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

by Ashlee Piper

From award-winning sustainability expert Ashlee Piper, a witty, no-nonsense guide to regaining control over your time, consumerist impulses, and financial and mental wellness

For nearly two years, Ashlee Piper challenged herself to buy nothing new. And in the process, she got out of debt, cut clutter, crushed her goals, and became healthier and happier than ever—all the things she’d always wanted to do but “never had time to” (because she was mindlessly scrolling, shopping, spending, and stressing). After a decade of fine-tuning, No New Things guides readers through the same revolutionarily simple challenge that has helped thousands of global participants find freedom and fulfillment in just thirty days.

The book follows the rise of what Piper calls “conditioned consumerism” and how it sneakily hijacks our time, money, and mental bandwidth, as well as harms the planet. From there, readers follow customizable daily action items that bring about the ease and richness of a life less bogged down by spending and stuff, without compromising on style, convenience, or fun.

Whether you’re a bona fide shopaholic or someone who just wants to buy less and live more, No New Things is the antidote to modern overwhelm.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Personal Finance, Finance, Personal Development, Adult

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most action-oriented and encouraging book focused on intentional consumerism that I've read since The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The book begins with background and a few relevant stats for how much Americans consume (and waste) and what deleterious effects that behavior is having on our wallets, mental health, and the planet. Piper manages to deliver these gloomy messages in a positive light, however, because she tells you how you can take a different approach starting with her 30 day No New Things Challenge. Each day of the challenge is presented as a chapter and you are given a specific action item and relevant information and context for how the action will change your mindset towards shopping and mindlessly accumulating stuff. Although I did not follow the prescribed 30-day challenges, I did thoroughly enjoy reading the book and it did motivate me to reflect on my "things" consumption and to take action. Throughout the book Piper's tone is positive and encouraging, and she maps out ways to make do the 30 day challenge in a way that works for you.

While reading this book I was motivated to:
+ list good-condition unwanted clothes on a clothing resale site
+ unsubscribe from unwanted catalogs
+ list unwanted items in online "free" groups instead of making a donation drop off
+ find a shoe repair shop to have a pair of shoes repaired to make them last longer
+ shop used-goods websites to browse for items I want instead of shopping new
+ make use of gift cards to make purchases
+ think about focusing on gifting experiences instead of "things"
+ and make the recommended "Needs List" and "Love List"

I think I will continue to be motivated to keep up these habits! I would recommend this book to anyone who: enjoyed The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, enjoys thinking about conscious consumerism, feels overwhelmed by the stuff they have, or wonders if their relationship to shopping might not be the healthiest.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Janssen]

This book made me think that I care about things and shopping much less than the average person.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published April 15, 2025. Tax day. I see what you did there.

3 stars for the parts I read.

In a surprise to no one, most of us have too much stuff and we buy too much more. Piper goes through some of the reasons for both of these truths then offers a 30 day plan where the reader isn’t supposed to buy anything but necessities (groceries, medicines, car repairs, gas, etc.) for thirty days.

I stopped reading here because, although I’m kind of interested in the plan I wasn’t especially interested in starting right now and the rest of the book was a day by day institution of the plan with a section to read each day. This might be something I would do at some point, though, and if I do I’ll buy a copy of the book and my rating may change. For now, it’s mostly basic stuff we all already know.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really opened my eyes to the ways that social media can cause multifaceted harm to our mental health. I really loved going through the challenges and trying to work out why we do what we do and buy what we buy. Definitely recommend to everyone!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for grating me access to early release of the audiobook for my honest review

[crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVEDDDDDD THIS!

[Maura Breth · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very interesting and eye opening read into american consumerism and the constant urges to buy that fill our lives. the author offered up alot of productive and thoughtful actions to help combat this consumerism and to implement greater agency in our lives in the face of a society built on constantly buying new/buying in general.

i initially started this challenge by going through each day and journaling about the chapters as each day came, however by the end of the book i found it to be more beneficial to look at it more as a guide and less as like something i had to diligently take notes on. there’s a lot in this book that i found relevant and there’s a lot that i found didn’t apply to me and my spending as much. i think this book works better as a “combatting pervasive consumerism guide” versus a day by day challenge. it’s great for giving ideas on how to implement these tools into your life, but can feel a bit overwhelming trying to implement 30 tools and ideas in 30 days.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don't appreciate or respect an author who curses as much as Ashlee Piper does in the first two chapters of this book. It's a book about confronting consumerism -- why does it have to sound like a trucker is yelling at me? Vulgarity is the crutch of a weak mind, so it's a DNF (did not finish) for this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book, but it's not going to be one I recommend.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this insightful and helpful book.
The information was relevant, and the suggestions were practical and realistic. I found the history of consumerism and marketing super interesting. I’m about to embark on 30 days of No New Things and thanks to what I learned from this book, it feels achievable!

