Sustainable Minimalists

Should you pay a bit more for carbon-neutral shipping? (Answer: It's complicated.) How do you best offset your next flight? (Answer: Pay much more than you think.)  On today's show we break down all-things carbon offsets.  Here's a preview: [4:00] Are carbon offsets a greenwashing gimmick? [6:00] How to calculate the equity weighted social cost of carbon of your next flight [15:30] Guilt-free shop...

The answer to a happier, more connected life may be as simple as connecting with nature. Enter houseplants, a.k.a. an easy and accessible way to bring the outside in. Although caring for plants has been shown to reduce stress, increase joy, and cultivate connections with ourselves, others and the earth, many of us are epic plant killers. What then? On today's show author and podcaster  Maria Faill...

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, March 10, 2023: [2:00] #StopWillow [4:30] 'Zombie' forests [7:30] The UN's (historic) High Seas Treaty [11:30] Poland Spring's unquenchable thirst   Further learning: Episode #137: 5 Facts About The Global Water Crisis   Join our (free!) community  here . Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on  Facebook,   Instagram  +  Youtube . Email me and s...

Corporations make money when consumers perseverate over what they don't have. And personal development? If you want to grow into the best person you can be, Step One is to abandon a mindset that's focused on scarcity. On this episode: how to radically transform your cognitive patterns from ruminating on what you lack to appreciating what you have in under 5 minutes a day.   Here's a preview: [3:30...

When it comes to sustainable action, we tend to label behaviors as either/or: Either we're acting in a way that's "eco-friendly" or ..., well, not. But some lifestyle tweaks are greener than others: When time, energy, and funds are finite, where's the best place to focus our efforts? On today's show: A conversation with  Sam Schreiner  about the 4 categories of sustainable action - with a hefty do...

6 high-traffic, high-impact spaces to declutter that you can complete in 20 minutes or less. Here's a preview of the spaces we're decluttering today: [4:00] Your car console [9:45] Your purse/backpack/baby bag [16:00] Your linen closet [25:00] Your medicine cabinet [28:00] The surface of your desk [33:00] Your spice cabinet   Resources mentioned: Episode #009: A Sustainable Minimalist's Bathroom J...

When it comes to skincare, loads of products line store shelves. Almost all of them make bold, anti-aging claims (fountain of youth, anyone?). But buying All. The. Products. comes with hefty financial and environmental price tags: If we want to age gracefully, what's the average woman to do and buy? On today's show, board certified dermatologist  Dr. Mary Alice Mina  makes the case that using too...

And we’re at it again! On today's show I’m answering 4 listener questions in rapid-fire format. Here's a preview of the questions I'm answering: [1:30] What should conscious consumers consider when buying eco-conscious undergarments? [13:30] What are some practical first steps for college students who want to practice sustainability? [18:00] Oh what to do with baby bottles, car seats, breast pumps...

Inflation got you down? Chin up, friends! On today's episode: 12 tangible grocery store hacks that save money and reduce food waste.  Here's a preview: [2:00] What it looks like in real life to sacrifice convenience for better prices [7:30] Even more reasons why you should consider buying dried beans instead of canned [13:00] Can you freeze cheese? (Answer: Yes! Here's how) [18:00] Where to get th...

88% of US and UK consumers want brands to help them be more sustainable in their daily lives and many are willing to pay a premium for plastic-free products. But despite consumer demand, plastic is everywhere and downright impossible to avoid. On today's show: 9 places those pesky polymers lurk, plus hacks for avoiding them. Here's a preview: [4:00] Here's what you never knew about tires [8:00] Ho...

The typical American funeral boasts exotic flowers, a coffin made of fancy wood, and formaldehyde-based embalming. But green burials require fewer resources and skip a number of unnecessary steps; they also tend to be less expensive. Today I speak with green mortician  Elizabeth Fournier  about alternatives to conventional burials and cremations that are easier on the planet. Here's a preview: [5:...

Cyberpsychology is an emerging field that examines the ways in which technology influences human behavior. On today's show we discuss what happens to our purchasing habits when psychology, sociology, and 21st century tech collide. Here's a preview: [1:30] Who you think you are is influenced by others (hello, looking glass self!) [8:30] It's human nature to compare and compete: Here's how and why w...

