The Year of Less Quotes

“One lesson I’ve learned countless times over the years is that whenever you let go of something negative in your life, you make room for something positive.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“But there were really only two categories I could see: the stuff I used, and the stuff I wanted the ideal version of myself to use. The stuff I wanted the ideal version of myself to use was everything I had once bought in hopes that it would somehow make my life or myself better.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“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. I know, because I’ve tried it all and none of it worked. Instead, you have to simplify, strip things away, and figure out what’s really going on. Falling into the cycle of wanting more, consuming more, and needing even more won’t help. More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“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.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“I didn’t know how many habits I had that centered on drinking take-out coffee until I wasn’t allowed to buy it. Each time I craved it, I had to stand in the moment, pay attention to what had triggered the craving, and change my reaction.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“people will always make comments when you decide to live a countercultural lifestyle”
― Cait Flanders, 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

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

“Remember that all you’re committing to is slowing down and asking yourself what you really want, rather than acting on impulse. That’s it. That’s what being a “mindful” consumer is all about.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“Stuff I purchased with every intention of using, but only because I told myself it would somehow help. I wasn't good enough, but this stuff would make me better. I wanted to read, wear, and do everything so I could become the person I thought I should be.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“I wanted to get to a place where I only bought things I needed when I needed them. I wanted to finally see where my money was going and budget in a way that aligned with my goals and my values. And I really wanted to start spending less and saving more. But it would never happen if I continued to make mindless spending decisions.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“smaller cities naturally come with slower lifestyles, and are filled with communities of people who are grateful for all the little things life has to offer. 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.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“All I knew was that I seemingly had everything I wanted in my home, in my career, and in my life, and it never felt like enough. I was never satisfied. I always wanted more. But since more of anything wasn’t filling me up, maybe it was time to challenge myself to go after less.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“Even doing something as simple as choosing not to finish a book I didn’t like gave me more time to read books I loved. And putting less energy into the friendships with people who didn’t understand me gave me more energy to put into the friendships with people who did.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“All I had done in the past was choose what I wanted to be busy doing. I had prioritized television over people and, in turn, lost precious time with them. I didn’t want to lose another minute,”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“you have to simplify, strip things away, and figure out what’s really going on. Falling”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“When you want less, you consume less—and you also need less money.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“whenever you let go of something negative in your life, you make room for something positive.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“Each time I craved it, I had to stand in the moment, pay attention to what had triggered the craving, and change my reaction.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“But one day, I knew enough was enough. The stories I’d been telling myself to allow these bad habits to continue for so long had reached their ending. I was done.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“That’s the curse of being the eldest, especially by eight and ten years: you have to carry the weight of your younger siblings’ problems, as well as your own. They come to you for a reason. You don’t want to shelter them, but you do want to protect them. You want to protect them from the confusion and the pain, so you carry theirs and yours. Only, nobody knows you have your own confusion and pain. Nobody knows you’re hurting at all.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“[...] I realized being at a company this small meant I could physically see my efforts pay off. When I was working for the government, I had struggled with the slow pace, and also with the understanding that I might never know who actually cared about the work I had done.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“I wanted to be surrounded by those who valued living over working,”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“I wasn’t good enough, but this stuff would make me better.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“Today I consider myself a former binge consumer turned mindful consumer of everything.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“food and drink water to survive. That was a fact of life. 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.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“What was worse to think about was the fact that I had spent money to save time and then wasted almost every minute of it.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“I valued convenience over the experience of doing anything for myself.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“They would always make little digs at my intentions that would try to put cracks in the tiny bit of willpower I was still standing on, because people will always make comments when you decide to live a countercultural lifestyle.”
― Cait Flanders, 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

“Those assumptions hurt, because they made me feel like I was being ostracized for trying to better myself. Was this what it felt like to be one of the smart kids who actually cared about their education and their grades in high school?”
― Cait Flanders, 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