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clubsanwich's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Buy Nothing has hugely influenced my life. The authors make excellent, well-researched points about plastic waste and gift economies. I love all the stories and examples. Somehow, I enjoyed the audiobook more than the book-book.
alltyedup's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
jennagrace_m's review
5.0
While many of the suggestions and ideas in this book made me say, "duh!" to myself, it was moreso in a "how have I never thought of it this way before?" way. I came away with this with much to think about and a lot of creative and new (to me) ideas for buying less and reducing waste.
emtenhover's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
I found his book to be incredibly interesting. As someone who is guilty of a shoppng addiction (like... for real it can be a problem sometimes) it provided a new insight into possibility of the why - as well as giving options for a better outlet.
wphraner's review
3.0
I love the premise of this book but some of the suggestions really missed the mark. Making your own yogurt takes a looong time and there’s no mention of proper temperature. Scary. Make beans in a slow cooker? Again, that takes forever. Make them in an electric pressure cooker instead. Raise your own chickens? It’s not as easy as they claim. Compost an entire fish? Why? Such a waste! Wrap gifts in inside-out potato chip bags? Really?!? Pick up pens off the ground and use them? Nope. Also, I made the all-purpose citrus cleaner (vinegar and orange peels). It didn’t cut through grease and it stained my towels orange. :(
fallingletters's review
4.0
Review originally published 10 April 2020 at Falling Letters. I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I hadn’t heard of the Buy Nothing Project til I began reading this book. While it’s a little different from what I usually review, it caught my eye when I was poking around Netgalley. I requested it because buying reducing my purchases of new stuff (especially plastic and single use items) is a goal of mine for 2020. I don’t buy a lot of stuff but I know I can do better – not jumping to ‘new’ or ‘plastic’ when I do need to purchase something.
1. Give
2. Ask
3. Reuse & Refuse
4. Reflect
5. Make & Fix
6. Share, Lend & Borrow
7. Gratitude
At the beginning, I thought “Okay, this book is more about sharing once you’ve already stopped buying and less about the initial step of ‘buying nothing'”. The first two steps are give and ask. These are interesting and good ideas, but to my way of thinking, they didn’t address how to ‘buy nothing’ in the way I was hoping for. However, the steps and suggestions proposed do eventually get to the practical points which were of most interest to me. The book contains a lot of anecdotes, especially at the beginning, but they provide context for the actionable ideas shared later on. I particularly liked the lists (ex. “10 Things to Reuse Instead of Toss”, “50 Things We Never Buy”) that gave me ideas for some of the niggly purchases/waste I hadn’t yet resolved – such as giving away parcel packaging.
The book also has a more radical tone than I expected. The main takeaway is about supporting community connections through sharing. As the authors note, participating in a sharing economy rather than participating in capitalism has some inherent radicalism in it. I wondered whether the authors would address cultures that have sharing-based economies, or how women are often expected to give, give, give, or how poverty intersects with these ideas – and they do. I appreciate that their ideas aren’t just framed for one type of person.
This seven step plan hinges on idea of being able to participate in a hyper local sharing economy, where you can give and ask for items you would otherwise purchase. There are thousands of Buy Nothing groups organized on Facebook. I found and joined the one for my area. It only has around 40 members and isn’t very active. Other groups in different parts of the city have over 1,000; the authors point to 500 as the sweet spot for a successful sharing group. My sister joined the group in our hometown – it has 600 members. So your mileage may vary. The notion of fully participating in a sharing group may be idealistic for some of us, but I also found it inspiring. You have to start somewhere! You can see if your area has a Buy Nothing group here.
The Bottom Line: While the sharing economy may not be the most practical option for readers looking to reduce their environmental footprint by purchasing less, The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan offers many concrete ideas for changing your everyday consumption while strengthening your community.
I hadn’t heard of the Buy Nothing Project til I began reading this book. While it’s a little different from what I usually review, it caught my eye when I was poking around Netgalley. I requested it because buying reducing my purchases of new stuff (especially plastic and single use items) is a goal of mine for 2020. I don’t buy a lot of stuff but I know I can do better – not jumping to ‘new’ or ‘plastic’ when I do need to purchase something.
[Buy Nothing] is a philosophy that holds that the key to a joyful life of meaning and abundance on a healthy planet is to pursue every possible alternative before buying anything one wants or needs. (Loc 112)I started reading with a dose of skepticism. Is this book going to be fluffy or practical? The first part of the book is a bit removed from what I was looking for. After the first three introductory sections, the authors lay out their seven step plan. They describing the logic behind the action, relate anecdotes and reflections on the step, and suggesting concrete actions to enact that step.
