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Sustainable Minimalists

Cloud10

Eco-friendly, non-toxic minimalism made simple

  • 45 minutes 3 seconds
    The Shopping Conspiracy

    Women have been targeted for decades with the message that shopping is recreation. It’s a way to relax and unwind, sure, but recreational shopping also contributes to the climate crisis, supports the worst of shareholder capitalism, and creates an awful lot of unnecessary waste.

    Enter Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, a hard-hitting new Netflix documentary that forces viewers to look at our waste-related woes. On today’s show producer Flora Bagenal offers a behind-the-scenes look at the documentary’s creation; she also answers your pressing, post-viewing questions.

    A note from Stephanie: This episode was recorded before the Los Angeles wildfires. If you're able, please consider donating to one of these organizations. 

     

    Here’s a preview:

    [7:00] People find it hard to look at waste, and yet the film makes us look. A behind-the-scenes examination all those hard-hitting images

    [16:30] Adidas, Amazon, Unilever, and Apple: Here's why the film featured former employees-turned-whistleblowers

    [26:00] Corporate execs must show growth, and corporations are on a treadmill of extracting more and more $$ by pushing unnecessary and redundant products. Is not buying an effective act of resistance?

    [30:00] Mindset shifts! Quality is a climate issue, and once you press ‘Buy Now’ you become responsible for the item’s end of life

    [36:00] Exactly how to Use. Your. Rage!

     

    Resources mentioned:

    14 January 2025, 4:11 pm
  • 1 minute 59 seconds
    Introducing Smart Money Happy Hour
    I hope you'll enjoy Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel. We have become regular Thursday listeners and we hope you check it out to see why!
    14 January 2025, 3:11 pm
  • 36 minutes 24 seconds
    Zero-Waste In The Land Of Wasteful Maximalism

    Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without a trash can?

    Here in the US, we don't think much about what happens to stuff once we're done with it. Indeed, American infrastructure isn't equipped to properly handle waste, and our wonton wastefulness on the cultural level exacerbates the climate crisis.

    It's entirely possible to take matters into your own hands by stepping up as a change maker. On today's show activist and author Fredrika Syren suggests tangible ways to treat waste with the reverence it deserves by systematically creating less of it.

     

    Here's a preview:

    [4:00] Recycling is broken in America, and yet other countries have figured out how to do it right

    [17:00] Being a change maker means asking guests to take their trash home with them

    [26:30] Exactly how Fredrika saves $18,000 each year thanks to her zero-waste lifestyle

    [30:00] Pick a self-sufficient skill and teach yourself! Thoughts on taking your zero-waste efforts up a notch in 2025

    Resources mentioned: Resources mentioned:
    10 January 2025, 1:28 pm
  • 42 minutes 10 seconds
    New Year, Same Ol' Wonderful You

    Does it feel like there’s something hypocritical about New Year’s resolutions? They run counter to the idea that we should accept who we are. That we should give ourselves grace.

    Resolutions shouldn’t be so grand that we set ourselves up to fail; they shouldn't attempt to "fix" what we've been told is broken, either ("I should be skinnier! I should make more $$!"). There’s a way to work towards personal development without believing you are deficient, and author Tyler Moore is here to show us how.

    Here's a preview:

    [10:00] Where can you edit to make the time and space to flourish?

    [15:00] Differentiating between becoming the best you can be versus "fixing" what you've been told is broken

    [22:00] Clearing mental clutter is an awful lot like decluttering your closet

    [27:00] Instead of a New Year's resolution, try 12 monthly 'experiments', instead

    [32:00] Why hitching your star to external markers of success rarely works, plus: Don't move the goalpost!

     

    Resources mentioned:

     
    2 January 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 39 minutes 34 seconds
    Revisiting The Capsule Wardrobe Conversation

    Have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear? While capsule wardrobes are often touted as the singular solution to closet overwhelm, many report that they can be restrictive, boring and, frankly, unrealistic in practice.

