Want to waste less, save money, and make your home a little more eco-friendly? Sustainable in the Suburbs is your go-to podcast for practical, judgment-free tips and real-life stories to help you build sustainable habits that actually stick.
Hosted by Sarah Robertson-Barnes — a suburban soccer mum, sustainability educator, and founder of the blog Sustainable in the Suburbs — this biweekly show brings doable advice, honest conversations, and actionable ideas to help you waste less, spend smarter, and live more sustainably at home.
Because sustainable living doesn’t have to be perfect to matter — and you don’t have to do it all to make a big impact.
Start where you are, use what you have, and live a little greener.
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Données mises à jour le 09/09/2026
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57: Connecting With Nature — Everyday Ecosystem Restoration with Tim Christophersen
Épisode 57
mardi 1 septembre 2026 • Durée 40:33
Connecting with nature starts with understanding that we aren’t separate from the natural world — we are part of it.
This week, I’m joined by Tim Christophersen, author of Generation Restoration and a leading global voice on ecosystem restoration, to talk about ecological literacy, our relationship with nature, and what it means to restore that relationship in our everyday lives.
We talk about what it actually means to be ecologically literate — knowing where our food and water come from, understanding the role nature plays in our communities, recognizing the species we share those spaces with, and beginning to see ourselves as part of those systems rather than separate from them.
We also look at what this means closer to home, including the potential of suburban yards and neighbourhoods, nature as infrastructure, community restoration, regenerative agriculture, and how ordinary people can participate in restoring the ecosystems around them.
And while the challenges facing the natural world are enormous, this is ultimately a hopeful conversation about agency, reciprocity, and why rebuilding our relationship with nature can change the way we approach sustainable living.
Takeaways
What ecological literacy means and why we need to relearn it
How the language we use can unconsciously reflect how we see nature
What reciprocity can look like in our relationship with the natural world
Why trees, wetlands, soil and other ecosystems are essential infrastructure
How connecting with nature can begin right outside your own front door
The role suburban yards, native plants and citizen science can play in ecosystem restoration
Why community action and local policy matter
Our shared belief that there is still so much reason to hope
One Small Shift
Get curious about one part of the natural world you encounter every day. Ecological literacy grows through curiosity and observation — and simply paying closer attention can begin to change our relationship with the living world around us.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
56: Food Preservation for Beginners — How to Save Money on Groceries with Kris Bordessa
Épisode 56
mardi 18 août 2026 • Durée 55:07
If you want to reduce food waste, save money on groceries, and learn about easy and practical food preservation, this conversation with Kris Bordessa is a great place to start.
In this episode, I’m joined by Kris Bordessa, author of Attainable Sustainable and Attainable Sustainable Pantry, to talk about ‘old-fashioned’ kitchen skills that are still incredibly useful in modern life. We talk about using what you already have before heading back to the grocery store, stocking a more useful pantry, preserving seasonal abundance, and why safe canning matters.
Kris also shares why these skills are not just for homesteaders or preppers. They are practical tools that can help ordinary households stretch food budgets, reduce waste, and feel more capable when life gets unpredictable.
This conversation is about building a more sustainable kitchen in a way that feels realistic, not overwhelming. You do not need to preserve everything, make every pantry staple from scratch, or completely change the way you cook. But learning a few simple sustainable habits in the kitchen can make low waste living feel more doable.
Takeaways
Starting with what you already have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry can help you reduce food waste, save money on groceries, and avoid unnecessary grocery runs.
A more useful pantry does not have to be complicated. Staples like beans, grains, broth, potatoes, onions, garlic, and oil can make flexible cooking easier.
Food preservation can start small. Freezing, quick pickling, dehydrating herbs, making herb salts, and preserving in salt or oil are all practical ways to use seasonal abundance.
Safe canning matters. Water bath canning and pressure canning are used for different foods, and trusted, tested recipes are important.
You do not need to make everything from scratch. Some things, like salad dressing, may be worth making at home, while others, like tomato paste, may not be worth the time.
Preparedness does not have to mean fear-based prepping. A stocked pantry and the skills to use it can help ordinary households feel more capable when routines, budgets, or supply chains are disrupted.
55: Use What You Have — A Simple Way to Reduce Waste
Épisode 55
mardi 4 août 2026 • Durée 23:30
Sustainable living is increasingly being marketed as something we need to shop for. We are constantly being shown greener products, better materials, and more sustainable versions of things we already own—but for most of us, the best place to start is by using what is already in our homes more fully.
In this episode, I’m talking about why waste begins long before something reaches the landfill and why using what we already own is one of the most practical sustainable habits we can build.
Takeaways
Eco-friendly products now seem to follow the same trend cycles as everything else.
Waste also includes when we buy more than we can realistically use, maintain, store, or even remember we own.
Once something is in our home, much of its environmental impact has already happened. The next question is how much value and use we can get from it.
It is okay for useful things to look repaired, scratched, mismatched, or even a little ugly.
Shopping your own house first can help you find the exact item you need, a workable substitute, something that can be repaired, or something you have simply forgotten about.
