At the beginning of the year, I issued a friendly challenge to shop your own closet and join me in what I call the “gas and groceries diet” for the month of January. In a private Facebook group I created, I began sharing tips on how to get more wear out of clothes you already own and thin out the items that don't serve you.

The women who joined the group are having such great success (yay!), so I decided to expand on it and offer more suggestions on how to “dress without stress.” Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite strategies for stress-free fashion: planning your outfit at night! It's such a simple concept requiring very little effort, but it has a tremendous impact. Picking out your outfit at night is so much easier and less stressful than doing it in the morning when you're trying to rush out the door. I find it to be very similar to a to-do list in that it helps things run a little more smoothly and makes me feel better prepared.

Read on for my tips to save time (and sanity!) by choosing your outfit at night. And if you're interested in joining the "shop your closet" challenge group, we'd love to have you! There's still plenty of room, and we continue to share stress-free dressing and fashion tips like these.

1 Save Time in the Morning.jpg — There are some obvious benefits to having more time in the morning: you can enjoy your coffee or tea more peacefully and generally take your time without feeling pressure to rush around. Beyond that, **evidence shows** that starting your morning a bit more intentionally boosts productivity and sharpens focus.

2 Reduce morning stress.jpg — Along the same lines, slower mornings directly correlate to reduced stress levels. Even making minor decisions — i.e., what to wear — adds an element of stress, even if we don't necessarily realize it. Something as simple as picking out your outfit the night before goes a long way in eliminating this!

3 Sleep In.jpg — This one doesn't need any explanation. If you have even just a few spare minutes in the morning, it means more sleep!

4 Make Informed Decisions.jpg — By giving yourself more time to plan your outfit, you have the ability to think more about the next day. For example, you can check the weather or consider whether you want to go straight from work to somewhere else.

5 Spot Defects.jpg — We've all been there: you're halfway through your workday and realize there's a noticeable stain on your shirt. How long has *that* been there? Avoid this scenario (or other equally mortifying situations, like a missing button) when you take the time to check your outfit over the night before

6 Creativity highest at night.jpg — Do you ever feel like you have bursts of creative flows in the evening? There may be a scientific reason for that! Melatonin, which is directly linked to “more flexible thinking” (i.e., creativity), is **naturally higher at night**. The mind shifts from primarily black-and-white thinking, focusing on the day's responsibilities, to more creative thought processes. So not only are you more likely to want to plan your outfits in the evening, you're also more likely to make more colorful, bolder choices.

7 Switch up your look.jpg — By taking the time at night you have more of a chance to change around your looks because you utilize everything we would learn in the shop your closet challenge and pick things that you normally don't pull out.

8 Feel more confident copy.jpg — Putting more effort in always results in a confidence boost — and who among us couldn't use more of that?!

9 Look more put together.jpg — If you have plenty of time to put your outfit together in the evening, chances are good that you'll also think about accessorizing. This little luxury is easy to completely overlook when you're rushing around in the morning, but it goes a long way in tying your outfit together and making it feel more complete.

10 More Time for Prep Work.jpg — I don't know about you, but some of my favorite clothing items require ironing or steaming. It drives me crazy! However, if I think ahead at night about what I plan to wear the following day, I have sufficient time to get that steaming or ironing done. Along those same lines, planning your outfit at night gives you time to sew that button back onto your favorite blouse or quickly fix the hem on your go-to pants.

Remember, fashion should be fun! Implementing some of these tips can get you some of your time and energy back, help you have calmer mornings, and may even result in bolder, more fashionable outfits. Connect with me on Facebook or Instagram @therealchachaolivia and let me know which of these tips works for you, and be sure to check out the Facebook challenge group as well!

Happy styling, friends!