Quitting is aerobics for your brain; it's also the counterintuitive secret to success. Today I bring you a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist  Julia Keller  about how to view quitting not as a pejorative but instead as a tool for swapping one destiny for another.  Here's a preview: [5:00] How the self-help movement created our anti-quit bias [9:00] The similarities between honeybe...

Organizing mega-influencer Marie Kondo made headlines earlier this week when she admitted to "kind of giv(ing) up" on tidying after having her third child. If, like Marie, you're feeling overwhelmed and disillusioned with minimalism, today's episode is here to help.  Here's a preview: [6:00] Let's first reign in our expectations: minimalism won't solve EVERYthing (but it'll certainly help) [9:00]...

When we return an unwanted gift to the manufacturer, it goes back on the shelf to be resold, right? Wrong. Most returned gifts (5.8 billion tons, to be exact) end up in landfills each and every year. The solution lies in responsible gifting, which alleviates the consequences associated with massive finite resource waste; it also saves shoppers time, money, and unnecessary stress. Today author  Tra...

Thanks to its rich supply of antioxidants, dark chocolate has long been revered for its health benefits. But there's a dark side to dark chocolate: Recent research has found heavy metals in many of our favorite brands. The worst part? These heavy metals - cadmium and lead - are linked to serious health problems including cancer in both children and adults.  Today we round out Chocolate Week with a...

Ah, chocolate. While those decadent brown rectangles enjoy near-universal consumer love, the reality is far less sweet: Chocolate is one of the most unethical and unsustainable foods we eat.  We can continue to enjoy chocolate by purchasing smarter. Today's show is Part 1 in a 2-part series about chocolate, and today - just in time for Valentine's Day! - we unearth the ethical and environmental im...

70% of American parents worry their children spend too much time on screens. Are you one of them?  Here's a preview: [3:00] The implications of multiple screen shifts on attention span and executive functioning [5:00] Exactly how much screen time children *should* get versus what they *actually* get [7:00] School performance, inactivity, and more: 4 consequences associated with too much screen tim...

Algae is having moments in many spotlights. First, innovators are using microalgae - not petrochemicals - to create disposable packaging. Elsewhere, macroalgae is fed to cows to reduce their methane emittance. And pesky algae blooms? There's actually a company that first captures then transforms algae blooms into our favorite sneaker's cushiony foam.  Still, algae's biggest potential comes within...

A Top 10 list of minimalism's best and biggest life lessons. Here's a preview of a few we're covering: [4:00] Memories don't reside in trinkets. [10:00] Save so you can spend ... on what matters. [21:30] Extras keep us cluttered. [23:30] You can’t recoup “worth”. [29:00] Space is more valuable than stuff (and peace of mind is most valuable of all). [31:00] It’s not a deal if you don’t need it.   R...

From meat-free 'chicken' nuggets to non-dairy ice creams, plant-based foods that actually taste good are becoming increasingly available in grocery stores. In many ways it's never been easier to find kid-friendly and carnivore-friendly cuisine. So then why aren't more of us (myself included) transitioning our families to plant-based eating? In honor of Veganuary I bring you a conversation with PET...

Stuff breaks. In 2023, stuff breaks often. Few amongst us possess the knowledge to fix the evermore complex gadgets we use every day; worse, professional repairs (if they're even available) often cost more than replacing the item outright. What's a sustainable minimalist to do? On today's episode we discuss all-things conscious consumption as it relates to home appliances, planned obsolescence, an...

We may indeed live in a world in which we can get whatever we want whenever we want it, but there's a problem with such instant (and incessant!) gratification: Resources are finite.  On today's show, a conversation with blogger and author  Liz Frugalwoods  about how to teach our children that money doesn't grow on trees and buying new isn't consequence-free.   Here's a preview: [4:30] Getting our...

A conversation with energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and award-winning NY Times journalist Justin Gillis about exactly what we need to do more of in 2023 to ensure the planet remains habitable for our children.   Here's a preview: [2:00] Is it already too late? [4:00] The transition to seeing ourselves not as mere green consumers but instead as green citizens [12:00] Creating a "tangible local exp...

What your clutter is costing you, plus 5 guiding principles for mindful rehoming.   Resources mentioned: Episode  #105: The Dark Side Of Donating: Where Do Goodwill Donations Actually Go? Join our (free!) community  here . Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on  Facebook,   Instagram  +  Youtube . Email me and say hello!  MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com . Thank you to our sponsors!  Thrive...