The Year of Less

I've been reading Caits blog for longer than I can remember. Before the finance community was something I knew about, Cait's approach to heartfelt stories about minimalism and consumption was what drew me to read more. This book dives deeper with a narrative that winds through a difficult year.

Going much deeper into personal stories than I expected, the common thread is a story of growth – both towards having less stuff, but also for better understanding what leads to happiness. Editing down a life to focus on what matters is no small undertaking, and many of these stories have inspired me to look at areas of my life that could use a little editing.

I loved this book. It was inspiring and I related to so much of what she struggled with. She inspired me to take on my own shopping ban!

I can't figure out how this got onto the best seller list. First off, I didn't realize this was a memoir, otherwise I would have avoided it completely. Second, this girl has a serious addiction issue and rather than seeking professional help, she started a blog. Third, her self-described life changing situations are actually just normal life for most other people. The end result is a whiny, disorganized book.

Like others, I expected the book to be more how-to (a la Marie Kondo) and less memoir, but it was enjoyable all the same. Flanders and I share some traits, namely the propensity to need to do things all-or-nothing to make them stick. I had a few a-ha moments reading the book, like when she drew parallels between other bingey behavior and shopping. Like Flanders , I don't see myself as a shopaholic because I don't fit the stereotype of the cosmopolitan woman with a shoe closet - but I'm totally guilty of the retail therapy/getting stuff I don't need at Target thing... and for what? I've really been trying to focus on things in my house having a place, and if they don't have a place evaluating whether that means I need better storage (which, in an old farmhouse, is true in many cases) or if I need to not own them at all. But, Kondo's “Does this spark joy?” thing never quite helped me make the final decisions, so the biggest, most helpful takeaway I got from this book was when the author raised the point that some things she owned because they're appropriate for who she really is, and other things she owned because they were who she was trying to or thought she should be. The quote I highlighted was: “But there were really only two categories I could see: the stuff I used, and the stuff I wanted the ideal version of myself to use.” That really clicked. I've been purging some things and asking myself that question along the way, and it's gotten me past the things that “joy” didn't define.

3.75✨

Good one, found some nice similarities between her values and mine and also where all of this was coming from. The one thing I noticed is that her solution to her rather addictive personality is an all-or-nothing type of resolution. I wish the emphasis was more on mindful buying, drinking, eating, watching. But then again, whatever makes her sleep at night.

This book is misleading, it's less about consumerism and shopping/hoarding more about a personal journey about her over indulgences, addictions, and general bad habits. This memoir wasn't for me, i'm sure it is better suited for people looking for comfort/similar journeys to get away from addictions and trying to ignore them on a more personal level.

I hope this is helpful for some people? If I had to rate this I would give it a 1 star.

“More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less... When everything is working together it's a lot easier to find inner peace, appreciation, and gratitude for all you have. “

Yes! Words I'll try and live up to going into and low-buy (mindful-buy?) 2020 and my annual Kondo-ing closet blitz.

Surprisingly good; I am deeply skeptical of all self help books as well as memoirs by people under the age of 80, because what self help journey wouldn't be better as a magazine article with bullet points and who is really self aware enough to write a reflective memoir? This book wasn't perfect, but it was interesting and it exceeded my expectations in every way. I didn't feel pandered to, I didn't feel like the author was claiming to have unlocked the secrets of the universe, and I learned enough that I wasn't wishing the book was shorter (plus, there's essentially a bulleted list of action items at the end). I ended up still interested in being a more mindful consumer and caring about Cait's specific personal journey. Good for her. Extra half star for the auidiobook; her Canadian accent is charming.

I echo the other reviews - I wanted to read a book on how the no-buying year impacted her life. I wasn't quite prepared to read about her family & relationship problems. I totally get that it's her memoir and her experience - however I didn't get a clear impression how minimalism impacted her life for the better or worst. Still, I applaud her for sharing such a personal story with the rest of the world.

Found the author's personality to be grating and self-obsessed. The book was less about living mindfully and more about the many ways in which the author was “not like other girls”.