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Celadon Books #partner for the gifted copy to review.

I have been trying to continually purge even though I just moved, as I don’t know where I have acquired all of this stuff. (And no, I am not talking about books lol). No New Things by Ashlee Piper was incredibly timely as it helped to understand how we have gotten into this cycle of always ‘needing’ the hottest, newest item, often replacing things that we don’t really need to yet, and instead of getting rid of what we are replacing, putting that item on a shelf or in the garage. And wondering why we don’t have as much money as we thought we should have. There were a couple of shocking items in here for me that definitely have me rethinking my habits, one of which is how costly returns are. I am definitely guilty of buying online knowing I can easily return the item if it does not work. The other is how we shift our waste to other countries and it really never goes away, aka it is most likely not biodegradable, so trash is just moving around and piling up. Yikes.

She has a 30-day challenge in here that helps you to not buy anything new, declutter what you have, and recondition your minds to do something else when stressed rather than scroll. I have not started this challenge yet but definitely plan on doing a version of it, most likely starting with the kitchen and rehoming several items I have not used in years. This is a great book that I plan on referring back to often.

[Little · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start by saying: I am not the target audience for this book. Like, not at all. I'm the target audience for Living on Less and Liking it More: How to reduce your spending and increase your living, and this is not that.

I'm already active on BuyNothing. I borrow, lend, and share (once my neighbor gave me her blender, because she realized I had borrowed it three times in a year and she hadn't used it even once in between). We have done "handmade holidays" and made Christmas gifts for the adults in our family for over a decade. We don't shop as a hobby. I'm also, apparently, crazy broke compared to her target audience. The first time Piper mentions an actual dollar amount in the book it's on page 133, and it's helping a friend cancel $712 worth of monthly subscriptions for physical objects. Which, using my calculator here, is $8544 per year, and 10% of the median household income in the US in 2024. Even more flabbergasting is page 253 where she claims $1000 is "way less" than her "most restrained day" of tracking the things she wants to buy for 24 hours, and then concludes "when tempered with even the most conservative stats on how much we act on our impulses" the average participant in her challenge will save thousands of dollars each week. Which, um, that's a pretty wild assertation. I'm certain I've never wanted $7000 worth of objects in a single week, let alone many weeks in a row.

Speaking of wanting a lot of objects: there are MANY categories of things that are exempt from the No New Things Challenge. Any non-tangible purchase is exempted: services, experiences, travel, repairs, and even gift certificates. So it's not a "no spend" challenge at all. But even beyond that, anything considered an "essential item" is permitted within the challenge. Now, I definitely agree that makeup and personal care products should be purchased new. However, the challenge lasts for 30 days. Surely most people can go 30 days without buying more makeup or personal care products? Most of us own a fair amount of those things already. I mean, I once attempted to make it through Lent without purchasing anything at all, including food, so the massive carve outs for anything you can internally justify feel off to me.

Even if you are her target audience and bought into her basic ideas, following the challenge is going to present some troubles because the asks for different days vary wildly. Some of the days demand gigantic projects: take out every piece of clothing you own, try it all on, repair anything that needs fixing, get rid or anything that doesn't fit or you don't like anymore, and create a fabulous new outfit from pieces you already own!! Other days literally just ask that you think about something, like how you could possibly not buy souvenirs when you travel. And the major project days are mostly clustered together at the beginning, rather then, for example, having one gigantic decluttering project per week and balancing it out with the "think about" kinds of tasks.

Now there are TWO very useful things in this book. One is the "Need Note," which consists of writing down the things you need, a few ideas about how you could procure each thing without retail shopping, and notes to help guide you. I already do this, but it's something that maybe not everyone does. The second useful thing is a "Trigger Tracker." She presents this as a chart: what, new/second hand, where, when, feels, and cost. To my perspective, the most significant thing about the trigger tracker is that you note what you were doing and how you were feeling when the urge to buy things hit. Her example shows a lot of "I was procrastinating or bored, so I scrolled, and then there were ads or sponsored posts, so I clicked one, went down a rabbit hole of shopping online." If you're really going to spend less over the long term, this is the single most useful thing you can do: pay attention to the psychological needs you are trying to meet by shopping and buying new stuff. Because, as we know from addiction psychology, if your needs aren't being acknowledged and met, you're going to keep doing the maladaptive thing that soothes them temporarily.

Bottom line: I pretty much hated this book. It's certainly got it's place, and that's probably in the hands of a person with more dollars than sense.

[Hannah | Reading Under Covers · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up!

