My Year of Less
I have a book suggestion for you: "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.
The basic gist of this book focuses on a woman in her late 20s who decides to go on a year-long buying ban in the hopes of refocusing herself and stopping her consumeristic habits. To say this book was inspiring would be an understatement - it completely sent me on a path that has led us all to this moment and this post.
I'm setting out to do a year-long buying ban starting January 1, 2023.
Before I'd even read Flanders' book, I'd been thinking of doing a book buying ban in order to (finally) put a dent into my physical TBR list - I currently have 188 unread books sitting on my shelves. In December, I decided to read "The Year of Less" to get the ball rolling for a successful and productive 2023. As I read, I began to think about what I wanted my life to look like and what I wanted out of my life (and my money). This book opened up my mind to the idea of taking more drastic measures if I wanted to see longterm changes. Now here we are...
The Rules:
What I'm allowed to shop for:
- groceries, on-the-go food, & household cleaning supplies
- thrift clothes while traveling internationally
- items on the approved shopping list
- clothes, shoes, accessories
- makeup & skincare
- books
- Food delivery services for self only
- household items (candles, decor)
- I am allowed to purchase anything that must be replaced but only once the original item is finished and thrown out or donated.
- replaced clothing must be bought thrifted
- all skincare backups must be used before making additional purchases
- I am allowed to purchase personal items such as socks and undergarments.
- I am allowed to buy the following used books:
- Any used sci-fi or classics
- Books off my "lost books" list