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
44 episodes
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 ...
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Episode 43
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47:16
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...
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Episode 42
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21:40
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...
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Episode 41
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1:01:56
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.
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Episode 40
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24:25
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 ...
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Episode 39
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54:44
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...
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Episode 38
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22:00
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 ...
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Episode 37
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21:21
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...
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Episode 36
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25:15
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...
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Episode 35
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58:33
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...
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Episode 34
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27:09
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...
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Episode 33
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51:59
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...
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Episode 32
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51:35
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...
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Episode 31
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18:17
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...
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Episode 30
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32:36
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...
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Episode 29
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46:14
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...
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Episode 28
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29:28
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
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Episode 27
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36:59
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...
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Episode 26
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20:16
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...
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Episode 25
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57:11
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...
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Episode 24
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25:40
23: Borrow Before You Buy — Sharing, Renting, and the Circular Economy with LEND-IT.CA
Do you really need to own everything? From ladders and camping gear to canning supplies and extra tables, so many of the things cluttering our homes only get used once or twice a year. What if borrowing — instead of buying — became our default?...
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Episode 23
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39:42
22: From Refills to Resilience — Simple, Real-Life Sustainable Living with Julie Darrell
What if stepping into a refill shop for the first time could change the way you see your whole community?This week, I’m joined by Julie Darrell, owner and founder of Bring Your Own Long Beach. Sinc...
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Episode 22
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56:14
21: Zero Waste Halloween — Eco-Friendly Tips for Costumes, Candy, and Pumpkins
Halloween is supposed to be spooky, but the real horror might just be the mountain of waste it leaves behind. Costumes that only last one night, piles of plastic candy wrappers, cheap décor that lasts one season, and millions of pumpkins sent s...
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Episode 21
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22:00