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

Narrated by: Cait Flanders

In her late 20s, 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 12 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.

©2018 Cait Flanders (P)2018 Tantor

Critic reviews

"If you've ever felt there must be more to life than consumerism and its vicious cycle, you'll find inspiration to break free in The Year of Less. Cait's highly readable and personal story is encouraging, challenging, and unbelievably helpful." (Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less)

Definitely thought provoking

Decluttering and distressing is something I'm definitely interested in and I found this book to be very thought provoking. While I think I'm much happier and content that Caitlyn is (or was at the beginning of her journey, I do look around and think I have way too much stuff and regret that I invested is so much stuff when I could have used that money to do stuff...travel, attend shows, etc. I agree that many of us buy things for the person we think we should be or that others think we should be rather than who we are. I'm inspired to start going through everything I own and get rid of everything that I don't use or that are in ill repair, clothes that don't fit properly or that I don't feel good in, duplicate items, etc. I also plan to look at my finances and consider changing my spending and saving habits so I can do more of the things I say I want to do. I have read several books on this topic and this is one that really spoke to me.

Gets very personal

I liked the premise of this book - buy less, and Cait certainly did this, however there was a lot of autobiography in this and, at times, I felt like I was getting too much information about Cait's life and family. I would have preferred if she had done more with the central theme - consuming less. It would have been great if she could have talked about ways to recycle or repurpose or put in some statistics or other factual information. I found her observations about her friends and others', including her own, reactions to her consuming less really fascinating and would have loved more of these and for her to tease them out more. Overall it was a brave and interesting experiment and well done Cait for shining a light on a different way of living. I wish more people did this.

Clutter clearing and life clearing

I enjoy books like this because there are so many great lessons. I went from a 2,400 sqft house to an apartment and I’m thinking about doing it again after reading this book. There are simple and easy steps to follow and since I’ve done it once I know it will be enjoyable. I’ve been looking for ways to cut my budget and I will try the shopping ban then go from there. The author brought in other aspects of clutter clearing. Dealing with other people, listening to your intuition and having support. I liked all these when talked about and again something I will tap into as I begin to further clutter clear my life. This time I’m aiming for more like staying off YouTube for hours, not binging on anything. Setting goals and accountability partners. It will be an interesting year ahead for me. The other book the author wrote looks interesting about an intentional life. I guess we’ll see if I read it. My current goal is to listen to all 200 audiobooks in my library I haven’t listened to before I buy any new ones. It's been an interesting journey!

Loved it!

I really enjoyed this book! It was so easy to listen to and had really great insights.

Memoir of habit changes

This is a memoir, not a how-to book. If you are looking to be inspired by the author's positive habit changes around spending, this is a fantastic book for imagining how you could do the same. I appreciated that the story focuses on WHY more purchases can't meet our emotional needs. Cait shares how buying less helped her realize that she HAS enough -- and that she IS enough.