By the end of the COVID pandemic, I was fatigued! Fatigued with decisions! Was it “safe” to attend an event, or “not safe?” Can I travel this week? Do I need to wear a mask? What mask looks good/feels good today? And these were just decisions in addition to the daily ones, such as what do I wear today, what is the meal prep today, who needs my attention/to be checked on, what are outside activities for this week, what are my work tasks today? I am still recovering from that year!

Have you ever felt like there are Too Many Choices?

I recently read that Decision Fatigue* is a Real Thing! The author of the article sited a few examples of how individuals are dealing with this type of stress.

I would like to address one of my first questions and talk about one small area of our lives where we can eliminate this type of fatigue as we roll out of bed in the morning. What do I wear today?

I really feel that many of us have too many clothes in our closets. During the period when many were working from home, it was easier to work in sweats and comfy clothes (aka pajamas) than it was to tap into that professional wardrobe. At the same time, we also had time for more online shopping, and while dreaming of going back to work with a fresh wardrobe, we made new additions to our closets. Thus, we added even more choices to that morning routine!

I have three suggestions for taking away a portion of that Decision Fatigue, when it comes to what to wear.

1. Pack one week’s worth of clothes in a suitcase. Include your favorite work clothes, play clothes, pajamas. Live out of this suitcase for one month. Sure, you will need to do laundry during this time period, but try not to dip into anything in your closet. This will limit the clothing options you have to choose from each day, and help you make quicker decisions regarding what to wear. It will also help you start to identify what you can live without!
   
2. Divide all the clothes in your closet into 4 groups, one group for each 3-month season.
   
   Pack into labeled tubs the three seasons you are not presently in/not wearing and only keep hanging in the closet the clothes for the current season. When you open your closet each day, you will have fewer choices for that day and no distractions from out-of-season clothing. As well, when you do open the tub for the next three months, you will feel like you have a whole new wardrobe of clothing! And, if you are missing an item from what is in your closet for the current season, it will be as accessible as a handy tub instead of buying an additional piece!

3. Finally, the most radical way, but for many out there, of eliminating decision fatigue, is to clean out that closet and donate those items that have not been worn for the last one to two years. We all have a few, hoping they will come back in style or fit better someday. Some still have the price tags on them and could be sold on consignment.

If you find this concept of eliminating decision fatigue helpful, it can also be applied to other areas of your home.

*(”Decision Fatigue Is Real. Here’s How to Beat It This Year.” By Rachel Feintzeig. 2022 Dow Jones & Company. 1/3/22)

On a personal note, we have tried this concept and it works!

We have been building a house over the last two years, so much of what we own is/has been in storage, including out of season clothing. We have found that the clothes we pull out quarterly for each season are the ones that we enjoy wearing, so there are many that we don’t pull out will be donated at the end of our building process when we actually move everything to a closet again.