Using what you have does not mean never buying anything. It gives you better information so you can shop more slowly and deliberately when you genuinely need something.
Creating use-first areas, keeping a pause list, repairing things quickly, borrowing rarely used items, and using the good stuff now are all practical ways to reduce waste.
Low waste living becomes easier when the things we already own are visible, accessible, cared for, and actually used.
One Small Shift Take stock of what is under your bathroom sink.
Pull everything out and see what is already open, what needs to be used up, and what you have duplicates of. Then choose one product to finish before you replace it or try something new.
54: Litter Prevention and Community Action — What the 2026 National Litter Study Reveals with Keep America Beautiful
Épisode 54
mardi 21 juillet 2026 • Durée 37:30
Litter is one of the most visible forms of waste in our communities. It shows up along roads, in parks, on trails, near schools, and in the places we move through every day. But it is also a clue — about our habits, our infrastructure, our systems, and how we care for where we live.
In this episode, I’m joined by Jenny Lawson, President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, for a conversation about the 2026 National Litter Study, what it reveals about litter in communities across the United States, and why litter prevention is about more than picking up garbage.
We talk about why litter matters, how social norms and infrastructure shape behaviour, what has changed since 2020, and how individuals, businesses, local governments, and community organizations all have a role to play in creating cleaner, healthier public spaces.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by big environmental problems, this conversation is a reminder that you can take action in a very practical place: your own neighbourhood.
Takeaways
Litter is connected to community care, shared responsibility, and how people feel about the places where they live.
The 2026 National Litter Study shows real progress, while also making clear that there is still work ahead.
Infrastructure, access, education, enforcement, and local programs all shape litter prevention.
Social norms play an important role in how people care for shared spaces.
Businesses, producers, local governments, and communities all have a role to play in litter prevention.
Community cleanups are a great starting point for broader environmental action.
One Small Shift
Choose one shared space you pass through regularly and notice it differently.
Look at what kind of litter shows up, whether there are bins nearby, and whether the space feels cared for. Then choose to help reduce waste by picking up few pieces of litter and look for the nearest bin.
53: What to Do With the Plastic You Already Have — Practical Ways To Go (Almost) Plastic-Free At Home
Épisode 53
mardi 7 juillet 2026 • Durée 21:32
If you are trying to reduce plastic waste at home, you might be wondering what to do with the plastic you already have. The answer is not to throw it all away and buy a new set of eco-friendly swaps. It is to use what you have, rethink the plastic that moves through your home, and start noticing where single-use plastic shows up in your daily routines.
In this episode of Sustainable in the Suburbs, Sarah talks about reducing single-use plastic in real life: using the containers, bags, bins, and Tupperware you already own; choosing reusables that actually fit your habits; giving so-called disposable plastic one more job before it hits the garbage; and using your voice to ask for better systems.
Plastic itself is not the whole problem. Waste is the problem. Disposability is the problem. And this episode is a practical reset for anyone who wants to reduce plastic waste, keep materials in circulation, and make small shifts that actually fit real life.
Takeaways
Plastic itself is not the problem. Single-use plastic is often the problem.
Reducing plastic waste does not mean throwing away every plastic thing in your house. Use what you already have until it is no longer usable.
A reusable product only works if you actually use it. Choose reusable products that fit your real habits, not the ones that look the most sustainable online.
Individual habits matter, but they are not the whole story. Ask businesses why plastic packaging is there in the first place, and use your voice as well as your wallet.
Systems are made of people, and people can be influenced.
One Small Shift
Before you throw away a piece of plastic, ask whether it can do one more job. It’s only single-use if you use it once!
52: Building a Sustainable Kitchen — What Actually Matters with Naomi Hansen
Épisode 52
mardi 23 juin 2026 • Durée 47:42
Climate action begins at the kitchen table — and a more sustainable kitchen starts with knowing where to focus.
In this episode of Sustainable in the Suburbs, Sarah talks with Naomi Hansen, author of Building a Sustainable Kitchen: A Practical Guide to Prioritizing the Planet from the Heart of Your Home, about what actually matters when it comes to food, waste, and climate action at home.
Together, they explore why the kitchen is such a powerful place to begin, how food waste connects to bigger climate solutions, and why the most sustainable choice is not always the one that looks the most sustainable from the outside.
Takeaways
Why the kitchen is a meaningful place to start with climate action
How food waste connects to sustainability and climate impact
Why some popular sustainable swaps only scratch the surface
How to think about trade-offs, like packaging versus wasted food
Why individual action still matters, especially when it spreads through families, friends, and communities
Can you be sustainable in the suburbs? Well, yes and no.
Suburban life can make sustainable living complicated — especially when communities are built around cars, convenience, private space, and consumption. But the suburbs are also where so many of us live, raise families, volunteer, vote, garden, organize, and build community.
So what does climate action actually look like here?
This episode looks at sustainable living in the suburbs beyond eco swaps and bigger purchases, and asks what becomes possible when we start thinking about our neighbourhoods, local politics, shared resources, and community resilience.
