No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity

Journalist Piper (Give a Sh*t) draws on her own efforts to lead a “life less smothered by overconsumption” to provide solid guidance for readers wishing to cut down on waste. She traces the roots of today’s overconsumption to a materialistic culture that emerged after WWII, as manufacturers combated scarcity fatigue by marketing luxury items and making the American dream synonymous with stuff. Meanwhile, companies began releasing frequent, slightly tweaked versions of products that consumers bought as status markers. Those developments created a system, Piper explains, where boredom-induced shopping is the norm. To break the pattern, she outlines a 30-day challenge for readers to gradually alter their purchasing habits. Among other steps, it involves establishing the right mindset to conserve, implementing small changes to reduce impulse buying (including unsubscribing from or muting influencer marketing), and borrowing instead of buying. The author uses valuable insight gleaned from breaking her own shopping addiction to bolster her actionable plan for cutting back on waste and saving time, money, and mental peace. It amounts to a savvy and convincing argument that less can be more. (Apr.)