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Sustainable in the Suburbs | Reduce Waste, Sustainable Habits & Intentional Living

Sustainable in the Suburbs | Reduce Waste, Sustainable Habits & Intentional Living

De : Sarah Robertson-Barnes | Sustainable Living Expert Low Waste Educator
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Want to waste less, save money, and build a more sustainable home life?


Do you care about sustainable living but feel overwhelmed by all the advice, products, pressure, and endless lists of things you are supposed to change?


If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place. Sustainable in the Suburbs helps you reduce waste, build sustainable habits, and make intentional living feel more doable at home — in a way that works for real people, real families, real budgets, real routines, and real homes.


Hosted by Sarah Robertson-Barnes — sustainability educator, writer, speaker, former high school science teacher, suburban mum, and founder of Sustainable in the Suburbs — the show offers practical, non-judgmental guidance to help you waste less, spend more intentionally, buy less, use what you already have, and make thoughtful changes at home. Sarah’s background in science education and technical writing helps her make complex sustainability topics clear, approachable, and useful in everyday life.


Because sustainable living is not just about eco-friendly products or making every possible swap. It is about creating a home life that is better for the planet while also working for your budget, energy, family, routines, and capacity.


On the podcast, you’ll hear practical conversations and ideas about:

  • Low waste living and reducing waste at home
  • Sustainable habits that fit real life
  • Reducing food waste and building low-waste kitchen routines
  • Buying less, using what you have, and reducing overconsumption
  • Sustainable parenting and sustainable living with kids
  • Composting, decluttering, plastic-free living, and eco-frugal living
  • Making holidays and celebrations less wasteful
  • Bringing more slow living and intentional living into everyday life
  • Building a more sustainable home life without adding more pressure



Choose an episode and hit play. Follow or subscribe for practical ideas to help make sustainable living feel more doable at home.


Next steps:

Free Household Waste Audit Workbook

A Beginner’s Guide to a Sustainable Kitchen

Read the Sustainable in the Suburbs blog

Join the Sustainable in the Suburbs newsletter


Start where you are, use what you have, and live a little greener — one small shift at a time!

© 2026 Sustainable in the Suburbs | Reduce Waste, Sustainable Habits & Intentional Living Parentalité Relations
Épisodes
  • 60: Rethinking Sustainable Living — Care Work, Community, and Interdependence with Laura Danger

    60: Rethinking Sustainable Living — Care Work, Community, and Interdependence with Laura Danger
    Oct 13 2026
    So much of sustainable living is still presented to us as an individual project — something we are supposed to manage inside our own homes through how we shop, how much we throw away, and all the habits we build around those choices.But what if sustainability is actually asking something bigger?In this conversation, I’m joined by Laura Danger, author of No More Mediocre: A Call to Reimagine Our Relationships and Demand More, to talk about what changes when we start thinking about sustainability through the lens of care, community, and interdependence.We begin with something seemingly simple: hand-me-downs. But circulating clothes, toys, bikes, and other resources requires labour, connection, and a willingness to participate in the life of a community. From there, we talk about why care work remains so deeply gendered and undervalued, and how those same patterns show up in environmental work and the systems behind what we buy, use, and throw away.We also get into hyper-individualism, consumption, and the idea of weaponized incompetence on a cultural scale — what happens when we are taught not to know or care where things come from, where they go when we are finished with them, or who absorbs the costs along the way.And we talk about what it means to build something different: sharing resources, participating in mutual aid, showing up for neighbours, and recognizing that interdependence is not a failure of independence. It is how healthy communities work.If low waste living was your own doorway into questioning consumption, or if you’re trying to build a more intentional life that is less isolated and more connected to the people around you, this conversation asks a bigger question: what are we actually trying to sustain?TakeawaysWhy circulating hand-me-downs is radical care workThe connection between gendered labour and sustainable livingWhy care work is essential infrastructure in our homes and communitiesHow hyper-individualism keeps us isolated and overburdenedWhat cultural “weaponized incompetence” can look like in sustainabilityWhy understanding systemic problems does not mean our individual choices stop matteringReciprocity, mutual aid, and the difference between community and transactionWhy sharing resources can strengthen both social connection and community resilienceWhy sustainable communities cannot be built through individual self-sufficiency aloneWhat it means to be a villager, rather than simply wishing for a villageOne Small ShiftThis week, choose one small way to participate more actively in the community around you. That could mean joining or using your local Buy Nothing group, passing something along instead of throwing it away, checking in on a neighbour, sharing food or another resource, or simply noticing where you have the capacity to make someone else’s day a little easier.Connect With LauraNo More Mediocre: A Call to Reimagine Our Relationships and Demand More (book)Time to Lean (podcast)WebsiteInstagramRelated Blog PostsClimate Venn Diagram: A Simple Framework for Climate ActionHow to Organize a Clothing Swap10 Tips for Going Zero Waste with KidsRelated Podcast EpisodesEp. 7: Rethinking Zero Waste and Building Community Care with April DickinsonEp. 11: Money, Enoughness, and Community Care with Women’s Personal FinanceEp. 32: Overstimulation, Overconsumption, and the Pressure to Do More with Gillian GabrylukEp. 36: How to Host a Clothing Swap — Sharing Clothes & Building CommunityEp. 42: Overwhelmed by Climate Change? The Climate Venn Diagram Can HelpEp. 58: How to Quit Amazon, Buy Less & Break the Cycle of OverconsumptionSupport the showConnect With MeWebsiteNewsletterShopInstagramSupport the ShowSustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal StudioIf you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
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    59 min
  • 59: Intentional Living, Yoga, and Enoughness with Aarti Inamdar

