A few weeks ago I started wearing uniform again. In effect I’ve re-adopted primary school style uniform as my default clothing. Polo shirts and shorts.
This is a post to explain some of the reasons why and some of the ways it’s helped.
I’ve always found clothing hard. Until recently I essentially lived in two pairs of 3/4 length trousers and a dozen or so T-shirt’s. Everything else didn’t fit or had a bad texture.
It worked. But wasn’t a great solution. It was very brittle.
Additionally I needed lots of help with laundry as what I wore was tightly coupled to when I’d managed to do laundry.
I had a system of pre-selecting clothing two weeks at a time to try and manage the laundry process and my need for structure.
This system wasn’t working very well as my support has been more patchy. Missing a laundry weekend would upset my system for a month or longer. I needed something better.
I re-discovered uniform by accident. I tried on a friends scouts uniform probably a year ago. It was super comfy and I loved the shorts. At the time I didn’t think that much off it.
However about a month ago I was frustrated at clothing and I decided to get over my worry about it and just get myself some shorts from a school wear shop.
It was an experiment. If they felt good maybe they could be a backup option for when my main shorts where being washed.
Within a day of trying them they had become my favourite shorts. They fit and texture was perfect. I could easily put them on and off when I had numb hands.
About a week after trying the shorts I found myself wearing them all the time. They had become my default shorts.
I’d also tried a polo shirt and liked it. I found the M&S polo shirts to be a great fit and a great texture.
Together they had become my favourite outfit. I was more comfortable and with it more confident. I was worried people would see it was school uniform and react in weird ways. But so far no one has noticed or cared.
I then started wondering if a full time uniform would make sense.
The main benefit is simplicity. By adopting the uniform as my default clothing each day I’ve established a super consistent and comfortable baseline.
I wear the uniform anytime I don’t have a reason to wear something else. It’s super reassuring and predictable.
As I’m using school wear it’s cheap and easy to replace if I damage it. It’s also easy to clean and look after. I can always have 2 clean sets in the wardrobe. If I am traveling and need to get some I can find it on every high street and most super markets.
I’ve stopped worrying about getting muddy or wet. The uniform frees up my other clothing for bike rides. When I get home I know I’ll have amble uniform ready to change into.
The final surprise was the number of spoons it saves.
Give or take its saving me between half a spoon and a spoon per day. Over the course of a month that’s between one and two days worth of extra energy. Energy I can spend on my work or hobbies.
I didn’t expect to be adopting a uniform but now I have i am amazed. I wouldn’t want to go back to my old clothing system.
For the first time ever I am confident and happy with my clothing. A remarkable outcome for such a small change.