    A minimalist closet is best served by first identifying the outfits needed to live YOUR unique life. On today's show podcaster Lauren Morley shows us how to streamline our wardrobes, say goodbye to clutter, and feel effortlessly put together every day by focusing less on capsules and more on a 20 outfit wardrobe, instead.

     

    Here's a preview:

    [5:30] Identifying exactly where and why capsule wardrobes fall short

    [11:00] Why doesn't buying more clothes solve the problems associated with getting dressed? Conversely, why isn't decluttering the singular solution?

    [16:00] Say goodbye to capsule wardrobes and hello to your 20 outfit wardrobe

    [20:00] Getting to the root of our cultural reverence for bottomless closets

    [28:00] The trend cycle is not your friend, so hop off that bandwagon!

     

    Resources mentioned:

    17 December 2024, 5:10 am
  • 38 minutes 29 seconds
    No Such Thing As Bad Weather

    In Scandinavia, daily interaction with nature has helped turn many people into passionate advocates for the environment. But there are forces at play in American society that divide humans from nature. To name just a few? Schools cut recess to make more time for academic instruction, cities boast sprawl over walkability, and our societal reverence for cleanliness prevents many Americans from getting outside and getting a little dirty.

    Best-selling author Linda McGurk was born in Sweden and, later, raised her own children in the US. Linda is on the show to highlight the ways in which the two cultures diverge with regard to interacting with and respecting the natural world; she also offers both the encouragement and the how-to to get outside in all weather.

    Here's a preview:

    [5:00] Nature isn't an essential part of childhood here in America. Why not?

    [18:00] Not competitive, not motorized, and 3 other ways adults prioritize the open-air life in Scandinavia

    [23:00] No such thing as bad weather? What about extreme, climate change-induced weather events?

    [28:00] Revisiting our very-American need to be comfortable at all times

    [32:00] American schools are slowly eliminating outdoor recess. Here's how to advocate for more outdoor time at your child's school

    Resources mentioned:  
    10 December 2024, 11:16 am
  • 45 minutes 55 seconds
    Living Seasonally, Not Commercially

    What is the "holiday season", really?

    Savvy marketers have inserted gingerbread lattes, blow up lawn decor, and lots of gifts as synonymous with December. But we aren't in some made-up season of buying; instead, we are approaching the Winter Solstice. And when nature is our guide, living seasonally is less about shopping hauls and more about existing in pace with the changing seasons.

    In a world where we can buy just about anything, it takes intention to live in alignment with nature. On today's show Bailey Van Tassel offers suggestions for weaving what's outside your front door — not what's in Target! — into your seasonal celebrations.

    Here's a preview:

    [11:00] Transitioning from commercialized seasonal living to interacting with nature at your feet

    [15:00] The ways in which nature's pace complements modern life (if, of course, we allow it)

    [19:30] Minimalists, unite! Don't buy more ultra-trendy seasonal stuff; do this instead

    [25:00] Slow down your life by making your family traditions crave-able

    [33:00] Connections between seasons of a year and seasons of a life

     

    Resources mentioned:

     
    3 December 2024, 5:10 am
  • 41 minutes 57 seconds
    How Many Jeans Do You Own?

    Denim jeans were once the preferred trouser for cowboys in the American west; some decades later, they became a symbol of rebellion for non-conformist teens. These days jeans are all about comfort and casual style, and the average American woman owns 7 pairs.


    And yet blue jeans also happen to have one of fashion's biggest environmental footprints. On today's show Sarene Alsharif reveals the harsh realities associated with jeans production; she also shares practical strategies for transforming this wardrobe staple into a sustainable solution.

