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

(209 pounds on my 5’7” frame is considered obese).

Lmao. Lol. This is where she starts to lose crediblity. 'obese' my ass that is so normal bmi is fake

It seemed harmless, at first. Spending an extra $5 here and $10 there.

Okay mood

On the same day in 2011, I was within a few pounds of needing to shop in the plus-size section.

Boo hoo too bad so sad no one cares. Being fat is not bad.

But before I knew it, I was hiding the empty package at the bottom of the garbage can, hoping no one would realize what I had done. If I dug deep enough so even I couldn’t see it, maybe I could forget about what I had done too.

Holy shit she is baby me

Maybe rain was my religion.

Honestly girl same

There is something to be said about being totally self-aware and still choosing to do what you know is bad for you.

I wasn’t even paying attention to the shows I was watching. I wasn’t watching them. The characters’ voices were just keeping me company.

The truth, I was learning, was that we couldn’t actually discover what we needed until we lived without it.

I thought I needed to earn more so I could buy more of what I wanted. And then I wanted even more stuff, which meant I needed to earn even more money.

The ban uncovered the truth, which was that when you decide to want less, you can buy less and, ultimately, need less money.

The best gift the ban had given me was the tools to take control of my life and get a fresh start as my real self. It challenged me. It turned my life upside down.

sometimes texting a friend and asking them to stop you isn’t enough. You need to pause and consider everything that’s happening in your current environment. How do you feel? Did you have a bad day? Where are you (and what brought you there)? Who are you with? And what justifications are you telling yourself? Any/all of these things can be part of the trigger that urges you to buy something, and spotting them is extremely important so you can ultimately change your reactions.