    59: Intentional Living, Yoga, and Enoughness with Aarti Inamdar
    Sep 29 2026
    What if intentional living really begins with examining what we already have, what we consume, and how we relate to the world around us?This episode is a different lens on many of the questions at the heart of sustainability: Why do we always want more? How do we know when we have enough? And what might change if we slowed down long enough to ask ourselves why?This week, I’m joined by my yoga teacher, Aarti Inamdar, for a conversation about the connections between yoga and sustainable living. Aarti is a student and teacher of classical hatha yoga who has spent nearly 20 years studying and sharing these traditions.We talk about yoga far beyond the physical practice, and what yogic teachings can offer us in a culture that is constantly encouraging us to want more, buy more, and do more. Aarti introduces the principles of ahimsa (non-harm), pratyahara (sensory withdrawal), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness), and we explore how they connect to overconsumption, enoughness, and the pull so many of us feel toward a slower, simpler way of living.We also talk about connection to nature — and what changes when we stop thinking of nature as somewhere we go and begin recognizing ourselves as part of it. From the food we eat to the birds in our own backyards, this conversation explores what it might look like to pay closer attention to our relationships with the living world and to question some of the habits of modern life that keep us disconnected from it.TakeawaysHow yoga extends far beyond the postures on your matWhat ahimsa, pratyahara, and aparigraha can teach us about sustainable habits and consumptionWhy seeking fulfilment through more stuff can keep us wanting moreHow enoughness connects to intentional living and a less consumption-driven lifeWhy slowing down can help us notice our existing connection to natureWhat traditional ways of preparing, sharing, and eating food can teach us about waste and consumptionHow questioning what we actually need can help us step outside the constant push toward moreOne Small ShiftNotice where you feel connected — to yourself, another living being, or the natural world around you. Maybe that means taking your coffee outside and listening to the birds, paying closer attention to the food you're eating, or simply noticing the other living beings you share your neighbourhood with.Connect With AartiWebsiteInstagramFacebookRelated Blog PostsA Simple Framework for Climate Action25 Ways to Live a More Sustainable LifestyleBecoming a Zero Waste FamilyRelated Podcast EpisodesEp. 5: How to Navigate Climate Emotions and Build Community Around YouEp. 7: Rethinking Zero Waste and Building Community CareEp. 11: Money, Enoughness, and Community CareEp. 32: Overstimulation, Overconsumption, and the Pressure to Do MoreEp. 42: Overwhelmed by Climate Change? Start HereSupport the showConnect With MeWebsiteNewsletterShopInstagramSupport the ShowSustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal StudioIf you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
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    1 h et 3 min
  • 58: How to Quit Amazon, Buy Less, and Break the Cycle of Overconsumption

    58: How to Quit Amazon, Buy Less, and Break the Cycle of Overconsumption
    Sep 15 2026

    Overconsumption is built into the way we shop and Amazon makes buying more, faster, almost frictionless.

    This episode of Sustainable in the Suburbs originally aired in August 2025, but I wanted to bring it back now because the conversation feels even more relevant today.

    I’m talking about how to quit Amazon (or at least drastically reduce your reliance on it) in a way that’s actually doable.

    We look at the real cost of convenience, from plastic waste and overconsumption to the pressure Amazon’s business model puts on local and independent businesses. I also share how my family has mostly moved away from Amazon, what we do instead, and the few situations where we still use it.

    We also talk about the power of boycott. One person choosing to spend differently might feel insignificant, but collectively, where we spend our money matters. Choosing to buy less, shop locally, support independent businesses, buy secondhand, borrow, or simply wait before purchasing are all ways to push back on a system designed to keep us consuming.

    This isn’t about pretending everyone can completely avoid Amazon. It’s about finding the places where you do have some wiggle room and building sustainable habits that feel realistic for your life.

    Because intentional living doesn’t have to mean overhauling everything overnight. Sometimes it starts with pausing before you click “buy.”

    Takeaways

    • How Amazon’s business model encourages overconsumption and makes convenience hard to resist.
    • Quitting Amazon is about spending in ways that better reflect your values and support your community.
    • The environmental cost of convenience, including packaging, plastic waste, and unnecessary purchases.
    • Why boycotts and collective consumer choices can have real power.
    • Practical ways to buy less without making your life harder.
    • How shopping local, choosing independent retailers, buying secondhand, borrowing, and using what you already have can reduce your reliance on Amazon.
    • The three mindset shifts that helped my family: Pause, Buy Local, and Shop Secondhand.
    • Why even reducing how often you order can be a meaningful step toward more intentional living.

    One Small Shift

    Try a “pause rule” for online shopping. Choose one day each week — or even each month — to place online orders, and let everything sit in your cart until then.

    You may be surprised by how many things you no longer want or need by the time ordering day rolls around.

    Resources

    • Buy Less, Buy Better: My Favourite Canadian Brands
    • Facebook Marketplace
    • Buy Nothing Project
    • Poshmark (invite code SUSTAINABLESRB)
    • DePop
    • ThreadUp
    • Kijiji
    • LEND-IT.CA

    Related Episodes

    Ep. 11: Money, Enoughness, and Community Care with Women’s Personal Finance

    Ep. 32: Overstimulation, Overconsumption, and the Pressure to Do More

    Ep. 37: Sustainable Decluttering — Why Letting Go Isn’t Neutral

    Support the show

    Connect With Me

    Website

    Newsletter

    Shop

    Instagram

    Support the Show

    Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

    If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
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    20 min
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