1. Give
2. Ask
3. Reuse & Refuse
4. Reflect
5. Make & Fix
6. Share, Lend & Borrow
7. Gratitude
At the beginning, I thought “Okay, this book is more about sharing once you’ve already stopped buying and less about the initial step of ‘buying nothing'”. The first two steps are give and ask. These are interesting and good ideas, but to my way of thinking, they didn’t address how to ‘buy nothing’ in the way I was hoping for. However, the steps and suggestions proposed do eventually get to the practical points which were of most interest to me. The book contains a lot of anecdotes, especially at the beginning, but they provide context for the actionable ideas shared later on. I particularly liked the lists (ex. “10 Things to Reuse Instead of Toss”, “50 Things We Never Buy”) that gave me ideas for some of the niggly purchases/waste I hadn’t yet resolved – such as giving away parcel packaging.
The book also has a more radical tone than I expected. The main takeaway is about supporting community connections through sharing. As the authors note, participating in a sharing economy rather than participating in capitalism has some inherent radicalism in it. I wondered whether the authors would address cultures that have sharing-based economies, or how women are often expected to give, give, give, or how poverty intersects with these ideas – and they do. I appreciate that their ideas aren’t just framed for one type of person.
People who are struggling financially are bombarded with societal messages that their poverty is shameful, something to be hidden, and we internalize the message that only the financially well-off are “givers,” while those with fewer resources are inherently “takers.” […] Despite the fact that we all have needs and wants, and an innate ability and desire to both give and receive, there are no prescribed ways to do this on equal footing, person to person. (Loc 552 and 559)
This seven step plan hinges on idea of being able to participate in a hyper local sharing economy, where you can give and ask for items you would otherwise purchase. There are thousands of Buy Nothing groups organized on Facebook. I found and joined the one for my area. It only has around 40 members and isn’t very active. Other groups in different parts of the city have over 1,000; the authors point to 500 as the sweet spot for a successful sharing group. My sister joined the group in our hometown – it has 600 members. So your mileage may vary. The notion of fully participating in a sharing group may be idealistic for some of us, but I also found it inspiring. You have to start somewhere! You can see if your area has a Buy Nothing group here.
This Buying Nothing paradigm shift has grown internationally, and scaled quickly, because it’s filling a deep need that’s been missing in our collective consciousness: the need to share, to connect, to conserve, and to strengthen our resilience through community. (Loc 2940)
The Bottom Line: While the sharing economy may not be the most practical option for readers looking to reduce their environmental footprint by purchasing less, The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan offers many concrete ideas for changing your everyday consumption while strengthening your community.
cathy_journals's review
5.0
This book!
I read The Buy Nothing Get Everything Plan at the intersection of:
+ Feeling overwhelmed by how much plastic I use (and learning the severe limitations of plastic recycling.)
+ The extreme cost of alternatives like toothpaste that comes in tablets, biodegradable plasticware, etc.
This book is SO PRACTICAL! Not only did it connect me to the Buy Nothing app which has resulted in some great gifts with people in my neighborhood, but it also reminded me that our grandparents didn't use all this stuff. (Commercials changed the way we live.)
This book reminded me that:
1) My mom brushed her teeth with baking soda as a child. (I put some in a diner-style sugar dispenser with peppermint essential oil and the cleaning results are pretty great.)
2) Homemade salad dressing is easy and WAY more delicious than what comes in a plastic bottle.
3) Tons of things can be repurposed. (And Amazon doesn't need to be my first move.)
I highly recommend downloading the free @buynothingapp and grabbing a copy of this book. (I first listened to it on my library's app, then decided to buy a copy so I could mark it up and use flags on the pages where I want to implement the ideas.
I read The Buy Nothing Get Everything Plan at the intersection of:
+ Feeling overwhelmed by how much plastic I use (and learning the severe limitations of plastic recycling.)
+ The extreme cost of alternatives like toothpaste that comes in tablets, biodegradable plasticware, etc.
This book is SO PRACTICAL! Not only did it connect me to the Buy Nothing app which has resulted in some great gifts with people in my neighborhood, but it also reminded me that our grandparents didn't use all this stuff. (Commercials changed the way we live.)
This book reminded me that:
1) My mom brushed her teeth with baking soda as a child. (I put some in a diner-style sugar dispenser with peppermint essential oil and the cleaning results are pretty great.)
2) Homemade salad dressing is easy and WAY more delicious than what comes in a plastic bottle.
3) Tons of things can be repurposed. (And Amazon doesn't need to be my first move.)
I highly recommend downloading the free @buynothingapp and grabbing a copy of this book. (I first listened to it on my library's app, then decided to buy a copy so I could mark it up and use flags on the pages where I want to implement the ideas.