Sustainable Minimalists – Details, episodes & analysis

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:

• How To Save The World With A Pair Of Jeans (via YouTube)
• Tad More Tailoring
• Atomic Habits (by James Clear)
• The Comfort Crisis Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self (February's Book Club pick!)

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

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:

• Episode #478: Charting A Rich Life
• Reclaiming the Sacred: Healing Our Relationships with Ourselves and the World
• Thank you to Wild for sponsoring this week's episode! Use code SUSTAINABLE20 for 20% off. https://www.wearewild.com/us/?discount=SUSTAINABLE20

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

Clothing swaps (or toy swaps, or book swaps, or home goods swaps) are a low-stakes way to declutter your closet and acquire new-to-you clothes. These events also happen to be the epitome of communal care and can fundamentally change how others view secondhand items.

Share resources with your neighbors, reduce waste, and get socializing without exchanging money! On today's show 4-time clothing swap host Jess Schroeder divulges her pro secrets to hosting a successful event. 

Here's a preview: 

[8:00] The price of clothes has dropped dramatically in the last 30 years. Are clothing swaps pointless amidst our cultural reverence for cheap goods?

[13:30] What is it about a swap that's so darn fun?

[19:00] Your questions answered: Exactly how to host a killer clothing swap

[24:00] How to be size inclusive and other pro tips for hosts and guests alike

Resources mentioned:

• Sophie Strauss on Instagram
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• This episode is sponsored by Better Help. Head to betterhelp.com/minimal for 10% off your first month.

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

Over the holidays my family and I staycationed for 9 glorious days. During this time of introspection I re-learned these 4 universally applicable lessons which we are discussing today:

[2:45] Appearance is EVERYthing (when shopping, at least).

[10:00] Explanations are unnecessary.

[18:00] No ones need to eat like royalty *every* night.

[27:00] Habit forming? Remember dosage. Repetition too! 

Resources mentioned:

• Mailbird (Note: it's not free!)
• Episode #223: Reclaiming Movement Opportunities

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

Whether you boast a small windowsill herb garden, a thriving hydroponic system or something in between, growing your own food is great for your well-being. And when you grow what you eat? You also reduce the environmental harm that's incurred by industrial agricultural methods; you eliminate food miles, too.

Kevin Espiritu built a modern homestead on a very modest urban lot; he also happens to help millions of home growers take their gardening efforts to the next level. On today's show Kevin outlines the ways in which each of us — even those who can't keep anything alive! — can grow big(ger) in 2024.

Here's a preview:

[4:00] Why grow stuff? Food miles, nutrition, and industrialized food 

[15:00] The more you grow, the better you grow: Remembering the gardener's lesson

[19:00] Are those fancy-shmancy hydroponic garden towers worth it? Could you build one yourself?

[22:00] Can't keep anything alive? Start with sprouts!

[27:00] The Number One question expert home growers ask themselves, and often

Resources mentioned:

• Epic Homesteading: Your Guide to Self-Sufficiency on a Modern, High-Tech Backyard Homestead
• Episode #139: Microgreens

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

The holidays are all about overabundance. We buy too much, consume too much and despite our best efforts spend far too much money. But there is a solution, and it’s happening on January 1: A No Spend Reset. 

A practical first step toward adopting a lifestyle rooted in sustainable minimalism is to hop off the consumerist bandwagon, at least for a little while, and January is the perfect right time to tackle that project you've been meaning to get to in your home, explore the wonder of recreational activities that don’t cost a cent, and recenter yourself with gratitude for what you already have.

On today's re-air: Julie Winpisinger divulges the Why and How of a no spend/low spend month so you can confidently embark on intentionally NOT SPENDING for 31 days.

Resources mentioned: 

• Sustainable Minimalists Substack
• Join our closed Facebook group

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

A New Year's resolution is a tool that helps us become the best possible versions of ourselves. And yet research finds most people abandon their resolutions by February. 

Many New Year's resolutions fail because they're too broad, too lofty, and not at all time-sensitive. On today's show we set ourselves up for resolution success by applying the 5 components of SMART goals to our 2024 aspirations.

Here's a preview: 

[2:00] What do the statistics say? Here's just how many resolutions fail, and when

[4:30] How to use the SMART acronym to improve your own 2024 resolution 

[7:30] Taking 4 of the most common new years resolutions and making them better

[12:00] Got a sustainability goal on your mind? Stephanie's best thoughts

[19:00] 6 research-backed tips for making your resolution stick

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

The (only positive!) enviro-news you need to know for Friday, December 22 2023:

[3:30] Can microorganisms help in our plastics fight?

[6:00] Exactly how plants communicate with other plants (and why it's important in climate change conversations)

[9:00] 'Sustainable' Aviation Fuels: Is climate-friendly flying an oxymoron?

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

We are taught from an early age that contentment is found in possessions. But lasting peace comes from within, and meditation is a powerful (and free!) way to find what so many of us seek. 

Yet thanks to All. The. Distractions, modern life has engineered out opportunities to go inward. And at the same time? Meditation has never been more needed or necessary.

On today's show, a conversation with Brett Koon about the #1 way to boost happiness, reduce stress, hop off the consumerist bandwagon for good and - most importantly - find out who you really are.

Here's a preview:

[7:00] Happiness isn't in stuff, and life isn't a scavenger hunt to amass 'things'

[10:30] Feelings are just thoughts with lag time (and they aren't the real YOU!)

[14:00] The separation of awareness and mind takes time. Enter modern distractions

[26:00] Is the solution to climate anxiety as simple as surrendering?

[33:00] Common meditation myths debunked, plus: quick wins for getting started

Resources mentioned:

• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (by Eckhart Tolle)
• A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (by Eckhart Tolle)

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday, December 15 2023:

[00:30] COP28: The good, the bad, and the ugly

[9:15] Who gets the (limited) water in California?

[13:30] Extreme weather and the cost of sugar

• 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.