31: What Actually Works (and What Doesn't) in Sustainable Living — Lessons From a Year of Podcasting

After releasing 31 episodes — something I am frankly amazed at — I wanted to take a few minutes to look back on this first year of Sustainable in the Suburbs. What’s worked, what’s been harder than expected, and what I’ve learned along the way.

In this short solo episode, I reflect on how the podcast has shaped my own thinking around sustainable living, why some conversations have resonated more than others, and how this show has slowly become a deeper, more community-focused part of my work. I also share the five episodes you’ve returned to most — a mix of topics that says a lot about what we’re collectively navigating right now.

Finally, I invite you into what comes next. As I start planning for 2026, I’d genuinely love to hear what you want more of — the questions you’re sitting with, the topics you want explored, and the conversations that would support you where you are right now. 

Takeaways

• Sustainable living works best when it fits into real, everyday life.
• Slowing down and reflecting can lead to more intentional choices.
• Community care and connection are central to meaningful climate action.
• Food waste prevention continues to be one of the most impactful areas to focus on.
• Intentional spending can support local economies and broader systems change.

Top Five Episodes of 2025

1. Money, Enoughness, and Community Care with Women’s Personal Finance
2. How to Quit Using Amazon — and Why You Should
3. Holiday Food Waste — Simple Ways to Reduce Waste, Save Money, and Celebrate Sustainably
4. Beeswax Wraps 101 with Hive to Home
5. 5 Sustainable Living Mistakes to Avoid (and What to Do Instead)

Transcript

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (00:00.322)
This show is all about finding sustainable solutions that fit your real life. And since I'm big on sharing what works and what absolutely does not today, I'm taking a few minutes to look back at this first year of the podcast, the wins, the wobblier moments and everything I learned in between. Welcome to sustainable in the suburbs, a podcast for the eco curious who want to live a greener life and are looking for a place to start. I'm your host, Sarah Robertson Barnes.

a soccer mom with a station wagon and a passion for sustainable living. Each week I'll bring you practical tips and honest conversations to help you waste less, save money and make small doable shifts that actually fit your real life. Because sustainable living doesn't have to be perfect to matter and you don't have to do it all to make a difference. Hello and welcome back to Sustainable in the Suburbs, the podcast where we start where we are, use what we have and live a little greener, one small shift at a time.

My name is Sarah and I'm really glad to be hanging out with you today. So we are currently in mid December and I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like that moment at the top of the first hill of the roller coaster and you mostly wanted to go on the ride, but just before the drop, you suddenly do not want to do it anymore and you are questioning all of your life decisions. But hold on because here we go.

So as we are hurtling down the hill into the holidays, I wanted to take a few minutes to slow things down and just look back at what we've explored together on the podcast this year. This one's going to be a shorter episode. Just a quick minute to check in and look back before everything gets busier again, somehow in January. This year, I finally took the leap and started the podcast that I've been wanting to make for the past...

five years or so, and that has also been a roller coaster. So I just want to share a few things that have really stayed with me throughout this process over the last six or seven months and highlight the five episodes that you loved the most and talk a little bit about what I've learned from making this show. And then I would genuinely love to hear from you, what you would like to see more of next year, or guess hear more of.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (02:17.601)
what feels interesting or confusing or exciting in your own sustainability journey and where this podcast can meet you next year. So let's think of this as a small breather in the middle of the season, just a chance to reflect and connect and settle in together before we head into the new year.

Starting this podcast has been both incredibly rewarding and harder than I expected. I thought that starting a podcast would be easy since I am a teacher by nature and I have tons of content to draw from. I thought it would be so easy to just hop on and yap into a microphone for 30 minutes and boom, episode. No.

As soon as I turn my mic on, my throat closes and my brain turns off. And I have a lot of difficulty just talking into my laptop screen. So that's been a big learning curve around workflow and timelines and staying consistent and writing out what I actually want to say. I've also learned more technical and audio things than I could ever have known existed.

or that I ever wanted to know. And so then I just wanted to give a huge shout out to Mike at Cardinal Studio, my editor. He has been essential on the technical side and is my emotional support, Mike, and helps keep this whole thing moving. So Mike, I could not have done any of this without you. And I wanted to give you, who is currently editing this episode, a huge thank you.

