I’ve never considered myself a compulsive shopper though the size of my book and shoe collections might suggest otherwise. But I still have far too much “stuff” in my home — clothes I’ve never (or seldom) worn; boxes of unfinished craft projects; cosmetics bought on impulse; spices past their prime etc etc.
I suspect I’m not alone in going through phases of trying to sort out the mess; embarking on some kind of decluttering exercise. My initial enthusiasm never lasts long though — the whole process usually proves too mind-numbingly boring. Or ridiculous (in no version of my life can I ever anticipate evaluating which possessions “bring me joy” or thanking my handbags for their service at the end of the day as per Marie Kondo.
Maybe I was looking for something more insightful than a self-help manual when I came across The Year of Less by Cait Flanders. It documents a period in her life when she set out to curb her impulse buying and learn to live with fewer possessions.
She was in her late twenties at the time and had clawed her way back from binge drinking and almost $30,000 of consumer debt. But she was still spending more and saving less than she wanted.
Her plan was to live with less. She could shop for essentials (toiletries, groceries, fuel for her car) but purchases of new clothes, books, magazines, electronics, home decor and take-away coffee (costing her $100 a month) were banned. She could buy items on her “approved shopping list” such as gifts for relatives/friends and could replace items that were broken or in very poor condition.
By the end of her year’s experiment she’d got rid of 70% of her belongings — discarding most of her clothes until she had just 27 items left — and saved almost half her income. As the book’s subtitle “How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store” indicates, the results went far beyond monetary savings. At the end of 12 monhs, she’d changed career; formed new friendships and felt more fulfilled.
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. It helped me save $17,000 in a single year. And then it saved me.
The Year of Less was interesting but only up to a point. Much of the book dealt with her behaviours and attitudes rather than the practical aspects for example., of how she decided what to buy/not to buy.
So we got page after page about the addictive behaviours of her early adult years (binge-drinking to the point of unconsciousness) and the emotions triggered by a break-up with a boyfriend. Most extraordinary of all was her response to her parents’ announcement of their divorce. Sadness I can understand. But unable to work and curling up in bed every night at 6pm seemed an extreme reaction.
The Year of Less is more a memoir about how a troubled girl sorts out her life, than a guide to how to live a less consumerist life. it’s not until we get to the final chapter that she encapsulates everything she learned during her Year of Less. But you have to plod through a lot of , frankly, not very interesting soul-searching to get to the key take-away message:
The ban uncovered the truth, which was than when you decide to want less, you can buy less and ultimately need less money.
It’s simple really….