Book Review: The Year of Less

I recently read The Year of Less by Cait Flanders.  To be honest, it was just okay.  If you are new to the idea of living with less, it may be a great read for you.  There are a few things that I did enjoy and took away from the book.  I recommend checking it out from your local library if you want to read it.

The story begins with Cait announcing to her friends that she is beginning a shopping ban that she will follow for one year.  Her friends are not surprised because Cait often does things like this.  She has given up things before.  Cait has given up drugs, drinking, binge eating, and she has overcome massive debt.  I applaud her brutal honesty in revealing these struggles and how she took charge of her life.  She takes us through one year of the shopping ban, the successes, and the struggles.  

Throughout the book, she talks about giving away, selling, and donating belongings that she realizes she does not need.  Many of the things she donates are things that she has bought for herself that she kept for years but she has never touched.  She explains that she came to realize that many of the things she would buy were for a "better version" of herself.  Clothes that she thought she should wear but knew she never would.  Books that she should read but knew she never would.  That really hit me because I've done that exact thing.  I've bought things that were for a better version of myself.  I bought Don Quixote with every intention of reading it because that's what I envisioned the smarter version of myself should do.  I owned that book for well over a decade and never got past the first page.  I did the same thing with an Edgar Allan Poe book that had The Murders in the Rue Morgue.  I never got past the first page.  I kept those two books thinking that I would read them and during The Great Purge of 2018, I finally accepted that I was never going to read them.  

During the year Cait gets rid of the majority of her belongings and learns that she is much happier with less.  She is so excited about the positive changes in her life that she decides to extend the shopping ban for another year.

The book illustrates the things that I have learned and embraced.  I am happier with less and feel more fulfilled in life.  Things are simpler and more peaceful when you have less around you.  There is a great deal of freedom in living with less and the financial impact is extremely satisfying.

One thing I especially enjoyed in the book is the Do you need it? chart that she has.  It helps to get you in the right frame of mind for need versus want.