Sustainable Minimalists

By Stephanie Seferian

Kids & Family

What's Sustainable Minimalists about?

Creating eco-friendly, minimalist homes (without the extra work).

4.8

401 ratings

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LAST EPISODE

HEADLINES: Net Zero Greenwa...

09.29.2023

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, September 29 2023: [00:30] Antarctic winter sea ice hits 'extreme' record low [3:00] Net-zero "pledges" and "ambitions" in the food and restaurant industries [9:00] Don't call it a (snow leopard) comeback [11:00] ...

Sustainable Minimalists episodes:

09.29.2023 HEADLINES: Net Zero Greenwashing The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, September 29 2023: [00:30] Antarctic winter sea ice hits 'extreme' record low [3:00] Net-zero "pledges" and "ambitions" in the food and restaurant industries [9:00] Don't call it a (snow leopard) comeback [11:00] ...
09.29.2023 Introcast: Explain Like I'm 5 I recently discovered the Explain Like I'm 5 podcast and love it! Hope you check it out too.
09.28.2023 Climate Migration We humans have lived within a surprisingly narrow range of temperatures for most of our history. But this range? It's slowly and steadily moving north. As the planet warms and weather events become more severe, it's natural to wonder about ...
09.26.2023 Climate Change And Family Planning Difficult truth time: A child born today will live on a planet that’s hotter than it has ever been since human civilization developed. And us humans? We’re the ones who created this problem. According to one study, each child born ...
09.22.2023 HEADLINES: A Busy Week In New York The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, September 22 2023: [00:30] Updates from the Climate Ambition Summit [2:00] Climate protesters march in Manhattan [4:00] California sues fossil fuels giants [11:00] Dogs are joining the conservation movement Resources mentioned: Working ...
09.21.2023 A Better Bread Sourdough bread is alchemy personified, as just 3 ingredients — flour, salt, and water — transform themselves into a delicious food item that also happens to be insanely healthy. Yet despite centuries of sourdough wisdom, 21st century bread is made ...
09.19.2023 The Processed Food Problem About 60 percent of the foods Americans eat these days are processed, and diet-related illnesses are the leading cause of mortality in the USA. If you’re like most people you may be spending your hard-earned dollars on food you’ve been ...
09.15.2023 HEADLINES: Dating Debt The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, September 15 2023: [00:30] Biden blocks oil drilling in Arctic Alaska (yay!). But don't forget about Willow ... [3:30] Extreme heat and indoor recess [9:00] A (gorgeous) once-extinct bird is reintroduced to ...
09.14.2023 Building Experiential Wealth Our experiences - the big trips, the small moments of joy, and everything in between - are the real wealth of our lives. So why is it that we consistently fail to do the things we're yearning to do? And ...
09.12.2023 Reclaiming Your Weekends For many, weekends are for chores. They're also for carting kids to sports games and getting caught up on errands. But amidst all that driving and laundering, where are the opportunities to rest, rejuvenate, and fully live our lives? Feeling ...
09.08.2023 HEADLINES: Groundwater The enviro-news you need to know about for Friday, September 8 2023: [00:30] 3 cheers for the rise of tiny forests [5:00] What sea ice loss means for emperor penguins [10:00] We're running out of groundwater ... [14:00] Revisiting climate ...
09.07.2023 Buying For Life We live in a world that's always trying to sell us more stuff, and much of it is junk. Enter environmental degradation, wasted money, unnecessary headaches, and clutter. Lots of clutter. Today we continue this week's Buy Just Once theme ...
09.05.2023 Grandma Wisdom These days, durable and long-lasting products often seem like elusive unicorns. But they do exist, and finding them is a 2-step process. First, it's imperative that we check our collective predisposition for disposability at the curb. Second, we must learn ...
09.01.2023 HEADLINES: Fast Fashion Unites The enviro-news you need to know about for Friday, September 1 2023: [00:30] What you need to know about the new deal between Shein and Forever 21 [4:30] China says Japan's seafood is unsafe. What does science say? [11:00] 3 ...
08.31.2023 Keeping Clutter Out Yes, clutter is always going to accumulate. But there are ways to prevent at least some of it from entering our homes, and we're chatting about 3 of those ways today. Here's a preview: [2:00] Our decluttering challenge wrap-up [10:00] ...
08.29.2023 What Organizers Do People are naturally curious about the homes of professional organizers. On today's show author Shira Gill divulges 5 high-impact organizing tips straight from the mouths of fellow professional organizers. Here's a preview of the insider tricks we're discussing today: [10:30] ...
08.25.2023 HEADLINES: Caring about Coral The enviro-news you need to know about for Friday, August 25 2023: [00:30] What’s happening to South Florida’s coral reefs (and why you should care) [4:00] Don't call it a comeback: The golden lion tamarin's rebound [6:00] The richest Americans ...
08.24.2023 The C Word Since the dawn of the chemical era more than 300,000 chemicals have been invented, and many are made from oil and natural gas. While some manufactured chemicals have indeed provided benefit (Disinfectants! Antibiotics!), they have also caused great harm. Manufactured ...
08.22.2023 Lifestyle Creep Spend more money than necessary on non-essential upgrades? You're not alone. Lifestyle creep is often related to status, and its prevalence may indeed be bolstered by a perceived sense of lack. On today's show financial educator Kara Perez offers her ...
08.18.2023 HEADLINES: Climate Litigation The era of climate litigation is here, my friends. Today's episode breaks down 3 enviro-lawsuits happening right now: [02:00] Held v. State of Montana and a big win for environmentalists this week [7:30] Attorney Missy Sims is a-comin' for Big ...
08.17.2023 Big Pharma The US pharmaceutical industry is unique in that it markets directly to consumers (hey there, Zoloft commercial!). Through such direct-to-consumer marketing we have been spoon-fed the notion that every hint of a symptom requires a drug. The result? Americans take ...
08.15.2023 Single-Use Poison We're surrounded by plastics everywhere, all the time. And single-use plastics? They're not only creating a pollution crisis; they are contributing to the climate crisis as well. Microplastics in particular are a cocktail of toxicity, containing at least 10,000 different ...
08.11.2023 HEADLINES: Plastic Barbies And More Extreme Weather The enviro-news you need to know for Friday August 11, 2023: [00:45] Roads made of plastic waste? [3:30] The Barbie hoax (and Mattel's response) [9:30] The fire whirl: Breaking down this weather phenomenon [12:00] Tracking rising ocean temperatures around the ...
08.10.2023 School Shopping 'Tis the season for back-to-school door busters, price slashes, and closeouts. On today's show we're discussing how to reduce clutter, save money, and help the planet by shopping for back-to-school with greater intention. Here's a preview: [2:30] Let's pull back ...