This is the first book I've read read completely as an eBook. Cait Flanders writes with a conversational tone that is hard to walk away from; it's almost like a new friend is telling you about how this project she just finished went. Her stories scattered throughout are the perfect balance of memoir vs way too much information about a stranger.

I found her shopping ban, her commitment to stay out of debt, and her dedication to her sobriety–and, in general, her dedication to become the best version of herself very inspiring. This is a wonderful quick read for anyone who enjoys self-help books related to saving money and walking away from consumer culture.

This book changed my life, and the way I think about shopping. As a person who never identified as a shopaholic, this book has showed me the ways I am definitely a shopaholic, and that I need to pay more attention to how and why I spend money. I recommend this book to ANYONE. It is absolutely wonderfully written.

The Year of Less resonated with me tremendously, as I've been on a simple living journey for about a year. Through this book, Cait Flanders illustrates that clutter, debt, and weight gain are all symptoms of unresolved emotions and experiences. Through out her tale, she talks about how she spent money and collected items as a way to try to become the person she thought she should be. So much of our dissatisfaction in life comes back to trying to comfort ourselves with stuff. People say this isn't a how to book, but there is no simple way to break the cycle of buying as a way to soothe the soul. Clutter, simple living - there is no quick fix. It's hard work to understand why these things are in our lives. Flanders does an excellent job of demonstrating how hard it is to make the space that you need. I reccomend this book.

If you're looking for a how-to, step by step, I reccomend you read Becoming Minamalist by Joshua Becker, and Slow by Brooke McAlery. Once you're done with those, come back to this book.

I probably would have liked this better if I followed her blog - I'll definitely be checking it out. This was much more personal than I expected it to be, but the end gives you a plan to enact your own year of less and a bunch of helpful resources. Would recommend to folks who are interested in minimalism, decluttering, and mindful spending and are down for a memoir.

I almost did not read this because:
1. I have read multiple books on the same subject already
2. I'm a little over bloggers who write books
3.I'm already on the simple living band wagon...I don't need to be sold on it

However, Cait Flanders sucked me in the with the whole sobriety thing. 29 years old and sworn off alcohol-now that might be an interesting story! Also, I was super interested in reading about daily life in Canada (not that I wanted her to get sick, but I would have loved to see what it was like to go to the doctor). So, all of that was new and refreshing.

Honestly, Flanders' writing style reminded me very much of Marie Kondo's. She's very organized and very hyper-aware of her self. It scares me a bit-that amount of focus. One wonders if what we are seeing here is a trade in of binge drinking and binge shopping for binge tracking of material possessions and budget line items. shrug I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv. I've always been a fan of moderation.

I'm also a little bummed there was very little mention of using the library and looking around for free events to attend in town.

More of a personal account than a self help book of the “year of less” in the author's life, and some major events before that year.

A quick read with some interesting although perhaps not original takeaways.

one woman story of breaking the hold of rampant consumerism over her life. a less drastic story compared to Frugalwood but similar themes

I really want to do this now. Stay tuned...

This book ended up being pretty different than I thought it would be, but interesting and eye-opening. From Flanders' own story you can extrapolate bits about your own habits and tendencies, good and bad. I was surprised at how different the book felt from the blog in terms of subject matter, even as it touched upon things mentioned briefly in posts, and I thought that was great – nothing is worse than picking up a blogger's memoir, only to realize the person cannot write prose and is regurgitating blog content.

I'd recommend listening to this on audio.

I've been reading Caits blog for longer than I can remember. Before the finance community was something I knew about, Cait's approach to heartfelt stories about minimalism and consumption was what drew me to read more. This book dives deeper with a narrative that winds through a difficult year.

Going much deeper into personal stories than I expected, the common thread is a story of growth – both towards having less stuff, but also for better understanding what leads to happiness. Editing down a life to focus on what matters is no small undertaking, and many of these stories have inspired me to look at areas of my life that could use a little editing.