I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I was a wasteful human being. Like abnormally wasteful. You know how your parents would say things like “what about all the starving children in Africa?” in an attempt to get you to eat your vegetables? Well, that line was invented for people like me. People who get bored after eating leftovers for more than 1 day and try out new fad diets only to end up turning every day into a cheat day. Yea, I’m that girl and I never had any qualms about it … until I started decluttering my life.

The first room I decluttered was my kitchen.

Here are a some things that happened after cleaning out the kitchen:

I finally got the freezer open.

This was like an act of GOD. Imagine trying to open your freezer with your hands, your boyfriend's hands, and the back side of a hammer and having no luck. Then imagine having to find ways to add heat to the perimeter in hopes of melting it open and still no luck. That was my freezer. After I finally got it open, I found several packages of freezer burnt meat and frozen vegetables, along with breakfast smoothies, that I knew I didn’t want right after I made them. All of those things were thrown away.

I found a lot of duplicates that I didn’t need.

For example, I had 4 potato peelers. Who needs that many peelers??? Even now that I’ve had time to reflect on this, I still don’t know why I had so many peelers.

I found a place for everything and it is all within reach.

A lot of the items in my cabinets were out of reach and as a result, weren’t used very often. I also had a lot of appliances on the counter tops because I didn’t have any room for them. That often gave me slight anxiety every time I looked at them. Now my kitchen is cleaner and I can cook/prep meals more efficiently.

I realized that I was kidding myself.

What do you keep in your home because you think you should be a homemaker or entertainer or good cook? Do you actually enjoy any of those things? Are you good at any of these things? I have always enjoyed the idea of being an entertainer/hostess, so I picked up an 18 piece glass set, monogrammed wine glasses, red wine glasses, white wine glasses and a host of other things. The only problem is that I don’t host things, like parties, baby showers or even movie nights. I never once used the monogrammed glasses and broke most of the wine glasses because I’m a klutz. Something I knew well before I bought those glasses…

Today’s lesson: Be aware of your why.

As I continue to grow in my minimalist journey, I find that understanding my WHY is pivotal. Your why is a statement or set of goals that you’ve created for your life. Once you understand your WHY it will become the basis for how you make daily decisions.

Your WHY should be:

Broad – something that has longevity and is not fleeting. When you look up 20 to 30 years from now will it still be of interest to you?

Bold – it should challenge you to better yourself over time.

Believable – it should speak to your core values and you should believe in it with all your heart.

The following goals make up my WHY:

1. Live a healthier more active lifestyle
2. Continually learn and educate myself
3. Have a fulfilling and satisfying career
4. Continually develop my spirituality
5. Build wealth by owning a home and several rental property
6. Start a family
7. Travel the world
8. Develop and maintain meaningful relationships

This is the basis for the goals I set year over year. In relation to life goal number 1, I am currently working on weight-loss. So this year’s goals are to lose 25 pounds and start walking a mile a day.

This assists me in the creation of goals and helps me stick to changes to my habits. Now, when I have pesky cravings for fast food, I overcome them by remembering my WHY and eat at home. When I feel like avoiding my workout and lounging around, I remember my WHY and get active. And when I don’t feel like cooking and would rather have food delivered, I remember my WHY and get cooking.

What’s your WHY?

Take some time today to write it out. Remember, it can be comprised of several goals and the list doesn’t have to be long.