Madeline’s Reviews > 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 > Status Update

“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 eat, drink, or buy can fix it. Instead, you have to simplify, strip things away, and figure out what’s really going on. More was never the answer.”

“It forced me to stop living on autopilot and start questioning my decisions: who was I? What was I already good at? What did I care about? What did I really want in this life?”

Some of the vacation stories are a bit long, but I get the vibe that she wrote this for herself as much as for readers. Some of it is good insight - how to avoid spending money on a trip

“People would always make comments. 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.”

“One thing 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.”