#ashlee piper

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Though decluttering is often seen as procedural and trendy, I’d argue that it’s a process that can be pretty profound. Time and again in real life, I’ve seen a simple declutter literally shift someone’s trajectory and spirit. Science supports that organizing our spaces boasts unexpected benefits like healthier bodies, better sleep, enhanced cognitive function, and even fewer accidents.1 Taking inventory and care of your possessions also provides tangible evidence of the abundance you already enjoy. And gratitude for and attention to our existing abundance is a remarkable antidote to feeling the lack that is weaponized against us in a capitalistic society.

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

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And not to get all gushy, but there’s just something so cool about sharing. Have you ever lent someone a book that you just couldn’t put down? That shared experience of enjoying the same gripping story, getting a whiff of the well-worn pages—it’s special. The same experience can be had when you’re wearing a friend’s dress to accept a big award, or you lend an aspiring photographer your barely used Canon so they can take portraits of local senior citizens. It takes a little courage to step out of ourselves and make a borrowing request, but once you give it a go, you’ll find it’s a beautiful, community- and connection-affirming practice.

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

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The science behind rearranging is actually pretty darn interesting. Our brains are remarkable pattern-making machines that can become accustomed to our spaces, and that monotony sometimes leads to distracted thinking. Thus, shifting or changing elements of an area stimulates our brain to find new focal points, thereby stoking and enhancing concentration. And literally seeing things from a new angle can get the creative juices flowing, so much so that a common hack for writer’s block is to change environments (hence, the prevalence of idyllic writers’ and artists’ retreats), or at the very least, move one’s desk.

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

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Planned obsolescence took us from people who made the occasional, practical purchase to full-time consumers who bought new stuff just for fun. And it drove industry to make multiple versions of items more frequently that weren’t substantively different from their predecessors. It’s why the market today is saturated with constant new releases and poorly made, usually inexpensive goods that can never be repaired, with parts that can never be replaced, locking us in a cycle of perpetually trading up and buying more.

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

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In the Western world especially, consumerism is an addictive practice. And you and I and basically everyone else are unwitting addicts.

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

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Things are just tools, and good tools are useful, but they should never use you.

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

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There’s a saying about the American health care system, that there’s no money in people being healthy or dead, but there’s loads of money to be made on sick folks who are in the in-between. The same goes for marketing. It’s tough to advertise useless crap to secure, promotion-immune people, just as it’s, well, not effective to pimp stuff to the deceased. But the folks who are in emotional limbo, those struggling with fear of what they see on the news, or financial issues, or, hmm, loneliness because they got cut from the workforce and now have to play housewife in the suburbs? Oh, they’re ripe for the picking.

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

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Look, I respect that influencing has blossomed into a bona fide career (in fact, it’s a top response among Gen Alpha when asked what they want to be when they grow up6), but let’s be real—unfollowing is an act of self-care if someone is triggering you to overconsume or go into debt, or if their content just makes you feel like shit. And while online personalities are of course people, and thus are owed the same respect as anyone else, chances are, they’re not your buddies. You don’t owe them any more than you owe retailers your business.

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