I've always loved ideas surrounding anti-consumerism and de-influencing if you will and this book offered great insights on why someone would (and should) stop leaning into the "shopping is therapy" mindset.

Since I was a child, I've always been overwhelmed by things and the space they take up and this put a lot of those thoughts and feelings into perspective while also offering a concrete plan to loving and utilizing what you already own, saving the planet, and using the hours that would have been spent scrolling and shopping to do things that actually bring you concrete joy.

[Sera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ashlee Piper’s No New Things landed in my hands at just the right time *gestures broadly at the economy*. Like many people, I tend to cope with stress or sadness through shopping. For me, browsing is more therapeutic than compulsive; most items end up on a wish list rather than in a shopping cart. Right away, it was clear that my relationship with shopping differs significantly from Ashlee’s. Still, I believe in finishing what I start, so here we go.

The Challenges:
- From the outset, the book raised some red flags. On page 34, Piper states that it's okay not to believe in climate change. While it's clear from the broader context that she personally does believe in it, framing it as a matter of belief rather than scientific fact felt like a troubling misstep. Climate change is a fact not a belief system.
- Piper’s writing style aims for approachable and conversational, likeable mom friend, but misses the mark, veering instead into territory that feels forced, the mom that uses her teenagers' slang without really understanding what it means and not entirely in context. The tone oscillates between preachy and overly casual, which undercuts the important message she’s trying to convey. For such a substantive topic, a more direct, professional voice might have made the content more effective and trustworthy.
- The "no new things" exercise/challenge doesn't begin until page 97 of 389. The content could have been more concise; there’s a lot of repetition and digression that a tighter edit might have resolved.
- Giving secondhand items as gifts (pages 133 and 305) feels like poor manners. Gifting used items for major occasions without understanding the recipient’s preferences can come across as inconsiderate. Gifting well means honoring the recipient's taste and expectations—not decluttering your own home under the guise of thoughtfulness. Please just gift them something that's in your price range and when possible, please stick to the registry/wish light otherwise your gift will likely be part of their decluttering pile. Please do not give people junk they didn't ask for.
- Piper acknowledges this, but a lot of the advice didn’t translate well to rural living. Piper emphasizes local, in-person shopping, but many secondhand options in rural areas are sparse or overpriced. Even shopping locally for new items can be difficult when stores stock inventory tailored to limited community demand. Likewise, the suggestion to use physical cash felt outdated, digital payments are standard, even in small towns.
- The tip of using unwanted body wash as dish soap or laundry detergent (page 267) raised safety and effectiveness concerns. These products aren't designed for cross-use, and repurposing them this way could do more harm than good.

The Positives:
- I really loved some of the fun facts scattered throughout the book.
- The “Action Items” and charts were well-structured and could serve as useful tools for readers looking to reflect on and revise their habits. Focusing on those sections alone might be the best way to engage with the book’s message.

Neutral but noteworthy:
- Quite a lot of things are included in the "allowed to purchase" area of this exercise including restaurants and entertainment.
- On page 106, Piper acknowledges that if you live in an isolated/rural area, this book exercise will be difficult to follow. This is very accurate.

Final Thoughts:
I'm sure there's a market for this book but I am not it. I enjoy shopping, but I’ve never let it derail my finances. I manage a middle-class household where everything has a place, budgets are tracked, and thoughtful purchasing is already the norm. Many of the community and shop local sections simply didn’t apply to my reality.

#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

has that 'are you ready to kick capitalism's butt? well, pull up your socks, boss bitch, because it's time to get anticonsumerist!' tone but the message is actually so real....so......sometimes you simply have to suffer being told to pull your socks up boss bitch for the good of yourself and the planet

[Sarah Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Easy practical challenges all about targeting the root issues. Very achievable, action oriented and well structured with research and examples. I listened to the audiobook (thanks NetGalley!) and am excited to read again and do the challenge over the course of 30 days.

[Ash Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole challenge idea is cool but the book is so out of touch. The super casual writing style came off as really cringe and unprofessional. Some points are completely contradictory and overall not well researched

[Emily]

This was super cool and def eye opening for me who is a shopping addict, but the last part of the book is a day by day guide to no shopping so I’m waiting until I’m ready for that

[Georgia]

could’ve been a podcast episode

while I appreciated (and needed) the concept lol I did not need the millennial jargon and being called a baddie every other page

