Unlock Time, Money & Energy with the No New Things Challenge
Discover how saying no to new things can create more space for what truly matters
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It’s ba-ack! Want to shift your relationship with shopping and move away from a consumer-driven lifestyle? Looking to save money, live a less cluttered life, or lighten your environmental footprint? The No New Things Challenge may be just what the doctor ordered.
Founded by sustainability expert and author, Ashlee Piper, the best thing about this challenge is that it’s radically simple: The only criteria is to abstain from buying new things for one month. Experiences like movies, concerts, and dinner are totally fair game, as well as the basics like bills, memberships, and groceries.
The experiment is a great opportunity to get creative and resourceful by shopping secondhand, upcycling, repairing things you already own, and using the sharing economy like your local neighborhood group or Buy Nothing group.
Interested? Want to try the experiment with me? Everything you need to know and simple action steps below. Plus! CLICK HERE to watch my hype call and interview with challenge founder Ashlee Piper (she is wildly entertaining!).
Step One: Clarify Your Motivation
There are lots of reasons to take a break from buying new things. Maybe you want to clarify your priorities, live more sustainably, or just reclaim some valuable time, money, and energy. Even as a card-carrying minimalist, I’m guilty of spending far more time than I would like browsing, buying, and returning things in search of the exact-right-best-thing. Whether you want to reduce your environmental impact, save towards a specific goal, or just rediscover and enjoy the things you already own, make sure to clarify your motivation for joining the challenge before you dive in: what’s your most compelling why?
Step Two: Pick a Timeframe
If you’re trying a purchase pause or a #NoNewThings challenge for the first time, I suggest starting with one month, but it’s important to pick a timeframe that aligns with your schedule and makes sense for you. If the idea of buying no new things feels like a leap, try a week. If you want to go big, try a whole season. Looking for a dramatic challenge? Try a year like challenge founder, Ashlee Piper. Fun fact: Ashlee started practicing the #NoNewThings challenge because it aligned with her mission to live more sustainably, but over the course of a single year she ended up clarifying her priorities, reclaiming loads of time, losing weight, and saving $16,000.
Step Three: Set Yourself Up For Success
Consider what might make this experiment especially challenging for you, and make sure to set yourself up for success:
Set a specific savings goal to stay motivated. I’m motivated to save up for a family trip to Thailand. One of my clients decided that every time she doesn’t buy something she will donate that exact amount to her favorite charity. Brilliant.
Unsubscribe from marketing emails and catalogues that are designed to make you feel weak in the knees and hand over your credit card.
Mute or unfollow social media accounts that promote shopping and consumption
Identify a few replacement behaviors for shopping that you enjoy just as much (i.e. reading, movies, yoga, a meal with a good friend).
Tell supportive friends and family members about your goals so they can cheer you on.
Make a creative plan for how you will handle upcoming events such as birthday parties or holiday that typically require gift giving (make something, gift an experience, etc.)
Print out a paper calendar so you can check off each day that you’re successful and pat yourself on the back.
Make it as fun and easy as possible to succeed.
Step Four: Take Notes
You can use the notes app on your phone, or a paper notebook, to jot down observations, learnings, and takeaways as you go. This can be especially helpful for recording all the things you want to buy (but don’t) so you can revisit it at the end of the challenge and see how many you still really want (my bet is very few). Trying this type of challenge can also be a great opportunity to learn more about your shopping triggers and habits so you can shop more intentionally in the future.
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I’ll be sharing updates all next month right here (wins! fails! learnings!) and hope you’ll join along. Challenges are more fun in community, so please share your goals in the chat so we can cheer each other on.
Q. Why do you want to join the challenge? What do you hope to shift or accomplish over the next month?
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It’s astounding to me Shira, that our culture is so consumer-driven that a month of abstinence is a radical act. But it is! Bravo. Xo
Perfect timing for the no new things challenge! I am in the midst of planning an opportunity to move from Colorado to New Zealand, where my children are for university and perhaps forever, for a a few years. So not only do I not need to be bringing more stuff into my home, I need to be clearing things out. My goal is to move overseas with a few suitcases, a couple of boxes and my Chihuahua. Nothing is going in storage or with local family. I’m actually really excited (for lots of reasons, of course) and can’t wait to be super intentional about what I bring into my home down there.