I’m all about being healthier in mind, body and soul. When I took on the challenge of living more simplistically and attempting to become a minimalist, I had no idea that nearly all areas of my life would be affected as well.

Let’s back up and define this craze of minimalism. To me, being a minimalist is choosing to let go of unnecessary things to engage in a more simplistic way of living. This can be done in a few ways. For me, it was purging most of my closet and getting rid of the clutter it caused in my life. I found that having fewer clothes made me less stressed and less bogged down by having to make more decisions. Since my purge, I have only the clothes that make me feel great and that I love wearing. With the fewer decisions I had to make, the better my spirit became.

The idea of minimalism struck a chord with me when I read an article about Steve Jobs. He was renowned as an innovator, entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder of Apple. He lived a very simple lifestyle for someone with a net worth of over $10 billion at the time of his passing. The way he dressed was no different. He wore the same outfit every day – a black turtle neck, blue jeans and white New Balance sneakers.

This concept seemed like a brilliant idea to me. The fewer decisions I had to make, the better for my health and overall outlook on life. It was an instant no-brainer after hearing the rationale behind his decisions. We all have to make so many decisions every single day. But we can choose to focus on the things that really matter, instead of frivolous things like what to wear. If we use our energy to create, innovate and thrive, new ideas and innovations could come more easily to us, just as they did with Steve Jobs.

Now, I’ll freely admit I was one of those girls who changed her outfit at least three times before walking out the door in the morning. And don’t get me started on how many times I changed my shoes. So this minimalist idea truly intrigued me, and I wanted to take the challenge to simplify my life. I went home and immediately started to clear out the clutter. Of course, I didn’t take it as far as wearing the same outfit every day. But all these months later, I am so grateful I decided to give it a chance.

Along with the changes I saw in my exterior self such as improved organization, better time management and finding things I once lost, I started to see positive changes in something else – my health. Let me explain.

I used to stress over what to eat at every single meal. Do I have enough calories? Enough variety of fruits and vegetables? I soon decided that this dreaded feeling of aimlessly walking through the grocery store aisles trying to figure out what to eat and cook needed to stop.

I saw how effortlessly my decisions with my wardrobe went, so I wondered how I could make the same transition in health and food intake? Please welcome my good friend, meal prep.

Prepping my food saved my life, just as minimalism did with my clothes. When I meal prep, I know exactly what was going into my body because I prepared and I planned for it. Every Friday I went to the store with a predetermined list of what I would be making the following week, and I stuck to my schedule. This was revolutionary for me. The stress I once had about food and what to eat and only looking ahead to the next meal? It ended.

And guess what, I even lost a few pounds in the process. Not to mention saving money from eating out at restaurants and fast food places. I finally found a system that worked for me. I owe venturing into the world of minimalism a lot. It changed my mind, body and soul. I won’t ever go back to my old ways if I just remember to keep it simple and clean.