Takeaways
Why suburban sustainability is complicated, but very doable
How car dependency shapes the landscape and our daily choices
Why the suburbs should not be written off in climate conversations
How sustainable living goes beyond buying greener products
Why free, inexpensive, and investment-level actions all matter
How community resilience and local politics shape what comes next
One Small Shift
Choose one free action that connects your household to your community.
Sustainability is something we practise, share, and build where we live — and sometimes that starts with one small step outside our own front door.
50: Practical(ly) Zero Waste with Elsbeth Callaghan
Épisode 50
mardi 26 mai 2026 • Durée 49:40
Back in 2020, I was a guest on the now inactive podcast Practical(ly) Zero Waste, hosted by Elsbeth Callaghan. At the time, my kids were little, the zero waste movement online was deep in its “trash jar” era, and many of us were trying to figure out what sustainable living looked like outside of perfectly curated Instagram squares.
Six years later, a lot has changed.
Kids are older, life looks different, and both of us have let go of a lot of the pressure and aesthetics that surrounded zero waste in those early online days. But underneath all of that, the values are still very much the same.
In this full-circle conversation for Episode 50 of Sustainable in the Suburbs, Elsbeth and I talk about what sustainable living looks like now: parenting teenagers and young kids, balancing low waste goals with real life, navigating burnout and social media, building community, and why consistency matters a whole lot more than perfection.
We also talk about what we’ve kept, what we’ve let go of, and how many of the “small shifts” we started years ago have quietly become lifelong habits.
Takeaways
Why sustainable living looks very different after years of actually living it
The shift from perfection and aesthetics toward values and consistency
Raising eco-conscious kids through everyday habits rather than pressure
How composting, secondhand shopping, and reusables became family routines
The connection between sustainability, community, and raising responsible citizens
Why slowing down is often the most sustainable choice
How “eco-frugal” living can save money while reducing waste
Navigating low waste living with celiac disease and accessibility needs
One Small Shift
You can always start again.
Even if you’ve fallen out of old habits, even if life looks completely different now, small intentional changes still matter. Start with one thing that feels manageable and build from there.
49: Less Stuff, Less Stress — Sustainable Living with Kids (In Real Life)
Épisode 49
mardi 12 mai 2026 • Durée 24:19
In this episode, I’m talking about what sustainable living with kids actually looks like in real life. Not the Instagram version — the real version. The conversations, the habits, the overwhelm, the convenience culture, and the small shifts that slowly become part of how your family moves through the world.
Takeaways
Kids learn consumption habits by watching us
Sustainable living with kids is about buying less, not buying “eco” products
Convenience culture is deeply connected to overwhelm and mental load
Small habits shape how kids think about waste, spending, and consumption
Involving kids in the “why” helps sustainability become a mindset
Sustainability conversations naturally deepen as kids grow
It’s never too late to start having these conversations as a family
One Small Shift Have a family conversation about consumption, waste, or sustainability this week. Ask your kids what they notice, what they care about, and what ideas they have. You might be surprised by the answers.
48: Overwhelmed by Sustainable Living Advice? Start Here (with Alexa Pavan)
Épisode 48
mardi 28 avril 2026 • Durée 01:00:23
Sustainability advice is everywhere — and even when you care, even when you’re trying to pay attention, it can be hard to know what actually matters.
In this episode, I’m joined by Alexa Pavan of Go Green With Alexa, a climate communicator and copywriter who’s focused on making sustainability more understandable, more approachable, and a lot more connected to real life.
We talk about what it looks like to move through all of that information — how to figure out what’s credible, what’s actually helpful, and how to take those bigger ideas and bring them into your day-to-day life.
From composting and food waste to media literacy and community action, this conversation is about finding your footing in a space that can feel overwhelming and remembering that sustainability doesn’t have to be complicated to matter.
Takeaways
Sustainability advice can feel overwhelming — slowing down and checking sources helps you build confidence in what you’re seeing and sharing.
Food waste is one of the most impactful places to start, both environmentally and financially.
Composting is a powerful way to reduce waste, especially when it’s supported at a larger, community level.
Sustainable living looks different in every household — it needs to fit your life to stick.
Small, everyday choices can extend beyond the home and shape communities and local systems.
Civic engagement is part of building greener communities.
Creativity and problem-solving are part of sustainable living.
One Small Shift
Start paying attention to what’s around you. Get curious about the life cycle of an object near you. Building awareness is the first step toward making more intentional choices.
Self-reliance does not mean doing everything alone. Sharing food, recipes, tools, and skills is part of building more resilient communities.
One Small Shift
Before your next grocery shop, start with what you already have.
Take a few minutes to look through your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and choose one or two things that need to be used before you bring more food into the house. Maybe it’s leftover rice, soft fruit, wilting vegetables, or something you bought with good intentions and then forgot about.
If you want a little more guidance, my Simple Kitchen Audit is a good place to start. It’s a 10-page workbook that walks you through what’s working in your kitchen, where food and packaging waste are creeping in, and what small changes could help your kitchen feel more organized, lower-waste, and easier to use.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
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