     

    Here's a preview:

    [7:00]  Stone-washed with actual stones? Dyed with carcinogenic dyes? Uncovering your favorite pair's dirty little enviro-secrets 

    [13:00] Want some stretch? Revisiting our desire for synthetic fibers in our denim 

    [23:00] The trend cycle = smoke and mirrors

    [27:00] It's a marriage not a fling (and other tried-and-true sustainable fashion tips)

    [31:00] Stephanie's nihilist thoughts: What happens when collective action matters, and yet the collective isn't doing its part?

     

    Resources mentioned:

     

    • This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! **If you're a financial supporter over on Apple Podcasts and want to join Book Club, please email me and let me know! For privacy reasons, Apple won't share your contact info with me. Just email me and I'll happily add you!**
    • Join our (free!) Facebook community here.
    • Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists
    • Say hello! [email protected].

     

    19 November 2024, 7:10 am
  • 48 minutes 56 seconds
    A Poverty Of Spirit

    We Americans may indeed be "rich" in material terms, but we suffer from what Mother Teresa calls a poverty of spirit. As we chased economic growth we closed ourselves off. We abandoned interconnectedness with other people, beings, and things. We also abandoned ourselves.

     

    Many of the problems in our world today are visual manifestations of such abandonment. If the world isn't looking the way you want it to look right now, author Jeff Golden argues that solving our (numerous) issues starts by healing our culture-wide poverty of spirit.

     

     

    Here's a preview:

     

    [4:00] Money doesn’t make us happy, and the extent to which we strive for stuff is a manifestation of how unhappy we actually are inside

     

    [8:00] How we feel about ourselves impacts how we show up in the world. How we treat others! Whether we regard other beings with love and respect!

     

    [16:00] Exactly why healing our world (and ourselves!) may indeed start by getting out of our heads

     

    [32:00] Debunking heady intellectual conversations about the importance of the economy, plus: a laundry list of the ways we use stuff as stand-ins for well-being

     

    [38:00] Tangible ways to "drop into yourself" (because you and others deserve it!)

     

     

    Resources mentioned:

     

     

    12 November 2024, 1:22 pm
  • 33 minutes 22 seconds
    Micro Activism

    Many of us shy away from the word 'activist' because the term brings to mind a very specific type of person. But if you're regularly taking action to make the world a better place? Guess what my friend, you're already an activist (yes, really!).


    What matters is not the size of the action, nor how vigorous the action is. It's all about consistency. On today's re-air author Omkari Williams helps us find the kind of social justice engagement that feels both empowering *and* sustainable.


    Here's a preview:

    [4:00] Activism isn't just marching and picketing: Here's what micro activism looks like in the day to day 

    [10:30] Are you a headliner, an organizer, a producer, or an indispensable? How to determine your unique activist archetype

    [22:00] The status quo isn't working for the vast majority of us. So where's the passion for change?

    [30:00] How to know whether your efforts constitute shallow work or deep work

     

    Resources mentioned:

     


    8 November 2024, 6:18 pm
  • 38 minutes 2 seconds
    How To Be An Anti-Capitalist

    Capitalism has transformed the world, sure. But at what cost? (Immense environmental ones, of course.)


    Americans, it's high-time we accept that the Golden Age of capitalism is long gone. On today's show: A frank discussion with sustainable finance visionary Kara Perez about insulating ourselves from late-stage capitalism's most damaging effects with individual and collective action.

     

    Here's a preview:

    [6:00] Money is a tool for change, and yet it's literally something we made up

    [11:00] Can we be nickled and dimed even more than we already are? (Spoiler alert: Yes.)

    [14:00] A few of the ways in which shareholder capitalism limits society's ability to progress

    [22:00] Tangible ways you and I can "change the flow of money"


     

    Resources mentioned:

     

     

    • This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! **If you're a financial supporter over on Apple Podcasts and want to join Book Club, please email me and let me know! For privacy reasons, Apple won't share your contact info with me. Just email me and I'll happily add you!**
    • Join our (free!) Facebook community here.
    • Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists
    • Say hello! [email protected].


    5 November 2024, 5:10 am
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