What if the most impactful sustainable habits are also the ones people laugh at?

In this episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, Ginny talks about the everyday eco-friendly choices that don’t photograph well — the ones that earn eye rolls at family dinners, jokes from friends, or quiet self-doubt.

From hanging laundry and reusing jars to keeping furniture a little longer than feels acceptable, this conversation explores the cultural side of sustainability: why “normal” has shifted toward convenience and consumption, and how choosing reuse, repair, and mindfulness is quietly pushing back.

This isn’t an episode about being perfect — or buying better things.
It’s about:
🌱 Why sustainability doesn’t need to match an aesthetic
🌱 The difference between eco-friendly consumption and mindful living
🌱 When not replacing something is the most sustainable choice
🌱 How teasing and discomfort often signal meaningful change
🌱 Letting go of perfection and embracing persistence instead

If your sustainable habits feel a little messy, mismatched, or misunderstood — you’re not doing it wrong. You’re doing something that actually lasts.

🎧 Share this episode with someone who’s ever been called “weird” for trying to live more intentionally.
✨ Explore resources and tools for real-life sustainability at nakedsustainability.com

What if sustainable living wasn’t aesthetic, curated, or perfectly color-coordinated—but honest, practical, and beautifully imperfect?

In this week’s episode, Ginny pulls back the curtain on what sustainable living actually looks like inside a real home (hint: it’s not beige linens, matching jars, or zero-waste “Pinterest perfection”). Instead, it’s messy, resourceful, creative, and deeply human.

From compost bins that sometimes go sideways, to mismatched jars, sagging clotheslines, re-glued kitchen chairs, and couches that are definitely past their prime—Ginny shares the behind-the-scenes habits that don’t make the highlight reel but absolutely make an impact.

She also dives into:

🌿 Why “good enough” is often more sustainable than “perfect”
♻️ How repairing, reusing, and rethinking everyday items reduces waste
💸 The surprising ways frugality and sustainability go hand in hand
🏷️ How to really apply the EcoMindful Method—in real life, not the curated version
📦 What to do with all that packaging companies send (and how to make it work for you)
🧵 Why embracing imperfections is actually the heart of sustainable living

This episode is an invitation to let go of the pressure, ditch the aesthetics, and celebrate the small, unglamorous choices that add up to big impact.

Share this with a friend who’s tired of the “perfect sustainability” myth.
⭐ Leave a review if embracing the messy parts of eco-living feels like a breath of fresh air.
For more resources, guides, and community support, visit nakedsustainability.com.

This week, Ginny sits down with mindfulness teacher and author Melanie Pensak to explore how reconnecting with nature can transform our emotional well-being and our sustainability journey. Melanie shares wisdom and insights from her new book Love for the Land, including simple month-long practices that help us slow down, ground ourselves, and rediscover awe in the natural world around us.

Together, we explore how reconnecting with nature supports our emotional well-being, our sense of belonging, and even the way we approach sustainability in our daily lives. Melanie walks us through simple practices — like sensory check-ins, mindful walking, and tuning into the cycles of the seasons — that invite us to deepen our relationship with the land in a way that feels nourishing rather than overwhelming.

If you’ve been craving some spaciousness, or if you want to bring more presence, intention, and ease into your sustainability journey, this episode will feel like a quiet exhale. Melanie’s perspective is a reminder that healing ourselves and healing our planet aren’t separate paths — they’re intertwined, and available to all of us.✨ Connect with Melanie: ⁠MelaniePensak.com | ⁠Instagram⁠ 📖 Grab a copy of her new book: Love for the Land

• Paperback (Amazon)
• eBook (Melanie's Website)

What happens when innovation meets necessity on the frontlines of climate change?

In this episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, Ginny sits down with David Sellers, founder of Hawaii Off Grid, to explore how one island community is redefining resilience, rebuilding after disaster, and proving that sustainable design can be both practical and profoundly hopeful.

✨ Connect with David: Hawaii Off Grid⁠ | Instagram

🎥 Find the Documentary Journey Beyond the Grid

• Eugene Environmental Film Festival (through 07Nov2025)
• Sustainable Stories Film Festival (through 21Nov2025)

David shares his journey from commercial fishing boats in Alaska to designing net-zero, off-grid, disaster-resilient homes in Hawaii. He opens up about how the Lahaina wildfires reshaped his mission, what “living beyond the grid” truly means, and why Hawaii has become a global case study in adapting to a changing climate.

We also dive into:🌿 How off-grid design empowers energy independence🏡 What makes a home fire- and storm-resilient🔋 The intersection of renewable energy, electric vehicles, and architecture💚 How Hawaii’s unique challenges inspire solutions the world can learn from

Share this episode with a friend who loves stories of innovation, sustainability, and hope. Leave a review if this conversation inspires you to rethink what’s possible. For more resources and community support, visit nakedsustainability.com.

