a minimalistic approach to clothing, where an individual owns a limited number of versatile and favorite pieces. In the video, the creator discusses his practice of wearing the same type of shirt nearly every day, which exemplifies a simple wardrobe. This concept is central to the video's theme of decluttering and simplifying one's life.

💡Decluttering

Decluttering is the process of removing unnecessary items or possessions from one's living space to create a more organized and less chaotic environment. The video's creator began his journey of simple living by decluttering his closet, which led to a significant reduction in the number of clothes he owned and ultimately to a simple wardrobe.

💡Minimalism

Minimalism is a lifestyle characterized by the intentional promotion of the most essential elements of life and the reduction of unnecessary items. The video's narrative is deeply rooted in minimalism, as the creator discusses his shift from a cluttered closet to a minimalist wardrobe and the benefits of this lifestyle change.

💡Quinceanera

A quinceanera is a traditional Latin American celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, marking her transition from childhood to young womanhood. In the script, the creator humorously mentions quinceaneras as occasions that would prompt him to deviate from his simple wardrobe, highlighting his commitment to his routine despite social events.

💡J. Crew

J. Crew is a popular American retail company known for its clothing and accessories. The video's creator mentions J. Crew as the source of his favorite shirts, emphasizing the brand's significance in his simple wardrobe strategy. However, he also mentions that the specific charcoal color of his favorite shirt has been discontinued, adding a layer of personal narrative to the concept of minimalism.

💡Decision Fatigue

Decision fatigue is a psychological phenomenon where the quality of decisions deteriorates as a result of making too many choices in a row. The video discusses how simplifying one's wardrobe can reduce decision fatigue by eliminating the need to decide what to wear each day, allowing for mental energy to be conserved for more important decisions.

💡Self-Development

Self-development refers to the process of improving one's knowledge, skills, and abilities to enhance personal growth. The video's creator has made YouTube videos on various self-development topics, and the concept of a simple wardrobe is presented as a strategy for self-improvement by reducing distractions and focusing on what truly matters.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of an individual's performance in terms of output or effectiveness in achieving goals. The video suggests that simplifying one's wardrobe can increase productivity by saving time that would otherwise be spent on deciding what to wear, allowing for more time to be dedicated to work or other meaningful activities.

💡Habits

Habits are regular patterns of behavior that are acquired through frequent repetition. The video discusses the habit of wearing the same shirt every day as a way to simplify life and reduce the cognitive load of daily decisions, which can be a powerful habit for enhancing focus and consistency.

💡Squarespace

Squarespace is a website building platform that allows individuals to create and manage their own websites. In the video, Squarespace is mentioned as the sponsor, and the creator discusses his positive experience with the platform, using it as an example of how simplifying one's approach to tasks, such as building a website, can be beneficial.

💡Confidence

Confidence is a feeling of self-assurance and belief in one's abilities or qualities. The video's creator expresses that wearing the same shirt every day has given him confidence, as he no longer questions whether he looks good or not, which is a key aspect of the psychological benefits of having a simple wardrobe.

Highlights

The speaker has simplified their wardrobe by wearing the same shirt every day for the past three years, with exceptions for special occasions.

The decision to wear the same shirt daily is not due to a lack of fashion sense but rather a practical approach to simplifying life.

The video is sponsored by Squarespace, which will be discussed later in the video.

The speaker's journey to a minimalist lifestyle began in 2010 with decluttering their closet.

The process involved going through each item of clothing to determine what to keep and what to discard.

The speaker questioned the purpose of holding onto clothes they never wore and decided to donate or sell items they hadn't worn in a year.

After decluttering, the speaker was left with only their favorite t-shirts and jeans, committing to buy new clothes only when absolutely necessary.

The speaker realized they always chose the same favorite shirt when getting dressed and decided to buy multiples of it.

The speaker purchased 10 charcoal and 10 gray shirts from J. Crew, their go-to brand for these shirts.

The charcoal color shirt, which has become the speaker's signature, has been discontinued, causing disappointment.

The speaker discovered that people rarely notice if you wear the same clothes multiple days in a row unless there's an odor issue.

Wearing the same shirt daily has led to a reduction in decision fatigue and freed up time in the morning.

The speaker's wife spends a significant amount of time deciding on outfits, which the speaker finds unnecessary for their own lifestyle.

Decision fatigue is a psychological concept where the quality of decision-making deteriorates after a series of decisions.

The speaker suggests reducing daily decisions to focus on more important life choices and passions.

The speaker recommends Squarespace for creating a professional website, whether for personal branding or other projects.

The speaker's personal website is simple, mainly consisting of an email signup form and an about page.

The speaker encourages viewers to consider simplifying their wardrobe by questioning the necessity of each item in their closet.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of wearing what makes them feel comfortable and confident, regardless of others' opinions.