Welcome to Litsy!

In this memoir, Flanders takes us on a journey of self-discovery as she embarks on a year-long shopping ban and decluttering mission. As she confronts her own consumer habits and seeks to simplify her life, she uncovers profound truths about the nature of happiness and fulfillment....
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6433577596

This is alright it did help short term to stop shopping but I wasn‘t an active spender anyway

This was a good, inspiring book to get me into a decluttering mindset. The author blogged about her 1 year shopping ban, but left out a lot of the personal turmoil. She includes all of the messy bits in this book. She examines not just her habits but triggers for overspending as well binge eating, binge drinking, and binge tv watching. I love stories like this, flaws and all, where people choose to challenge themselves by becoming more mindful 💚

I‘m not sure where I heard about this book but it sounded interesting.🤔 she went on a spending ban for a year- she could only buy things she needed. The book is her story of the year. Made me truly think about my excess spending (yes books would be part of that for me).

I went on a decades-long spending freeze as a result of not having money. I also came to realize I didn‘t need so much. ? Even so, life left me with a lot of puerquería & now I‘m letting stuff go. I‘m not exactly on a spending freeze at the moment though. Overlooking economic inequalities that stuck a bit, this went quick & matched my current motivation.

In a time when social media is encouraging over-consumerism while simultaneously furthering disconnection, this book's message is something that I think would resonate with a lot of readers.

This was a good read for me. I really like the idea of setting up a challenge of purging my home of everything we don't use or need. I also hate how social media encourages mindless spending. We tend to eat, drink, and spend when we aren't happy with ourselves. Becoming a mindful consumer is an exciting idea, and one that I plan on implementing. I hope to find more books that will inspire this change in my life.

I really enjoyed this one and I think everyone should consider having and buying less and trying to simplify your life. When you strip everything back you really understand what is and isn‘t important to you. I enjoyed her journey through this process and there‘s a few things I‘d like to incorporate into my life
A definite pick

I think since I listened to this one I appreciated her honesty and the impact her decluttering project had on her life and goals. Always admire people who can commit to decluttering and embrace minimalism in a form that works for them. I‘m not a pack rat, but I like my stuff! Something about having extra candles and throw pillows makes things feel much cozier.

I was hoping for something akin to The Little Book of Hygge but it just read like a very long personal blog post. The title suggests a year of living without buying things but the author kept skipping around her own timeline which left me confused. I felt more like I was getting more build up to the ‘Year‘ than experiences from the ‘Year‘ itself. Crunch point came when she went into detail about a breakup and I realised I just didn‘t care.

Flanders reflects on her year of giving up most of her possessions and breaking her spending habits to achieve a more mindful consumerism.

Read February 23-24
Rated 3/5 ⭐️
Book 13/60

Honestly reading the back of the book you would think this book was about not needing as much stuff. Nope. It‘s random stuff about her life. Ex boyfriends and stuff. If your a fan of hers you might care but I don‘t know who this lady is.

This was a good one to listen to while cleaning. Some parts I probably would have connected with better if I was younger (20s-30s) but overall it made me pause and consider my relationship with spending.

I'm still puzzled why I bounced so hard off this memoir of the author's story of quitting overindulging in shopping, after having similar issues w/ alcohol and food. She also gives away most of her belongings. I never felt emotionally engaged. I would empathize with this story if it were a friend's, but as a memoir by a stranger: meh. Partially it's because I don't struggle with the same addictive behaviours. All this to say: this book was boring.

Before I started this book I saw reviews saying it was self-indulgent millennial whining, which I thought was a bit harsh. Halfway through, though, while I certainly don't agree with those assessments, I can see where they're coming from. There's nothing wrong with the content, but it isn't emotionally engaging; it doesn't spark empathy. That's what I think frustrates people and makes them see what are really tough addiction stories as whining.

