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 Kids The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day Linda on Substack Children And Nature Network Buy 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 @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

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 Garden Bailey on Instagram @baileyvantassel Chatpods: 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 @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

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.  

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: Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World without a Bullhorn Take Omkari's Activist Archetype Quiz Seafoodwatch.org consumer guides   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.

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 @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

Cyberpsychology is an emerging field that examines the ways in which technology influences human behavior. On today's show we discuss what happens to our purchasing habits when psychology, sociology, and 21st century tech collide.Here's a preview:[1:30] Who you think you are is influenced by others (hello, looking glass self!)[8:30] It's human nature to compare and compete: Here's how and why we internalize social media messaging[16:00] 3 reasons why shoppers feel better when they purchase items that contribute to self-repair[20:00] 2 ways dopamine and online algorithms work together and entice us to buy Resources mentioned/Further reading: The Digital Looking Glass Self (via Psychology Today) Buying: The Effect on Self-Worth Feelings and Consumer Well-Being  Why TikTok Made Us Buy It (via Psychology Today) Stay Free App 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.

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 World The 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 @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

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 More Katy on Instagram Save The Earth book series Watch 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 @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.

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 Crisis Episode #500: Rebuilding Your Village The Water-Smart Garden: Techniques and Strategies for Conserving, Capturing, and Efficiently Using Water in Today's Climate... and Tomorrow's Noelle 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! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.