08.08.2023 Predictors Of Back-To-School Success Welcome to Back-To-School Week! In 2023, the average American family will spend $597 per child in anticipation of the upcoming school year. And while new school supplies and fresh outfits can definitely get our children into the school spirit, it's ...
08.03.2023 The Pet Episode You love your pet; you also love the planet. Good news: How you feed, care for, and clean up after your dogs and cats have sizable impacts on our environment and ecosystems. On today's show: answering listener questions about all-things ...
08.01.2023 Certified B Brands are continuously making environmental and socially conscious claims. And while many consumers want to purchase from ethical brands, it's hard to know which brands are legit (versus which ones are faking). Enter the B Corp certification, which is the ...
07.28.2023 HEADLINES: Shein Backlash The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 28, 2023: [00:30] Native giraffes are reintroduced to the wild [2:45] A lithium mine in Nevada gets the green ahead (to the chagrin of environmentalists) [4:30] How to use empty office ...
07.27.2023 The 30-Day Mess-Stress Fix A new month is nearly here, and this means it's the perfect time to usher in the change of seasons with some legitimate decluttering. If you're ready to get serious about the clutter you accumulated this summer - and if ...
07.25.2023 The Genderless Fashion Movement It used to be pink for girls and blue for boys, but no longer. These days it's frills and plunging cuts for girls, angry dinosaurs and athletic fabrics for boys. And while gendered clothing often leads to more purchases for ...
07.21.2023 HEADLINES: A Worm Invasion The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 21, 2023: [00:30] The Amazon's deforestation rate is (finally) declining! [2:45] The unintended consequences of droughts [4:30] Say it ain't so: Worms are invading the Arctic [10:00] The consequences of HGTV ...
07.20.2023 6 Things You Can't Buy On Amazon Prime Week has come and gone ... for now. And while there are countless questionable items you can indeed purchase on Amazon (a mini hand squirrel, anyone?), there are 6 very specific intangibles that simply cannot be bought. Not now, ...
07.18.2023 In Defense Of Staycations Have a summer trip planned? You're not alone. For many, traveling has become more lifestyle than luxury: in the time it takes you to read this blurb over 2,000 people will have arrived in a foreign country and a quarter ...
07.14.2023 HEADLINES: 3 Cheers For Bacterial Cellulose The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 14, 2023: [00:30] Flash floods 101 [3:30] An alternative to single-use plastic packaging is (almost) here! [9:00] 12 years later, Fukushima has an awful lot of wastewater. What should be done ...
07.13.2023 Forest Bathing Spending time in nature is recreation; it's also restorative and preventative medicine. Enter forest bathing which, like yoga, has been around for centuries and is now gaining newfound popularity amongst those of us who are overexposed, overworked, and overscheduled. On ...
07.11.2023 Gatekeeping Your Peace When it comes to reducing cell phone use, we've all heard the advice. Turn off notifications. Unfollow and unfriend. But this advice? It's stale. Shallow, even, because it does little to actually reduce time spent on screens. We often discuss ...
07.07.2023 HEADLINES: A Real Smorgasbord The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 7, 2023: [00:45] The rise of livestream e-commerce in China [5:00] Is passive cooling the way of the future? [10:00] Are insects wildlife? Well, it depends on where you live [12:00] ...
07.05.2023 Let's Talk Diapers Spoiler alert: Disposable diapers are terrible for the planet. They account for about 2% of all landfill waste in the US; worse – because they're made of plastics – they decompose very, very slowly. Before their arrival on the commercial ...
06.30.2023 HEADLINES: Easy Listening The (positive!) enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 30, 2023: [00:30] The latest re: nature's healing effects on human health & wellness [2:45] The planet gets a big win in Switzerland [4:00] 400 Panamanian golden frogs, 6 black-footed ...
06.29.2023 Our Carbon Problem The world has a big fat carbon problem. There’s already too much of it in the atmosphere and – thanks to both our lifestyles and corporations' polluting, business-as-usual practices – we're emitting even more carbon into the atmosphere each and ...
06.27.2023 Climate Optimism? When the climate narrative is all doom and gloom, many of us find it difficult to rally. It's the Snooze Button Effect in real-time: the barrage of "climate apocalypse" headlines lose their urgency, their potency. If you're desensitized to environmental ...
06.23.2023 HEADLINES: Mega Fires And Feedback Loops The enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 13, 2023: [00:45] It's here my friends. We're living in the Fire Age [05:00] Cutting edge fire detection measures happening now [9:00] 5 steps to improving your indoor air quality [11:00] ...
06.22.2023 From Green To Clean There comes a time when we're simultaneously sick of all the greenwashing and angry at the snail's pace in which change tends to occur. Because while doing our best within our homes is indeed impactful, it does little to create ...
06.20.2023 Buyer Beware We all need to feel like we can make smart purchasing decisions, but it’s hard to know where to put our trust. Researchers have found dangerous levels of mercury in anti-aging creams; they’ve linked chemicals in hair dye to cancer; ...
06.16.2023 HEADLINES: Varying Levels Of Sacrifice The enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 16, 2023: [00:30] German homeowners and financial sacrifice (heat pumps are expensive!) [04:00] Should we sacrifice the Great American landscape in the name of clean energy? [11:00] Here's how South Koreans ...
06.15.2023 From That To This Our brains are really darn busy. They're continually processing lots of information; they're also working overtime to keep us out of harm's way. And because they're overworked and underpaid, our brains seek out shortcuts. Sometimes these shortcuts are helpful but ...
06.13.2023 When Everything's A Favorite Our kids have big feelings about their stuff. In many homes, the mere suggestion of a toy and treasure decluttering sesh initiates a gargantuan cleanup battle. Are your kiddos running out of space to store their special things? If so, ...
06.09.2023 HEADLINES: Sinking Cities The enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 9, 2023: [01:00] Promising developments re: PFAS legislation [4:00] Eco-conscious breweries? [8:00] Bad news for arctic sea ice [10:00] Sinking US cities and rising sea levels = trouble Resources mentioned: Episode ...
06.08.2023 Mess And Stress When the clutter in your immediate physical environment becomes just another major stressor that bombards your autonomic nervous system, you may be stuck in the mess-stress cycle. My children are almost on summer break and this means extra messes and ...
06.06.2023 Upgrade Culture It's 2023 and upgrade culture is fierce. For many of us, wanting something is as good a reason as any to go out and buy it. And wanting a newer model of an item you already have? Just another excuse ...