I've been reading a lot of books the past two years on simplifying and was pretty excited for this one but it just didn't hold my attention. More memoir than anything else, it had nuggets of wisdom but not enough to keep me interested. And I applaud the bravery of this young woman to write about all the parts of her life that aren't pretty and share all she has learned, but there wasn't quite enough about living with less to make me stay. 😬

Picked this up at the recommendation of someone. It was a good read and is inspiring me to do something similar in 2021. I wish the author had done a little more with guiding and directing those that want to do a year of less as opposed to her childhood anecdotes. Nonetheless, a good read and great idea!

I loved this. Some say she‘s a whiney mess. And she might be but I felt like I could relate to some of the things she struggled with. This was a 5 ⭐️ read for me.

This whole book was about her being thankful with less #FallBackIntoReading #TBRCrewBingo
@jessinikkip @jb72 @AkashaVampie @AsYouWish @AnansiGirl , @Catherine_Willoughby @MissAimz_55 @cortg @Read4life

So this book was good. but... I was looking for a more “self help“ type of book rather than her life story. But I am sure the antidotes will be in handy when I try to do some version of this.

Thoughts: 1. Budget? 2. 20% savings 3. 10% debt repayment? 4. Shopping ban?
I am buying a house so I need to buy furniture but... maybe shopping ban for others (or make a list of what is okay)
#BookSpinBingo
@TheAromaOfBooks
#NonFicNovember2020
#NFN20

This documents Cait's life for 12 months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. She discovered life is worth more than anything you buy in a store...don‘t let overconsumption #rain on your parade #uselessstuffday #thankfulthoughts @Eggs #forevernovember @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

I am listing to this one (@jb72 didn't you recommend?) so that I can get some ideas for my #21for21 #NewYearNewYou . Not sure how much of these I will incorporate into some goals but.. its going to be some good inspiration :) #NonFicNovember2020
#NFN20

Not a new idea, but it was a #noteworthy #freshidea for me. Staying home this year has highlighted how much I want to minimize possessions/buying/collecting etc. I‘d love to have a stern mentor walk through it with me!! My drawers and closets are like #fridaythe13th! #fallfinds
#wordsofoctober @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620 #horrorseason @Klou

Less of a how to and more of a memoir of her journey to less; less debt, less over consumption of food and alcohol, less clutter, and less stress. There is a small section at the end outlining, for you, how she accomplished her goals achieved in the book. Themes: less is more and money doesn't buy happiness. #caitflanders #femaleauthor #womanauthor #hayhouseinc #generalinterest #finanicaladvice #declutter #quickread

📖 (as tagged)
✒️ Yoon, Paul
🎥 You've Got Mail
🎤Yamagata, Rachel
🎶 You Picked Me (A Fine Frenzy)
#lettery @joscho #manicmonday

This wasn‘t what I was expecting but thoroughly enjoyed listening to cait‘s journey . She discusses her battles with alcoholism and life experiences . Really admire her strength and found her words Inspiring 💕

“One of the greatest lessons I learned during these years is that whenever you‘re thinking of binging, it‘s usually because some part of you or your life feels like it‘s lacking—and nothing you drink, eat, or buy can fix it”

‘Buying more books that I didn‘t need ‘ 🙋🏼‍♀️ yep me

adding an extra book just to get the cost up to get free postage .... 🙋🏼‍♀️ yep me again

Having Lots of those ‘ 🙋🏼‍♀️ yep that‘s me‘ moments 🙈😂

Hoping this will inspire me a bit

⭐️ ⭐️

Loved it because Cait Flanders doesn‘t try to get the reader to also spend and live with less but she does give advice at the end of the book if you want to. I may consider it.

I had hoped tp finish all the winter prompts, but this month had been as bad reading month. So I have 3 winter and 1 spring.
1. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
2. Me by Elton John
6. Candide by Voltaire
12. Owl Be Home For Christmas by Donna Andrews

#booked2020 @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

A very good book in which the author has given herself a years shopping ban. She covers more than this by talking about her alcoholism, consumerism, and just general stories of growing up. She learns triggers and comes to terms with how and why she approaches things in certain ways. The only downside for me is I think the title is slightly misleading. I wasn't expecting a how to book, but it was much more memoir than I was expecting. 👇

I really enjoyed this memoir. It was more about overcoming addiction than minimalism, but still a good read.

