The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401954871/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_fGGlEbWRFXN03
Cait Flanders may be my new hero. I cannot think of many women who would voluntarily stop shopping and share it with the world. This book is about so much more than shopping, it looks at the constant need to indulge and how that can affect getting what it is that you really want. Flanders is very relatable and makes it clear that what worked for her will not work for all. She never plays the victim and is continuously trying to grow and hold herself accountable. Even while navigating some tough personal struggles she does not place blame and continues to be a problem solver. Within 24 hours of finishing this book I have done a complete overhaul of two of my personal “high traffic” areas: my workstation and my closet. Based on these photos I think the book did a good job.
I counted over 100 empty hangers when I was done....
Besides motivating me to continue pairing down my belongings the book did an excellent job of shedding light on unnecessary spending. Flanders discusses what motivates spending, what her personal triggers were and how to replace those triggers with healthy habits. I was shocked to see how much of our daily life can be consumed by the idea of needing more.
Since starting the book, I have started tracking my spending by writing down every purchase. This simple task has been a serious game changer. This may sound silly to some in today’s digital age, since there are apps that can track our spending and send weekly evaluations and reports by category; however, I know from experience that I dodge the emails or stop looking at those apps because I know they are not sending me good news. By putting pen to paper for every purchase really made me stop and think every time I swipe my card, add to cart or look at a promotional email. It especially made me very conscious of everytime my car magically ended up in the Dunkin Donuts drive thru.
The book did leave me wishing for tips on how to tackle spending when you have a family and also personal inventory with a family. I can’t hold it against the author that this was not included because it was not part of her personal journey. It did make me pause numerous times to jot down notes and questions to myself to find resources for answering my questions. However that does not take away from the fact that this book lit a serious fire under my butt to keep up the work that I have already started.
I titled this review that the book gave me more. What is that I got more of? More room in my closet for starters, more time because I'm not stressing over what to wear, I'm not wrestling hangers everytime I put laundry away, more money in my pocket and more c0nfidence in my decisions and that is only within the first week of applying what I have learned.
I definitely consider this a must read for anyone who is on any type of personal development journey or anyone with an interest in the minimalist lifestyle.