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mainly a 30 day no buy/no new things challenge, which also has tasks for each day around reflecting on our habits around consumption, dealing with the stuff we already have, and building a toolkit of sorts for becoming more intentional consumers in the future. I did not do the challenge, though I also do a lot of the suggestions already and was not new to most of this. The information here was still motivating and useful, though I am not sure how realistic this is as a 30 day challenge. Some of the tasks seem like they’d be time consuming to do in the format suggested, and I am not sure anyone who isn’t already doing some of this stuff would be interested in reading through the entire book, which gets a little repetitive. Overall, I recommend it for the info and approach, but I think a longer format challenge would be more useful, or doing most of the reflections and tasks before actually doing the no buy month.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was overall a solid read, especially if you're interested in combatting overconsumption, shopping addiction, or simply just owning less things. while i didn't do the challenge as intended (this book gives you a different task/goal for 30 days), i can see myself doing this in the future. there were some helpful tips/prompts that i made sure to note for future reference. some information/statistics were new to me, while others weren't. i would say that the information in this book isn't revolutionary (at least to me), but it's still good to be reminded of the impact of shopping religiously, a habit i am trying to undo after 20 years (anyone else a product of spending large amounts of time at the mall in the 2000s & 2010s?).

i've seen some reviewers critique the tone of this book, and i do agree. it's written in an informal way, and it reads like the author is trying to be your quirky best friend. i wasn't too annoyed by it, but the attempts at humor did take away from the content at times; it could be a bit much. someone said this should have been an article, and i can agree with that. the book felt a bit drawn out, though i do appreciate Piper giving specific detail about each step in the challenge. did i feel like this could have been an article or YouTube video, though? yes.

i'd recommend this book if you want to:
- learn more about conscious consumption and consumerist (Western) culture
- challenge yourself not to buy anything but essentials for 30 days
- be more intentional in your spending

if you're interested in learning more about this topic beyond this book, i highly recommend YouTube channels like Shawna Ripari, Shelbizleee, and Alyssa Barber for learning more about overconsumption & conscious consumerism from different angles!

[Brittany Viklund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing, gentle, fun, and hella useful guide for curbing consumption! Ashley will hold your hand through 30 days of thoughtfully resisting the urge to buy and directing you to alternatives to fill your cup in even more rewarding and satisfying ways— a must read!

[Laney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to jumpstart a lifestyle change and written in a funny, approachable manner. But personally my lil sis started living this way a few years ago and had shared a lot of these guidelines with me already so I don’t feel like I learned anything new or groundbreaking.

[Catherine Nasers · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Life-changing” is dramatic. And while I do love dramatics, I’ll instead go with “life-resetting”

I REALLY loved Piper’s voice and tone throughout. She never talked down or in such a way that makes you feel silly about your current lifestyle. She made each day manageable and relatable.

And over the last 30 days I’ve saved ~$835 not impulse buying on the internet. 🤯

[Wendy Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this book. I did not do the challenge. I had set off to learn about it first. And I would recommend listening to it first and preparing it does take a lot of work, but I think you’ll find free time as you go along with the challenge. I will say that I did an act some of the suggestions in the strategies. And I have bought less shit. I have Decluttered several spaces. And I would recommend this to anybody who is tired of all the crap!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book genuinely changed my mindset and habits around purchasing. While I apparently cared about shopping less than many people to begin with, it made me evaluate my choices and I think back to it often. Highly recommend.

[Stephanie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a self identified minimalist who loves reading about stuff like this I wasn’t sure if this would just be a repeat of things I already know. I actually found it to be an approachable and helpful read. I would highly recommend it to people who aren’t as averse to buying new things as I am. Most books on this topic don’t address how to replace the emotional need that excessive consumption is currently satisfying. This seems like a crucial step that is missed when all you do is just get rid of things that don’t spark joy, only to buy a whole new set of items over the next year.

I’m excited that even though I am no beginner when it comes to avoiding buying stuff there are plenty of new ideas and tricks to try in this book.

[Kasey Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the fight against consumerism and the fresh way to view possessions this book offered.
My copy had to be returned to the library halfway through reading it, so I didn’t follow the challenge directly, and I also feel like I’ve done a lot of the things she recommended. So overall, it didn’t feel quite as life changing as it could for someone who follows it to a T or finds themselves impulsively buying a lot. I’d certainly recommend for anyone trying to tame their spending habits or in need of an extra push of motivation to care more about the damages of consumerism!

[Hallie Waugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the approach, philosophy, and data she incorporated! Didn’t love the overly-punny tone but who cares. I’ve loved challenging myself to be more resourceful and thoughtful with how I consume.

[Olavia Kite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I wasn’t learning anything from this book until I found myself quoting from it to my husband. There’s nothing really revolutionary in there, but it’s hard to overlook. I did stop myself from making a few purchases while reading this book, and it feels quite good.

[Simonew · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite enjoyed this book -

[Elise]

I think I just don't care about stuff as much as other people do. It just didn't resonate. Going a month without buying something? That's not a problem.