Waste Not, Want Not
There’s a phrase my mom said so often it’s woven into my bones: waste not, want not.
At the time, I didn’t realize she was handing me a compass, a way to navigate a world that will constantly try to pull you off course.
America is built on more. More things, more trends, more fixes for problems you don’t actually have. Every corner you turn, on your phone, in a store, on a billboard, someone will be telling you that you need to buy something to become a better version of yourself:
A cream to “fix” your skin. A gadget to “upgrade” your home. A trend to “keep up.”
But here is the truth I want you to carry with you:
You don’t need more to be more.
If you chase every new thing the world tells you to, you will drown in clutter, in your home, in your mind, and in your heart. And worse, all of that excess becomes part of the growing piles we’re leaving on this earth. Landfills overflowing. Oceans choked with plastic. Forests cleared for packaging and products that will be tossed in a year.
Mother Nature is not just a backdrop to our lives, she is the provider of everything: Your food. Your water. The air you breathe. She nourishes us, shelters us, and gives us beauty and belonging. She deserves our respect, our gratitude, and our protection.
And so, today I wanted to share this mantra, not as a rule to follow rigidly, but as a way of living to embrace and keep at the heart of your decision-making.
Waste Not, Want Not — as a Way to Live Intentionally
Living intentionally means asking yourself why you want something before you bring it into your life. It means choosing quality over quantity, the sweater that lasts ten winters instead of shrinking after one wash. The sweater that you want to take to the Dry Cleaner to preserve if for ten years, because you love it that much. The sweater that you always hang in your closet and treasure the way the fabric makes you feel when it drapes over your beautiful canvas of a body. It means honoring the ingredients in your kitchen and the things already in your home, instead of filling your life with replacements before the old ones are done serving you.
You’ll find that when you consume with intention:
You make fewer but better choices.
You care for your things, and they care for you.
Your space becomes calmer, lighter, more you.
You experience your life with more clarity and less noise.
What I’ve come to realize after years and years of letting my mom’s wise words sink in and become embodied is this: Intentional living is not about restriction, it’s about liberation. It leaves room for joy. Room for creativity. Room for you to actually see your life and not just move through it.
Waste Not, Want Not — as a Way to Be a Better Citizen of the World
Every choice you make sends a vote out into the universe. When you choose reusable over disposable, you vote for a cleaner planet. When you repurpose leftovers instead of letting them rot, you honor the farmers, the land, and the hands that grew your food. When you think twice before buying something that will end up in the trash, you send the message that your generation is ready for better, for companies, governments, and systems that value sustainability over convenience.
I want you to know that your actions matter, even the small ones. Especially the small ones. Because millions of small choices, stitched together across millions of people, is what changes the world.
And hey, I am by no means perfect, but I am learning, I am growing, and I am continuing to try to be more embodied with this advice, because there is one thing I know for damn sure… if I want my children’s, children’s, children to have a beautiful planet to inhabit so they too can live long, happy, healthy, joyous, and prosperous lives… the world desperately needs changing.
Questions to Guide You (from Me, and from Grandma too)
In your closet or home:
“Will this add value to my life for the next year? Five years? Ten?”
Choose things that last.
In your fridge:
“Is this really something to throw away, or can I reimagine it into something new?”
Creativity is the antidote to waste.
When giving or receiving:
“Is this treasure or clutter? A moment or a memory?”
Experiences > things, always.
My hope for you reading this, more than anything, is that you grow into someone who feels grounded, whole, and connected to the world around you. Not because of what you own, but because of who you are. Not because of what you consume, but because of what you contribute. Not because you chase the world’s idea of “more,” but because you understand the real richness of enough.
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
You honor yourselves when you honor what you have. You honor the world when you choose with care. You honor all of us when you waste not, want not.
