Sustainable Minimalists

• The Psychology of Spring Cleaning

  There are few things more satisfying than completing a proper spring cleaning. Deep cleaning when the weather warms is a biological imperative that's rooted in centuries of tradition because the practice lightens moods and improves health. It also symbolizes renewal as we come out of hibernation and back into the sunshine. You aren't alone in your seasonal desire to deep clean. On today's show: Opening the windows, deep-cleaning those closets, stripping the beds, and vacuuming those oft-ignored places just in time for the Spring Equinox.   Here's a preview: [5:00] The evolutionary reasons that may explain why humans have "shaken their houses" for over 3 thousand years [8:00] Using newspapers to clean your windows, mopping every week, and other cleaning myths [18:00] Yes, you do need to spring clean your appliances! Here's how [24:00] Exactly how to deep clean your bedding in 4 steps [30:00] Love a good spring cleaning and want extra credit? Don't forget about these 5 oft-overlooked areas   Resources mentioned: Episode #487: Big Cleaning Episode #257: Spring Cleaning for Home, Head, and Heart Should You Use Your Oven’s Self-Cleaning Setting? It Depends. (via Wirecutter) The Ultimate Guide on How to Clean Your Washing Machine (via Good Housekeeping) How to Wash Pillows Properly, According to a Cleaning Expert (via Good Housekeeping) Tip jar, and thank you! buymeacoffee.com/sustainableminimalists   This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected].

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• How To Let Stuff Go

  When we let go of what doesn't serve us, we remove weight that holds us down. On today's show we turn to Zen Buddhism for wisdom on letting go of anxiety about the future, grudges, stuff, dead relationships, and more. Here's a preview: [4:00] Insanely anxious about the future? (Me too!) Don't spend your energy worrying; do this instead [12:00] Think of decluttering not as throwing stuff away; think of it instead as setting your stuff (and yourself!) free [19:00] How to let go of lost friendships and relationships, straight from the mouths of Buddhist monks [26:00] Holding a grudge requires vast amounts of energy so become skilled at forgetting [34:00] You're going to get to where you're meant to go, so there's no need to second-guess your choices   Resources mentioned: This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected].

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• 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: This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected].

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• 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: "No Impact Man" Colin Beavan Fredrika on Instagram A Practical Guide To Zero-Waste For Families Zero Waste Family on YouTube Zero Time To Waste documentary The Comfort Crisis (Book Club pick for February 12, 7pm EST) Resources mentioned: This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected].

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• 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: Tidy Up Your Life: Rethinking How to Organize, Declutter, and Make Space for What Matters Most Episode #443 (with Tyler!) Tyler on Instagram   This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected].

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