Since I've been putting more time into the podcast, I'm finding that it's really shifting how I'm showing up as well. So definitely putting more time into the podcast, more focus on long-term evergreen content. So again, putting it into these episodes and the blog posts that go with the episodes and really focusing my social media more on the theme of that episode that week.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (04:25.917)
and spending a lot less time scrolling. So that has been really interesting. And something that's come up over and over again in the show is sort of what themes are popping out from the different things that I think I want to talk about. And then they come out a little differently or the feedback that I get is different than I thought it would be. So what I'm finding is that obviously sustainability looks different in every household, but people seem to want the same things regardless of how that

quote, like eco-living looks. So we want more clarity and calm and routines that actually work for our real lives. And across all of the guest conversations that we've been having, some similar common threads keep appearing as well. And I find those are about slowing down and choosing things with more intention, creating space for rest and silence away from the constant bombardment of

and memes and news. Community is a huge theme that keeps coming up over and over. And I found that the episodes that people responded to the most have that real lived in imperfect vibe about them. And then of course, I'm really enjoying the one small shift segment, especially when I put guests on the spot, we do a little lightning round and they share a doable tip that you can take or leave, but

I just find those really interesting what we can start working on right away. Something that has really surprised me about the show is how many folks are actually listening to it. It has grown so much in such a short time. And when I'm making an episode or just talking into my laptop screen, like I'm doing right now, I forget that it goes into the world and that people are going to hear it. And then I get messages or emails about the episodes.

or what a guest said and how listeners are using these ideas in your real lives. And it's become much more of a community oriented space than I expected. So I really want to say thank you for all of the messages and reviews and everything. The feedback to the show has been really incredible and I'm so grateful for it. And I'm already thinking ahead to what we're gonna talk about next year and considering what the show can explore more deeply in 2026.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (06:52.682)
So we'll talk about that in just a moment. But before we get into that, I would love to dive into what the top five episodes for this year were and why I think they connected so much.

This is episode 31, which I can't believe because I thought that getting to 10 episodes would be impossible. And because I check my stats about 57 times a day, I have a pretty good sense of what has been resonating with you this year. So these top five episodes really span the range of everything that we've talked about together from money to meals to just everyday little swaps and habits.

and each one has taught me something different as well. So these are the top five episodes. Coming in at number five was episode 24, which was five sustainable living mistakes to avoid and what to do instead. Now this one was really personal for me and I think maybe that's why it connected so much. It was me looking back at all of the things that I've tried in my sustainable living days, all the frogs that I have kissed.

the things that worked for a bit, the things that absolutely did not, and the pressure that I felt and I still feel to get it right or make it look a certain way or live up to somebody else's standards. And what I keep coming back to from that episode is this idea that sustainable living only works when it actually fits into your real daily life.

Not when you overhaul everything or buy every swap under the sun, and definitely not when you're trying to keep up with what you see online. It will never be perfect because that's not real life. We have to factor in access and affordability and our own capacity at any given time to do the things. So I think it's also a good one to revisit at this time of year when we're starting to think about what we want next year to feel like.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (08:56.198)
And I also think it's really a reminder that individual actions really do matter. They shift our habits and the people around us. Because remember that systems are made of people and people can be influenced. So go back and check that one out if you are looking for a little boost or a refresher on the fact that it's okay and probably best to be messy and imperfect.

Coming in at number four was episode 13, Beeswax Wraps 101 with Hive to Home. And I am delighted to see this episode land in the top five because Chelsea from Hive to Home is genuinely one of my favorite people that I have met on this sustainable living roller coaster. She is so smart and creative and has such a down to earth way of talking about.

sustainable living and waste diversion that just makes everything feel more doable and more fun. And she makes the best beeswax wraps I've ever used. So check her out at Hive to Home and I will link that for you in the show notes. And what stuck with me from this episode is the reminder that the tools that we use really have to work for your, like our own lives. And I keep thinking about this thing that she said, which was,

Let your reusables look reused. That it's not about aesthetic. These wax wraps aren't about aesthetics, although they are super cute. So it is just about keeping the food actually fresh and reducing waste and making our day-to-day habits a bit smoother. And at this time of year, when leftovers are piling up and our fridge is just doing its best, they are extra helpful.