I‘m considering a no-spend rule in 2020. It would be so much easier to handle my stuff if there wasn‘t so much of it: Books, planner supplies, clothing, etc.

Says the girl who just joined Book of the Month and is expecting 5 packages in the mail this week... 🙄

More of a memoir than a how to guide. But it was quite encouraging to hear her story and her triggers and reactions to them.
I am trying to become a more mindful consumer in general as I find that I am a bit of a compulsive shopper. 😂😂 hopefully this book is the jumping off point for me. Noting this as #somethingyoupick
#nonfiction2019

Listened to this on audio. Actually had started it last week as part of #NFNov

I liked it. Didn‘t wow me exactly but it does make me want to declutter my apartment so I count that as a win

This book is queued up for my next audiobook. Hoping that I can get some tips from it to help me reduce my hoarding tendencies. 😂
#NFNov
@rsteve388
@Clwojick

Most of this was content I was expecting and felt like I‘d heard before. (That was actually partly what I was looking for. I grabbed this on Libby on a whim this morning looking for something easy to distract me from a migraine.) But the writing and narration were excellent, and there were a few things she said that stood out and really peaked my interest, which seems pretty good for this self-help/memoir combo genre.

If you are planning on reading this you should know that it is more of a memoir than the title makes it seem. I enjoyed it, even though it wasn't what I expected. It felt like an honest account of someone just trying to get their life in order.

#TIL Struggling with budgets and organization is a part of life for most people, and if you just focus and make small steps towards your goal you'll get there.

#NFNov @rsteve388 @Clwojick

So I did enjoy this book, although it's a whole lot of memoir and not as much hands on examples of how to live a whole year on a shopping ban. The audiobook was good though, and I canceled 3 box subscriptions within listening to the first 20 minutes (look at the comments to see which ones I axed!)

#24B4Monday #Readathon #LitsyPartyofOne #MrBook1inaMillion #NFNov
@mrbook @Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid @Clwojick

I listened to this on audio and it encouraged me to de clutter and pitch stuff, so that‘s a win. 😆 The lesson that resonated with me the most was to buy things you need, and not for the person you want to be. I find myself buying things to fit a persona that I want to emulate, so that has been in the back of my mind. Since the author deals with addiction to alcohol and shopping, I‘m counting this for #booked2019 #bookaboutaddiction

I thought that this was a great read as millennial who is dealing with many similar problems (worry about student debt, probably spending way too much on things I don't need, etc). I empathized with the author often, especially when she recounted struggling with her mental health and addiction while trying to figure out what she loved and who she was. I especially found the list at the end helpful as I move toward spending less. Recommend!

Quote: "One of the greatest lessons I learned during these years is that whenever you're thinking of binging, it's usually because some part of you or your life feels like it's lacking- and nothing you eat, drink, or but can fix it."

As I‘m looking to start a massive declutter and/or a shopping ban for a few months. I really enjoyed hearing Cait‘s experiences doing the same. She makes the idea sound daunting but doable. #audiobook

If you are looking for inspiration to create a new mindset about spending less, shopping less, adopting a healthier lifestyle with family, friends and relationships- then check this out for a quick summer read. You can also follow this young woman's blog🙂

this is what I want for SUMMER

Whilst this book was not what I was expecting - less full of tips and more of a general memoir of the year of less - I still found it enjoyable to read, on the whole. Picked up a few new thoughts too about the necessity of stuff and making the most of what you already have!

My next read surrounding themes of low impact living, sustainability and finding contentment 🌿

my weekend read

I love books like this. It's good to see how much more you can do with less. It's not my favorite exercise while I practice it, but there are definite benefits.