First, Zach Carlsen of Stillwater piled up every item of clothing he owned. Then he donated the mound of clothes that was 3½ feet high by 3 feet wide.
It was the start of Carlsen's "Uniform Project," where he ditched all his clothes — including his late uncle's hat and the shoes he bought in Paris — in exchange for one simple outfit that he plans to wear every day for 365 days.
Now, three months into the experiment, he thinks he may continue a version of it past his original deadline.
"At the core of it was something really practical," said Carlsen, a 36-year-old life coach. "But it has actually rippled out into my life in ways I could not have predicted. It's been amazing and powerful."
Even though many of the clothing items were like "small journal entries," he said, he felt like they were anchoring him to parts of his past. Plus, deciding what to wear each morning was just one more choice that he said contributed to a kind of decision fatigue, draining energy from the big ideas and goals he wants to pursue.
To be clear: Carlsen isn't wearing the same exact clothes every day, just the same outfit. His wardrobe consists of five pairs of gray pants, nine black T-shirts, four navy sweaters, 12 pairs of socks and 12 boxers. The only leeway he has left in his uniform is the choice of two belt buckles and four different pairs of shoes.
For Carlsen's girlfriend, Charity Barlass, the uniform project didn't come as a surprise. She's used to Carlsen's big ideas, including his recent book about an optimistic pancake with attention-deficit disorder. Yes, a pancake.
And the uniform?