Ever looked in your trash can and thought… wow, where did all this come from? This week, I’m sharing my honest debrief from our Trash Audit Challenge — what I discovered, what I didn’t expect, and the easy changes that actually make a difference. No guilt, no perfection, just practical ways to shrink your trash footprint and live a little lighter on the planet.

💚 Share this episode with a friend who cares about the planet.⭐ Leave a review if this conversation helped you see sustainability in a new light.📬 Explore more tips and community resources at nakedsustainability.com.

What does voting have to do with sustainability? More than you might think.

In this episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, Ginny takes us on a journey through history — from the smog-filled skies of 1940s Los Angeles to the first Earth Day — to show how civic action and environmental progress have always gone hand in hand.

She explores how policies like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Energy Independence and Security Act were born from public demand and voter action, and how every ballot cast today still shapes our air, water, and future.

We also dive into:
🌿 The real-world impacts of environmental laws we often take for granted
⚖️ How voting determines what sustainability looks like in your city, state, and nation
💬 Why voting isn’t separate from sustainability — it is sustainability
🌍 Practical ways to stay informed and use your voice for change

This isn’t a political episode — it’s an empowering reminder that every sustainable action, from reusing to recycling to voting, adds up to something bigger.

💚 Share this episode with a friend who cares about the planet — and don’t forget to vote.
⭐ Leave a review if this conversation helped you see sustainability in a new light.
📬 Explore more tips and community resources at nakedsustainability.com.

What actually happens after your blue bin gets rolled to the curb? And more importantly—how much of it really gets recycled?

In this week’s episode, Ginny gets back to basics (but in the real-world way, not the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” poster way) to break down what actually belongs in your recycling bin.

After a weekend in Colorado full of hiking, concerts, and a surprise recycling reality check at her Airbnb, Ginny dives into why recycling in the U.S. is so confusing, what happens after pickup, and how contamination can ruin entire truckloads of recyclables.

We also dig into:
♻️ How recycling really works—from your curb to the sorting line
♻️ Why 25% of what goes into bins ends up as contamination
♻️ The business of recycling and why some materials just aren’t profitable
♻️ The top recycling myths that keep tripping us up
♻️ What actually belongs in your bin (and what definitely doesn’t)

Plus, a reality check on where recycling fits into the bigger sustainability picture—and why it’s only part of the solution, not the end-all answer.

💚 If this episode helps you see your recycling bin in a new light, share it with a friend who still “wish-cycles” their coffee cups.
⭐ Leave a review to help more people join the eco-friendly conversation!
And as always, visit nakedsustainability.com for more mindful living guides, tips, and resources.

In this episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, Ginny dives deep into seed saving, native plant propagation, and eco-friendly fall prep that supports bees, birds, and backyard ecosystems.

You’ll learn:
🍂 How to collect, store, and stratify native seeds for spring planting
🐝 Why leaving stems, leaves, and “messy corners” creates critical pollinator habitat
🌻 The best native plants for seed saving (and how to share them with your community)
🪵 Practical ways to provide food, shelter, and water through the winter

This episode isn’t simply about gardening—it’s about building resilience, supporting local ecosystems, and creating a more sustainable future right from your own yard or balcony.

💚 Share with a fellow nature-lover who’s getting their yard winter-ready.
⭐ Leave a review if this episode inspires you to see “messy yards” as thriving habitats.
👉 Explore more resources at nakedsustainability.com.

There is beauty in alignment, and Renee Murphy discovered it when she walked away from a two-decade career in fashion and stepped into science, soil, and sustainability. In this episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, Ginny sits down with Renee to explore her inspiring journey from fashion entrepreneur to environmental scientist focused on phyto-remediation—using plants and microbes to clean toxic land and restore ecosystems.

✨ Connect with Renee: LinkedIn | Instagram

Renee shares how she found the courage to change careers in her 40s, why reconnecting with nature became her compass, and how she’s helping lead the way in innovative, plant-powered solutions to heal the planet.

We also dive into:🌿 What phyto-remediation is—and why it matters for the future of our environment🌿 The mindset shift of starting over and finding alignment later in life🌿 How nature-based solutions and circular thinking can reshape sustainability

💚 Share this episode with a friend who needs a reminder that it’s never too late to begin again and small, intentional steps are totally doable.

⭐ Leave a review if Renee’s story left you feeling hopeful and inspired. Be sure to check us out at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nakedsustainability.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠contact us⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you’d like to get involved!

New tech season is here — but do we really need that shiny new iPhone 17? In this solo episode of The Naked Sustainability Podcast, I dive into the real lifespan of our smartphones, from how long they’re built to last (hint: 5–7 years) to what actually happens as they age — battery fade, sluggish performance, storage issues, and more.

We’ll talk about the hidden environmental cost of upgrading early (each phone takes 55–95 kg of CO₂ to produce!), how planned obsolescence keeps us buying, and simple ways to keep your current phone running strong. Plus, I’ll share what to do when your phone finally does reach the end of its life, from trade-ins to certified e-waste recycling.

Because the greenest phone… is the one you already own. 🌍📱

💚 More resources + sustainability tips at nakedsustainability.com