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An Extremely Simple Eco Summer

2022-06-30 Mama Minimalist

Can a sun-toasting, memory-making, blue sky summer also be eco-friendly?

I believe that the greenest habits are the ones that don’t cost much money; they’d never upend our already busy lives, either. Today I speak with Paul Hope, Home & Garden Editor for Consumer Reports, and together we offer 8 summer-specific tweaks to your days that are so easy-peasy you won’t even realize you’re *also* helping the planet.

Here’s a preview:

[2:45] Summer is for barbecues: 3 tips for grilling smarter during your next cookout

[7:15] The rise of battery-powered outdoor tools (as confirmed by testing, the new ones actually work!)

[9:50] Adios, old-school sprinkler systems: 2 lawn mowing and lawn watering best practices

[18:00] Common-sense ways to help out your air conditioner on hot days

[21:00] Thoughts on making your freezer work for you this summer

Resources mentioned:

Episode #262: No Mow May
Sustainable Living Guide (via Consumer Reports)
45 Ways to Save More and Waste Less at Home (via Consumer Reports)
RainMachine Touch HD-12

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The Shopping Conspiracy

Women have been targeted for decades with the message that shopping is recreation. It’s a way to relax and unwind, sure, but recreational shopping also contributes to the climate crisis, supports the worst of shareholder capitalism, and creates an awful lot of unnecessary waste.

Enter Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, a hard-hitting new Netflix documentary that forces viewers to look at our waste-related woes. On today’s show producer Flora Bagenal offers a behind-the-scenes look at the documentary’s creation; she also answers your pressing, post-viewing questions.

A note from Stephanie: This episode was recorded before the Los Angeles wildfires. If you're able, please consider donating to one of these organizations.

Here’s a preview:

[7:00] People find it hard to look at waste, and yet the film makes us look. A behind-the-scenes examination all those hard-hitting images

[16:30] Adidas, Amazon, Unilever, and Apple: Here's why the film featured former employees-turned-whistleblowers

[26:00] Corporate execs must show growth, and corporations are on a treadmill of extracting more and more $$ by pushing unnecessary and redundant products. Is not buying an effective act of resistance?

[30:00] Mindset shifts! Quality is a climate issue, and once you press ‘Buy Now’ you become responsible for the item’s end of life

[36:00] Exactly how to Use. Your. Rage!

Resources mentioned:

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My Story

Hello there, I’m Stephanie. I live a crazy, beautiful life as a full-time wife, blogger + mother to two spirited daughters. I’m on a mission to simplify eco-friendly living so as to greater enjoy life’s sweeter moments.

Want to know more? Read my story.