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

Strand bookstore. Known for containing 18 miles of books,

When we returned to our rooms each night, our beds had been turned down for the evening: Housekeeping had closed the curtains, turned on our bedside lamps, pulled back the covers, and placed a handful of chocolates on our pillows. Sarah was accustomed to turndown service, but I hadn’t even known of its existence until this trip.

I had taken the time off that I needed. Most importantly, I had put myself first. I gave up the feeling that I owed anyone anything, or that I could be someone to everyone.

Suddenly it dawned on me that I couldn’t remember most of the stuff I’d gotten rid of in the past 11 months, but I could recall details from every one of the trips I had been on.

working during the hours she was most productive, spending more time with the people she loved, and traveling the world.

Digging myself out of debt showed me how much determination I had. Living on a tight budget proved I could be more resourceful. Taking control of my health confirmed I was, in fact, in control of my body and my mind-set. Not drinking alcohol continued to teach me I didn’t need to be under any influence to have—or be—fun. And giving up shopping for a year demonstrated I had more willpower than I thought, and I was happier when my attention wasn’t focused on what I could acquire.

I wasn’t challenged and I wasn’t learning, and, therefore, I wasn’t growing.

I wanted to be surrounded by those who valued living over working, spending time outdoors over spending time online, and doing things for themselves over paying for every possible convenience.

If I had simply stopped shopping for a year, I might have learned a lot about myself as a consumer. And if I had simply decluttered my home, I might have learned a lot about my interests. But doing both challenges at the same time was important, because it forced me to stop living on autopilot and start questioning my decisions.

But I was privileged enough to be in a position where I could choose what to spend money on and what to put into my body.

And the same way sobriety helped me save money every year,

But something I had learned time and time again was that every small change you make pays compound interest. It helps you make another change, another mind-set shift, another decision to live a new way.

Aside from my furniture, my belongings fit into eight small boxes, and my entire wardrobe—now just 29 pieces total—squeezed into a single suitcase.

I was going to carry on and do it for another year. The rules were essentially the same, except this time I wanted to do something I’d regretted not doing during the first year: tracking every single item I purchased and consumed.

As an example, I went through five sticks of deodorant, four tubes of toothpaste, two bottles of shampoo and two of conditioner. Knowing this about myself isn’t necessarily earth-shattering, but it does prevent me from ever thinking I should stockpile toiletries again.

I do only buy things when I need them, and never simply because they are on sale. You might think that means I spend more when I shop; however, the opposite is still true because I don’t waste money on anything. Every purchase I make is carefully considered, not done on impulse.

Today I consider myself a former binge consumer turned mindful consumer of everything. I continue to experiment with consuming less of things I feel I’m not getting any value from, including doing a 30-day social media detox and another month without television.

More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.

1. Declutter Your Home Before you begin a shopping ban for any length of time, I would suggest going through your home and getting rid of anything that doesn’t serve a purpose in your life. Don’t just organize your stuff—analyze it, ask yourself what you want to keep, and let go of all the rest.

decluttering first can open your eyes to how much stuff you’ve wasted money on in the past, which can serve as motivation to not waste more money during your shopping ban.

Go through each room of your home and write down the top five items you have the most of. For example, in your bathroom, you might have a lot of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, and deodorant.

Unsubscribe from All Store/Coupon Newsletters

If you want to take this one step further, I suggest unfollowing all your favorite stores on social media.

5. Set Up a Shopping Ban Savings Account

Could put what i saved in comparison to avg monthly spending

you could also deposit any money you make by selling things you decluttered.

put a sticky note around each of the debit and credit cards in your wallet with a reminder that you’re on a shopping ban. Write something on it like: “Do you really need it?” or “Is it on your shopping list?”

7. Replace Costly Habits with Free/Cheap Alternatives

Unless you really need something, try to live without it for at least 30 days, and see how many times you actually miss it.

If you can’t fix it yourself, borrow it from someone you know or even rent it. The more we share, the less that goes into the landfill.

10. Appreciate What You Have

Finally, as time goes on, you’ll start to feel grateful for everything that is currently in your life. From the clothes in your closet to the appliances in your kitchen, using what you keep will serve as a remind...

But if you appreciate what you have and actually use what you buy, the results could be life-changing. My shopping ban coupled with my massive declutter/purge of stuff taught me what I value most in life, and none of it can be bought from a store.