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    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
    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
    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
    Audiobook5 hours

    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

    Written by Cait Flanders

    Narrated by Cait Flanders

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy-only keeping her from meeting her goals-she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.

    The Year of Less documents Cait's life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.

    Blending Cait's compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you're holding on to in your own life-and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.

    Editor's Note

    Cut consumerism and clutter…

    So you’ve decluttered with the help of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” but how do you stop yourself from buying too much stuff in the first place? Flanders’ memoir offers guidance on how to become a more thoughtful consumer so you can lighten your ecological footprint.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 16, 2018
    ISBN9781541487697
    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

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    Reviews for The Year of Less

    4/5

    768 ratings64 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I'm inspired to ask, what do I really want in my life and as I listened to the audio book I started to mentally see all the stuff in my drawers and boxes that I have accumulated and have not used in years...
      I hope share my journey of change and courage and mindfulness one day soon

      2 people found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Not what I was expecting. This is the tale of a young woman's journey through a difficult time in her life, a symptom of which was mindless consumerism. She does a good job of explaining her process, but this is not a book about decluttering or minimalism per se. There are some great finance tips if you are living a similar experience, but this is not the book for anyone looking to get motivated to downsize.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Honest and warm book about challenges of how to become better.
      When more did not help, author tried less. This decision then shaken up more than shopping patterns.
      This book documents the journey. It is very openly written, practical and also a pleasant listen. I like it very much.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is a very raw, eye opening book. Especially being read by the author it makes it even more personal and achievable. I love that she’s open about her struggles and triumphs and gives you a clear cut way of achieving what she set out to do herself. Excellent book!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      The painful blubbering of an addict that decides to give up drinking, overeating and shopping.The more I listened the more I thought the book should have been called: Justification for a Year of Excess. The writer buys new furniture and takes vacations with airfare, car rental and hotel accomodation. I live rent free in China, where I teach English. I consitently save 75 percent of my savings. The average amount of money spent is 7-8 dollars a day for eating, mostly my own cooking and bus rides at 15 cents each way. I couldnt finish this book. I hoped I would hear about how to be more frugal.Instead I heard about on line shopping, credit card debt and being crapulous. She gave up Starbucks lattes. I drink sugar free Nescafe. If I splaah out on a cappuccino it is 2 dollarsat the bakery. Starbucks is only good for free wifi.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This is a read that’s so much more than a reduction of stuff as implied. I’m pretty sure I had read her blog and newsletter before I first read this, but she got very deep here and shared much more of her story which was very brave. All of it helped me realize what I have that works for me and what doesn’t. Her realization was so lovely: “I had to let go of the stuff I wanted the ideal version of myself to use, and accept myself for who I really was.”
    • 4/5
      This book was a bit different from what I first thought it would be but I still enjoyed it. It is a memoir of Flanders journey over a year long spending freeze. She changed and grew in ways she never anticipated. I love personal growth stories and Flanders certainly grew from her great experiment.
    • 4/5
      The book is short and simple, but interesting and inspiring. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Such a great audiobook. Excited to apply this years challenge!
    • 5/5
      Her honesty in what she was going through and when she struggled. I love that I could identify with planning on quitting and how many times until she stuck with it! Inspired to begin my own year of less !
    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed this book. It has encouraged me to spend less as well. Looking forward to creating a budget for myself and seeing how I can declutter my home.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful. This is one of my favorite books. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      This was such a inspiring book. I always love books that challenge my way of thinking and this was just that. Ready to try a shopping ban!
    • 5/5
      I think it is a great book to start your economic growth with. I have no idea how to save and am guilty of many things that are mentioned in the book, especially “retail therapy”. It doesn’t use any big words, it was not a stressful read and it was encouraging. If you want something easy to digest and are not ready for charts and what not, I highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book. Very relatable and useful for navigating a new course around personal finances
    • 5/5
      This is a great book! I always stopped reading a book about decluttering because they're too focus on how to. But in this book, the writer also share about the reasons behind every steps that she made, and I feel so related. Now I'm going to do my own shopping banned challenge too!
    • 5/5
      5 stars. Well, 6 for fascinating topic with a potentially transformative impact on your life. Another 6 for awesome and inspiring protagonist, the author Cait. Bit of a drop to 4.5 for writing style and getting used to the fact it’s read by the writer not a professional voice actor (Cait’s lovely and candid about the fact she’s not a snazzy word smith which is in its own way endearing, but it is not the most verbally gripping story you’ll hear. At the same time as another reviewer said, it does make it refreshingly authentic!). A 20s/30s book that is accessible to all. A heartfelt and unflinchingly honest description of pushing through addiction (alcohol tv food) and overcoming personal problems (parents, boyfriends) to succeed at streamlining Cait’s possessions, body, and way she values and respects her time. One of the main things she does on this journey is a “shopping ban” where she buys almost nothing but food and essentials for a year. It’s an inspiring fight against consumerism. She also talks about her individual path to sobriety. The book explores a number of themes but consistently circles back to personal finance. Personal finance was great but I wish there was more on the weight loss! I hope she writes another book, she is a voice of reason and understated compassion.
    • 1/5
      Its not what I expected, I stopped after two hours of hope that it'll get better, but still there's no instructions or stuff so I guess I'll just save the 3 hours left to read something else !
    • 5/5
      Something I didn’t realize it was so easy but at the same time difficult to do!
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book because I could relate to a lot of it. Changing your overall mindset can really help change certain habits, and that’s what Flanders was doing over this year. She had already stopped drinking, but still wanted to stop spending so much and re-prioritize her life. She decluttered her house and stopped being such a consumer. I really liked her somewhat-casual memoir tone. A lot of reviews I read complained that it wasn’t really about minimalism, but I disagree. It really follows her journey and change in mindset, and shows that it’s important to take stock of things you have, reassess what you really need, and change your life accordingly, in a way that makes you happy.
    • 5/5
      Very nicely written book, there is so much to learn thank you.
    • 5/5
      Amazing journey. Thankyou for sharing. Insightful and inspiring. Must listen.
    • 5/5
      Well thought out, informative story and narration by the author. I didn't realize buying less was just what I was searching for until this book. She does a great job of sharing her background story, bringing us to present day and watching her grow throughout the whole experience.
    • 5/5
      I really love the book and the narrator. This is super inspiring and very open storytelling to motivate people to get out of their consumerist habits. Kudos to the author!
    • 5/5
      I really liked it, would recommend the book and Cait's story.
    • 4/5
      Simple read and gives you some thoughts to really chew on.
    • 5/5
      This books talks about the struggle, the process of finding ways to deal in a healthy way with everything that makes you react out of impulse, and honestly I saw myself in that book. I devoured this book, not to find answers but to finally realize, I've improved so much. I love how she talks about guilt and shame, and how those are the emotions behind every impulse. Yet, I love how she came into the conclusion that all of this was a product of the self- hatred within her. I loved it. There are no other words.
    • 3/5
      A bit slower than i usually prefer, but very informative.
    • 5/5
      Amazing and honest. I can’t wait to start my own journey.
    • 3/5
      Es una historia entretenida y real, es vulnerable y al mismo tiempo te comparte cómo puedes lograr o proponerte lograr un cambio en tu vida si así lo quieres.