Sustainability Made Easier Podcast

Many everyday household items that come in plastic are surprisingly easy and incredibly inexpensive to make at home. Besides reducing waste and saving money, making your own detergents and cleaning products allows you to control the ingredients in the product.

Giraffes, the world’s tallest animals, are in trouble. In the past 30 years, the population of giraffes has declined by 40%! A 2017 petition to list giraffes as endangered under the ESA was not acted upon for years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Take some time to be the voice for these amazing creatures that are undergoing a silent extinction.

Billions of plastic disposable razors and cartridges end up landfills every year. Plastic razors and cartridges containing plastic cannot be recycled. Fortunately, plastic-free razors are again becoming easily available. Switch to an all-metal, reusable safety razor and get the best shave of your life.

I received 3 Swedish dishcloths as a gift from my friend’s stepmother when we visited her in Sweden. Using the Swedish dishcloths she gave us helped reduce waste in our house. More importantly, it made doing kitchen tasks like washing dishes and wiping down surfaces SO much easier and better. These dishcloths often come with super cute designs and are an eco-friendly replacement for paper towels and synthetic dish sponges. Plus, they are compostable!

This delicious, savory, and creamy sauce is quick to make, healthy, and works well to make dairy-free versions of your favorite comfort foods. It is vegan and gluten-free.

Have you been avoiding plastic straws? There has been a significant worldwide movement to reduce the use of plastic straws. Listen to today's episode to find out why giving up plastic straws is worth the effort. More importantly let it motivate you to rethink other aspects of your life, too, so that this little step becomes the beginning of something even larger and more meaningful.

Reusable water bottles and coffee cups are becoming more common. This is great news for the environment and people’s pocketbooks. Today’s easy action of getting and using growlers can cut down on single-use product beverage waste even more! Plus, growlers allow you to bring fabulous local craft beverages home with you, often at a discount!

We got solar panels in 2019. This episode goes over the most important things I learned when going through the process and since the panels have been installed. Obviously, solar panels are not going to be available or accessible to everyone, but the cost for solar panels has really come down, making it a great environmentally-friendly energy choice for many people. In the U.S. the significant federal tax credit incentives for residential solar projects are being phased out and will be completely gone within a couple of years, so it definitely makes sense to get solar panels sooner than later.

Take a bag and a pair of gloves with you when you head outdoors and start plogging, plalking, or pliking today! I didn’t make these words up! Listen to today's podcast episode learn more!

Yes, it would be great to avoid Amazon altogether and only buy packaging-free items that are used or are from local retailers. However, this is Sustainability Made Easier. We are realistic here... for most of us, Amazon is part of our lives. It’s okay! Don’t feel guilty! Just work on reducing your environmental impact by following the tips in this episode!