Sustainable in the Suburbs
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 weekly 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.
Episodes
49 episodes
48: Overwhelmed by Sustainable Living Advice? Start Here (with Alexa Pavan)
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 co...
47: Eco-Friendly Bathroom Swaps That Save You Money and Reduce Waste
Bathroom swaps are one of the most common entry points into sustainable living — but they can also be one of the most overwhelming.There are so many products, so many recommendations, and so much pressure to replace everything all at onc...
46: How to Understand Climate Change (and Talk About It With Your Kids) with Brittany Jefferson
We spend a lot of time talking about climate change — but not nearly enough time understanding it.Most of us were never really taught how to understand it, especially in a way that connects it to history, systems, power, and the everyday...
45: Food Waste Is Costing You — How to Spend Less on Groceries with Chelsey Schmuland
You’re not just wasting food — you’re throwing money in the trash.This week I’m joined by returning guest Chelsey Schmuland, and we’re digging into one of the most overlooked ways to save money on groceries: reducing food waste.
44: How to Start Birding in Your Backyard (and Help Birds During Nesting Season)
Spring is when the birds get loud again. You hear them before you see them — in the morning, in the trees, and in the background of your day.If you’ve ever thought about getting into birding, this is a really natural place to start — rig...
43: Making Sustainable Living Accessible in the Suburbs with Laura Newton of Kind Matter
What does sustainable living actually look like in the suburbs — in places designed around cars, convenience, and big box shopping?Laura Newton is the founder of The Kind Matter Company, a ...
42: RECYCLED - Overwhelmed by Climate Change? Start Here.
This episode originally aired in the very first month of Sustainable in the Suburbs. I’m revisiting it now because this idea remains one of the clearest ways to find your place in climate action — and sometimes returning to the foundation i...
41: Behind the Scenes — Sustainability on Film Sets with Erin Karpluk
What does sustainability look like in a fast-moving industry like film and television?In this episode, Canadian actress Erin Karpluk shares how growing up in Jasper shaped he...
40: How to Host a Zero Waste Birthday Party for Kids (Eco-Friendly Ideas That Save You Money)
I can’t be the only one who has complicated feelings about goody bags… right?Kids' birthday parties have quietly escalated. The venues. The décor. The goody bags. The expectation that every year has to be a little bigger than the last.
39: Sustainable Home Renovations — Materials, Waste, and Designing Homes For Life with Brittany Steptoe Wright
We talk a lot on this show about the small daily habits inside our homes. But every so often, the choices get bigger.Renovations bring in materials, demolition, budgets, trades, and long-term decisions all at once. They shape how a home ...
38: Things I Don’t Buy Anymore — Eco-Frugal Shifts That Reduce Waste and Save Money
Buying less is one of the most powerful forms of climate action we have.In this episode, I’m sharing some of the things I’ve stopped buying over the last ten years of sustainable living. This shift into eco-frugal living happened gradual...
37: Sustainable Decluttering — Why Letting Go Isn’t Neutral
Donation dumps are basically reverse shopping hauls.Decluttering is often framed as an end point — clear it out, drop it off, move on. But what if the way we let things go quietly trains how we bring new things in?In this episode ...
36: How to Host a Clothing Swap — Sharing Clothes & Building Community
We all have clothes we don’t wear. Pieces that might fit again someday, that were expensive, or that feel too nice to just drop into a donation bin. When those clothes start piling up, donation often becomes the default solution. And once those...
35: Rethinking Sustainable Fashion, Consumption, and Personal Style with Sabs Katz
This episode touches on sustainable fashion — but it’s not only about fashion.It’s a conversation about how we think about clothes, how we relate to what we already own, and how everyday decisions around getting dressed connect to consum...
34: How to Quit Using Paper Towels (and What to Use Instead)
Paper towels are one of those everyday items most of us don’t think twice about — until we do. They’re convenient, familiar, and deeply embedded in our kitchen routines. But when you slow down and look at what goes into making something designe...
33: Fewer, Better Things — How to Reduce Kitchen Clutter and Waste with Sasha Mazzuca
Our homes are full of things we barely notice until they start to feel heavy. Duplicate pantry items, forgotten gadgets, drawers that are full of junk... And suddenly, everyday life feels harder than it needs to be.In this episode, I’m j...
32: Overstimulation, Overconsumption, and the Pressure to Do More with Gillian Gabryluk
If the week between Christmas and New Year’s leaves you feeling overstimulated, scattered, or unsure how to move forward without just adding more pressure, you’re not alone. After a season filled with noise, expectations, and stuff, it...
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...
30: Sustainable Gift Wrapping — How to Use What You Have and Cut Holiday Waste
Every holiday season, those beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree inevitably results in a giant pile of very fancy garbage in five minutes flat.In this week’s episode of Susta...
29: Sustainable Holidays with Kids — Minimalism, Presence, and Doing Less with Stephanie Seferian
If the holidays seem to get louder and more overwhelming every year, you’re not imagining it. From endless ads to the pressure to make everything “magical,” it’s easy to get swept into a season that feels more stressful than joyful. And for par...
28: Is It Okay to Give Secondhand Gifts? Why Thrifted Gifts Are the Most Eco-Friendly Choice
Some of the most meaningful gifts we give (and receive) aren’t new. They’re secondhand.And yet… so many of us still hesitate.In this week’s episode of Sustainable in the Suburbs, Sarah Robertson-Barnes digs into the cultu...
27: Finding Joy in Creative Reuse — Sustainable Crafting for Every Season with Sibia Torres Padilla
What if the things we already have — the scraps, the leaves, the little bits most people throw away — are exactly where creativity begins?This week, Sarah Robertson-Barnes talks with Sibia Torres Padilla, the artist and author behind
26: Holiday Food Waste — Simple Ways to Reduce Waste, Save Money, and Celebrate Sustainably
Festive food and drink are an important part of celebrating the holidays, but food waste shouldn’t be. In this episode of Sustainable in the Suburb...
25: Redefining Sustainable Living — From Zero Waste to Real-World Resilience with Kristy Halderman
What happens when your life changes completely — but your commitment to living sustainably stays the same?This week, I’m joined by Kristy Halderman, whose sustainability journey has taken her from Washington, DC to Montana — touching nea...
24: 5 Sustainable Living Mistakes to Avoid (and What to Do Instead)
Sustainable living isn’t a straight path — it’s a practice that shifts and changes as we do.Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about what sustainable living really looks like. I’ve tried just about everything, and while some things worke...