Sustainable Minimalists

Stephanie Seferian

Creating eco-minimalist, non-toxic homes (without the extra work). Although minimalism has experienced a rebirth in recent years, the "less is more" movement has been around for centuries. Yet today's minimalist influencers have resurrected minimalism with a decidedly consumerist spin, as modern minimalism is nearly synonymous with decluttering. While there's a lot of chatter about tidying, it's radio silence and crickets when it comes to sustainability. The result? Aspiring minimalists find themselves on an endless hamster wheel of buying, decluttering, buying more, and purging again. Overemphasizing decluttering and underemphasizing the reasons why we overbuy in the first place is thoroughly inconsistent with slow living as a movement; consumption without intention is terrible for the planet, too. Your host, Stephanie Seferian, is a stay-at-home/podcast-from-home mom and author who believes that minimalism, eco-friendliness, and non-toxic living are intrinsically intertwined. She's here to explore the topics of conscious consumerism, sustainability, and environmentally-friendly parenting practices with like-minded women; she's here, too, to show you how to curate eco-friendly, decluttered homes (without the extra work). read less

Our Editor's Take

The Sustainable Minimalists podcast promotes eco-conscious living. It explores the ways people can live sustainably and declutter their lifestyles. The benefits of living with a minimalist mindset include saving money and being tidier. It's often better for the planet and healthier. This podcast shares how to make life less messy with less stuff. Each episode examines how sustainable minimalism can be relevant in daily life.

Stephanie Seferian hosts Sustainable Minimalists. She is a writer and podcaster passionate about helping others simplify their lives. As a business owner and mom of two, she is always discovering new ways to be more efficient. On her podcast, she showcases a range of topics to inspire listeners. Stephanie talks about conscious consumerism and being thoughtful with purchases. She speaks about avoiding plastics and choosing natural cleaning products. She also discusses the benefits of buying less and repairing more. By buying better, consumers can avoid more waste going to landfills. This also allows homes to be tidier and easier to clean.

Expert guests, such as journalists and business owners, feature on the podcast. Stephanie talks to Anne-Marie Bonneau, better known as "The Zero Waste Chef." She speaks about reducing waste when cooking and being eco-friendly with food. Buy Me Once founder Tara Button discusses investing in quality. She also shares why the repairability of goods matters. Julie Winpisinger promotes trying a no-spend month. Each guest talks about how making small changes in life can reap significant benefits.

The "Headlines" episodes review the latest environmental news. These episodes analyze news stories for spin or "greenwashing." Stephanie speaks about climate change and the importance of minimalism for the future. The Sustainable Minimalists podcast releases new episodes every few days. Episodes are brief. "Headlines" episodes are around fifteen minutes long. Other episodes come in at about 30 minutes.