So be sure to give that episode a listen for a zillion tips and tricks on how to store food without plastic, how to prevent food waste, composting, how to care for your beeswax wraps. And there is a brief interlude in there on our favorite drag queens as well. Coming in at number three, a related episode, episode 26 on holiday food waste. And that was simple ways to reduce waste, save money and celebrate sustainably.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (11:16.839)
many keywords there. I was really happy to see this episode in the top five as well because preventing food waste is something that I care about deeply and talk about to anyone who will listen all the time because it's quite simple. It will save you a ton of money and it's one of the most impactful ways to do climate action from home. December is such an easy time to slip into that buy more just in case mindset and that's usually how waste happens.

not intentional. It's just because the season pushes us to do more, more, more, more. So that episode was all about stepping back and remembering that enough really is plenty. Using what you already have, planning with intention and keeping those leftovers moving. These small choices really will add up in a big way. And so as we are approaching the feast days and parties, go back and give that one a listen. And honestly,

This is an area that I'm just getting started with. There's so much that I want to explore around food waste, both in everyday routines and in the bigger picture. So stay tuned for that next year. At number two, and I thought this was going to be number one, but that's okay, was episode 12, How to Quit Using Amazon and Why You Should. So this one was actually my favorite episode of the year and a confession, I recorded it twice.

because the first time my tone was not it, it was a little too ranty. I really don't like pesos, but I'm really glad that it resonated so much because over the last few months, I'm seeing more more chatter about folks really reducing their spending at big corporations. So yay.

Especially at this time of year when the pressure to shop is peak and we're having a bit of last minute panic that shift in pausing before we buy and asking ourselves if we really need to purchase this thing can make a huge difference both in your credit card bill and for the planet. I also think this episode is a great place to begin or revisit if you are thinking about making some changes in January.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (13:31.754)
So not to say like, you can never use Amazon again, you're a bad person. Nope. Just slowing down enough to notice your habits and make some choices that feel better for you and your budget and your community. And coming in at number one, it's not even close, was episode 11. That one was called Money Enoughness and Community Care with Women's Personal Finance. This episode had...

everything. We talked about money, values, the concept of enoughness, community care systems, boycotts, and talking with Regina and Angela from Women's Personal Finance was such an incredible experience. They talk about money in a no-nonsense way that feels very practical and deeply emotional, not in the heavy way like I cry during my taxes, no, but in a very clarifying way.

And the idea that our financial choices are not separate from our values or from sustainability or from community, that has really stayed with me. What I loved most from this conversation was the idea that intentional spending and not spending is a form of both protest and of care for ourselves and our families and the communities that we're a part of. It's such an antidote to over consumption and the pressure to always

do and buy more. So if you haven't listened to that one yet, it is a great episode, again, going into the new year and definitely go follow Women's Personal Finance. They're at Women's PF, not Women SPF, although wear your sunscreen, because the work they are doing is so needed. And also I want to give a special shout out to Angela for being my emotional support person during the World Series. She is a Mariners fan.

And I'm from Toronto, so obviously a Jays fan. And so we went from good natured rivals during their series to Angela staying up for all 18 innings of the longest game of my life and the heartbreak of the final game. So thank you for becoming a friend.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (15:47.434)
And as I'm starting to map out where the podcast is headed next year, I would really love your input. So the episodes that seem to land are always the ones shaped by real questions and real life. And I want to know what's on your mind. So what's feeling confusing or hard or overwhelming in your sustainability journey right now? What would be helpful to dig into more deeply or debunk or clarify?

Are there any guests that you would like to hear from or themes that you're excited to explore? So even just like a tiny thought or a question really can spark a whole episode. So you can email me or send me a DM on Instagram, whatever's easiest. And I will link a contact form in the show notes so you can share and your ideas honestly can help guide so much. And I'd love to hear what you would love to hear next year.

Before I wrap up today, I really want to say thank you again, truly. Thank you for listening, for sharing the show with friends, for downloading week after week, leaving reviews, and for being here as this little passion project has grown into something I really love making. It means more to me than you can know.

So I will be off next week. There won't be an episode on the 23rd, but I will be back on December 30th with a guest conversation about slowing down as we head into the new year. And as always, you can find everything that I've mentioned today in the show notes. Don't forget to email me. I really do want to hear from you. Until next time, start where you are, use what you have, and live a little greener. And happy holidays from my home to yours.

Thanks for tuning in to Sustainable in the Suburbs. Every small step adds up and I'm so glad we're doing this together. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to follow the show, share it with a friend and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. You can find me at sustainableinthesuburbs.com or at Sarah Robertson Barnes on all the things. Until next time, start where you are, use what you have and live a little greener. This podcast is produced, mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more information about how to start your own

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (18:06.132)
podcast, please visit www.cardinalsstudio.co or email Mike at mike at cardinalsstudio.co. You can also find the details in the show notes.