Lee Simpson may seem like an unlikely candidate to don the mantel of anti-consumerist prophet. She is, after all, the former publisher of Canada’s most successful women’s lifestyles magazine, Chatelaine. But that is just the first of many surprising things about her new book My Year of Buying Nothing. In the 1980s and ’90s, Simpson oversaw the heady days of women’s magazine publishing. Although proud of the excellent journalism featured in her magazines, and of the pioneering work of the editors she worked with, her “primary role as senior executive was to ensure that a maximum number of advertising pages got sold.” “I was part of the data analysis and market research conglomerate that helped consumer predators know your weaknesses and exploit them mercilessly.” In My Year of Buying Nothing, Simpson invites readers into her world to witness first hand the struggles she faced, the decisions and compromises she had to make, and the epiphanies and wisdom she won during her year-long attempt to shed her “consumer” skin and live a more sustainable, more authentic, more earth-friendly life. Who better to choose as a guide to a new, healthier post-consumer lifestyle than someone who is intimately familiar with the pitfalls and dangers of the starting place, and the challenges of the way forward

In the spirit of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and The Joy of Less, experience the benefits of buying less and sharing more with this accessible 7-step guide to decluttering, saving money, and creating community from the creators of the Buy Nothing Project. In their island community, friends Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller discovered that the beaches of Puget Sound were spoiled by a daily influx of plastic items and trash washing on shore. From pens and toothbrushes to toys and straws, they wondered, where did it all come from? Of course, it comes from us—our homes, our backyards, our cars, and our workplaces. And so, a rallying cry against excess stuff was born. In 2013, they launched the first Facebook Buy Nothing Project group in their small town off the coast of Seattle, and they never expected it to become a viral sensation. Today there are thousands of Buy Nothing groups all over the world, boasting more than a million members, and 5,000 highly active volunteers. Inspired by the ancient practice of gift economies, where neighbors share and pool resources,The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan introduces an environmentally conscious 7-step guide that teaches us how to buy less, give more, and live generously. At once an actionable plan and a thought-provoking exploration of our addiction to stuff, this powerful program will help you declutter your home without filling landfills, shop more thoughtfully and discerningly, and let go of the need to buy new things. Filled with helpful lists and practical suggestions including 50 items you never need to buy (Ziploc bags and paper towels) and 50 things to make instead (gift cards and salad dressing), The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan encourages you to rethink why you shop and embrace a space-saving, money-saving, and earth-saving mindset of buying less and sharing more.