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Episodes

Zero-Waste In The Land Of Wasteful Maximalism
3d ago
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 BeavanFredrika on InstagramA Practical Guide To Zero-Waste For FamiliesZero Waste Family on YouTubeZero Time To Waste documentaryThe 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
No Such Thing As Bad Weather
Dec 10 2024
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: This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/MINIMAL and get 10% off your first month.There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident KidsThe Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every DayLinda on SubstackChildren And Nature NetworkBuy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy (via Netflix)   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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
Living Seasonally, Not Commercially
Dec 3 2024
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: Kitchen Garden Living: Seasonal Growing and Eating from a Beautiful, Bountiful Food GardenBailey on Instagram @baileyvantasselChatpods: www.chatpods.com/?fr=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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
How Many Jeans Do You Own?
Nov 19 2024
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: 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
A Poverty Of Spirit
Nov 12 2024
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:Episode #478: Charting A Rich LifeReclaiming the Sacred: Healing Our Relationships with Ourselves and the WorldThank 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
How To Be An Anti-Capitalist
Nov 5 2024
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:Episode #395: Lifestyle Creep (with Kara Perez)Green Money: How to Reduce Waste, Build Wealth, and Create a Better Future for All How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century (by Erik Olin Wright) Thank you to Wild for sponsoring this week's episode! Use code SUSTAINABLE20 for 20% off. https://www.wearewild.com/us/?discount=SUSTAINABLE20 Thank you also to Better Help for sponsoring this week's episode! Head to betterhelp.com/minimal for 10% off your first month. 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
A Life Of Purpose
Oct 29 2024
A Life Of Purpose
Our culture is marked by both comparison and overconsumption, and we are constantly urged to hustle for something bigger, better, or more expensive because (supposedly) happiness lies within the next purchase or achievement. But what if the key to living a more satisfied life is to simply slow down and listen to your intuition?On today's show: A conversation with best-selling author Stephanie O'Dea about breaking free from hustle culture for increased fulfillment, reduced stress, and a stronger sense of purpose. Here's a preview:[8:00] Doing things out of guilt, obligation, or acceptance versus Simply Looking Only Within (SLOW!)[12:00] It's a lot easier to sell to people who are unhappy. Enter our preponderance for fast living[20:00] Is conventional 'success' possible when we are living slow?[25:00] What to do when you can't hear the voice within because daily life is too fast and too noisy[27:00] The more social media scrolling, the more disenchantment. And yet we are creatures of comparison ... Resources mentioned:Thank you to Wild for sponsoring this week's episode! Use code SUSTAINABLE20 for 20% off. https://www.wearewild.com/us/?discount=SUSTAINABLE20 Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven WorldThe Slow Living Podcast 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
Reclaiming Movement Opportunities
Oct 25 2024
Reclaiming Movement Opportunities
There's no way around it: more stuff means more sedentarism.Products of convenience move on our behalf, and our kids are moving their bodies less than any other generation in human history. Our culture–and the items the market produces to support our ways of life—dissuade self-sufficiency, and so creating a movement-rich life for our health and for the planet's may often feel like an uphill battle.This week I speak with author and biomechanist Katy Bowman. Katy offers tangible ways to reclaim the movement opportunities that have been lost to the conveniences associated with modern living. Here's a preview:[7:30] The relationship between carbon footprints, pleasure, and movement lost[16:00] How to become more tolerant of movement in the house[19:15] Ways to engage kids who don't consider themselves "outdoorsy"[22:45] Multitasking versus stacking: What's the difference (and why does it matter?)[25:20]  2 steps listeners can take right now to reclaim movement opportunities that have been lost to convenience  Resources mentioned:Grow Wild: The Whole-Child, Whole-Family, Nature-Rich Guide to Moving MoreKaty on InstagramSave The Earth book seriesWatch the extended version of this interview on Youtube 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
Water Smarts
Oct 22 2024
Water Smarts
Water is a finite resource. Freshwater shortages are increasingly striking regions around the globe and, as demand for water rises while supply continues to drop, the price of water will likely skyrocket.It’s more important than ever to be smart about water. On today's show horticulturist Noelle Johnson offers easy ways to save water and have a beautiful yard — even amongst challenging climatic conditions.  Here's a preview:[5:00] Globally, less rain is falling. And simultaneously the planet is desertifying. What are the consequences?[11:00] Exactly why rainwater is better for our plants than water from the hose, plus: 3 ways to effectively capture rainwater[15:00] Did you know you can repurpose gray water in your yard? (I sure didn't!)[26:00] Musings on lawns[32:00] 7 ways to use less water in your vegetable garden (hint: raised beds require more water!) Resources mentioned:Thank you to Wild for sponsoring this week's episode! Use code SUSTAINABLE20 at checkout for 20% off. https://www.wearewild.com/us/?discount=SUSTAINABLE20 Episode #137: The Global Water CrisisEpisode #500: Rebuilding Your VillageThe Water-Smart Garden: Techniques and Strategies for Conserving, Capturing, and Efficiently Using Water in Today's Climate... and Tomorrow'sNoelle 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
Future-Conscious Thinking
Oct 18 2024
Future-Conscious Thinking
Many people — and many societies, for that matter — rely on short-sighted quick wins as their Number One go-tos when managing oversized problems. But what works in the short-term likely isn’t best in the long run; worse, such near-sightedness rarely considers its impacts on generations to come.Enter longpath thinking, a mindset that prioritizes future-conscious thinking and behavior.On today’s episode I speak with author and futurist Ari Wallach. Ari argues that when we step away from knee-jerk reactions we will both reclaim meaning in our lives and help preserve the planet for future generations. And if making daily decisions by considering their reverberations 500 years from now sounds revolutionary to you, you’re absolutely right. Ari’s on the show to ease the transition to future-consciousness in 3 simple steps. Here’s a preview: [2:00] “Future” isn’t a noun; it’s a verb. Here’s why[4:30] Debunking lifespan biases so as to create a better world for future generations[6:00] 3 problems associated with short-termism[11:30] How an understanding of transgenerational empathy encourages us to act on behalf of future generations[17:00] What doubling down on sandbag strategies means for fulfilling our collective moral obligations[20:00] 3 ways to start practicing longpath thinking and acting right now Resource mentioned:Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future NeedsThis show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here.Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.
The C Word (Cancer!)
Oct 11 2024
The C Word (Cancer!)
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 chemicals pollute every corner of the planet. They kill bees, fish, and mammals. They nearly destroyed the ozone and, yes, they give us cancer.Many types of cancer are on the rise in the US, and one explanation for this increase lies in our world of chemicals. On today's show environmental investigative reporter Kristina Marusic identifies the harmful environmental exposures linked to cancer; she also provides a step-by-step roadmap for reducing your cancer risk.Here's a preview: [2:00] Breaking down exactly what's happening with cancer rates around the world and why[12:00] The 3 Ps: 3 categories of pollutants that have clear links to childhood cancer[20:00] Pay special attention to these preventable environmental exposures if you have children[24:00] Revisiting the personal care product conundrum [28:00] The harmful environmental exposures you should zero in on at your child's daycare or school [36:00] In defense of being a loudmouth: You've been given a voice; here's how to best use it Resources mentioned: A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing PreventionSample letters to send to your child's school and school board (via Non-Toxic Communities) The Cancer Free Economy Network  The EWG's Healthy Living App Silent Spring InstituteThe Center for Health, Environment, and Justice 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 @sustainableminimalistsSay hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.