Older episodes

Sustainable Minimalists

What's Sustainable Minimalists about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Sustainable Minimalists episodes:

HEADLINES: Net Zero Greenwashing

Introcast: Explain Like I'm 5

Climate Migration

Climate Change And Family Planning

HEADLINES: A Busy Week In New York

A Better Bread

The Processed Food Problem

HEADLINES: Dating Debt

Building Experiential Wealth

Reclaiming Your Weekends

HEADLINES: Groundwater

Buying For Life

Grandma Wisdom

HEADLINES: Fast Fashion Unites

Keeping Clutter Out

What Organizers Do

HEADLINES: Caring about Coral

The C Word

Lifestyle Creep

HEADLINES: Climate Litigation

Big Pharma

Single-Use Poison

HEADLINES: Plastic Barbies And More Extreme Weather

School Shopping

Predictors Of Back-To-School Success

The Pet Episode

Certified B

HEADLINES: Shein Backlash

The 30-Day Mess-Stress Fix

The Genderless Fashion Movement

HEADLINES: A Worm Invasion

6 Things You Can't Buy On Amazon

In Defense Of Staycations

HEADLINES: 3 Cheers For Bacterial Cellulose

Forest Bathing

Gatekeeping Your Peace

HEADLINES: A Real Smorgasbord

Let's Talk Diapers

HEADLINES: Easy Listening

Our Carbon Problem

Climate Optimism?

HEADLINES: Mega Fires And Feedback Loops

From Green To Clean

Buyer Beware

HEADLINES: Varying Levels Of Sacrifice

From That To This

When Everything's A Favorite

HEADLINES: Sinking Cities

Mess And Stress

Upgrade Culture