The Year of Less by Cait Flanders (4 stars)

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 by Cait Flanders

I read a ridiculous amount of books per year so sharing book reviews/suggestions here only make sense. This book is the perfect first review as it covers a lot of the topics that are important to me, and her intense documentation of her project is part of what inspired this blog!

In The Year of Less, Cait Flanders decides to institute a shopping ban for one year. Each chapter includes lists tracking her months sober as well as how much of her income she managed to save and what percentage of her belongings she has let go of. If you’ve read anything else in this genre, you can imagine the kind of revelations she comes to about what’s really important in life, but I think this book covers her journey in a particularly compelling way.

If you are only looking for a book about minimalism this is not the one for you. If I had known going into it that it would be so memoir-based, I might not have read it, but I found Flanders really interesting and relatable, and she even includes some travel! The level of detail about her parent’s divorce was a little overwhelming, but for the most part I found her personal stories to be a great addition to a book that could’ve been all the same chatter about giving up mindless consumerism.

One of the flaws in this book is that it is very repetitive. To the point that the exact same phrases are used multiple times, almost as if the author was trying to reach a word count for a school essay. It’s odd and sticks out mostly because otherwise it’s so well-written!

I read a lot of self help and habit-forming books and I loved how Flanders applied the psychology of habits to both her drinking and her compulsion to over-shop. I identified a lot with her struggle with television, which I’m sure many others can relate to as well. Things that start out as small pleasures can morph into huge time sucks.

I have a lot in common with this author. I am always tracking behaviors, making lists, and tweaking my routines to become more productive and more in line with the life I want to live and the person I want to be.

A favorite quote:

“Suddenly it dawned on me that I couldn’t remember most of the stuff that I’d gotten rid of in the past 11 months, but I could recall details from every one of the trips I had been on. I didn’t need to bring souvenirs back with me. I would be able to taste the food and see the sights and remember how the sun felt on my skin in each one forever.”

All that said, I’d rate it 4/5.

I’d recommend it to anyone who is considering starting a minimalist lifestyle or who needs inspiration to keep one going. It was particularly pertinent for me right now as I’m moving and have the chance to inventory my stuff as I pack and unpack it. And it’s a super short read!