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If you’re keen to reduce the environmental impact of your gift giving this Christmas, you're in the right place!
In this episode I'm sharing six eco gift wrap ideas.
It’s possible to wrap your gift sustainably. Whether you use Santa Sacks, fabric, children’s paintings, gift bags or 100% post consumer gift wrap, there’s an eco gift wrapping option to suit everyone!
Ronni Khan is on a mission to nourish our country with rescued food. Her social / environmental enterprise Oz Harvest is on the cusp of delivering it's 100 millionth rescued meal to someone in need this Christmas.
Hear how Ronni actually rescues food from institutions and redistributes it to vulnerable people through initiatives like Oz Harvest's FREE supermarket.
Learn more about Oz Harvest at www.ozharvest.org
You can purchase Lenny and the Ants children's book HERE.
What is the most sustainable Christmas Tree? A real, living Christmas Tree or a reusable plastic Christmas Tree?
To help answer this question I’m chatting with Steve Roberts from Adelaide Hills Christmas Trees. In this episode you'll learn:
- Where a real Christmas Tree is more sustainable than a plastic variety
- How long it takes a pine tree to grow into a suitably-sized Christmas Tree
- What happens to all the Christmas Trees after Christmas
- Best tips for keeping your real Christmas tree looking fresh
- How to grow your own real Christmas Tree
- Other options for Christmas Trees (eg. homemade recyclable trees)
Additional Resources
- Click HERE for some inspiration on homemade Christmas Trees from recyclable materials
- Click HERE to download your FREE Seasons Greenings eGuide to help you have a cleaner, greener Christmas without being a party pooper!
- Click HERE to order your real Christmas Tree from Adelaide Hills Christmas Trees (Adelaide and surrounds residents only)
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Want to throw a zero waste party! Great! You’re in the right place!
If you love entertaining but hate waste, this episode is for you! I’m sharing five strategies to help you to easily ecotain (i.e. party sustainably) in a world obsessed with convenience and waste.
Resources:
If you’re keen to eco-fy your coffee habit, listen up!
In this episode I’ll share three simple ways to enjoy your daily dose of coffee, sustainably.
Some links to help:
- Click HERE to get your reusable coffee cups from Sustainahome
- Click HERE to purchase reusable coffee pods from Sustainahome
An ethical and sustainable cup of coffee is possible! By switching to a reusable cup, reusable coffee pods and an organic, Fairtrade brew you’ll save money, waste and contribute to a cleaner, greener and fairer future for us all. Now that’s almost enough to make me want to start drinking coffee! ;-)
If you’re a parent or grandparent trying to raise the children in your life in as sustainable a way as possible, this episode is for you! I’m sharing four strategies to help you to eco parent successfully in the modern world.
To join a like-minded community of eco-minded parents (and non-parents), check out Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs.
Whether it’s the deforestation and loss of habitat caused by logging trees for paper, the water and energy used to transform wood into pulp and paper or the chemicals used to bleach and colour the paper, the production and use of paper products has a significant impact on the environment.
Throughout August in my Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs membership we shone the light on paper product usage, and we all made an effort to reduce our consumption of paper products in the home.
Since there’s so many opportunities to reduce paper in and around the home, I thought it would be great to summarize them for easy reference.
In this episode I share 13 simple ways to reduce paper use in and around the home.
If you’re finding that stuff is taking over your home or you’re weighed down by the amount of physical clutter in your life, this episode is for you. I’m sharing seven signs you’re obsessed with stuff, and outlining why you need to take control of your stuff before it takes control of you.
Like this episode?
You may also like:
Ep5 – The Environmental Impact of Toys and How To Stop the Toy Invasion
Ep76 - Four Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Buying Something New
Ep77 - Tips on Decluttering and Organising Your Home with Helen Butler
Ep102 - Five Simple Ways To Declutter Your House
EP 120 – 3 Reasons To Rethink Supermarket Collectables
Learn More!
Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs gives you the A to Z of living a simpler, more self-sufficient life, with a supportive community to boot! Click HERE to learn more.
Over the past two years my husband Paul and I have been building our very own sustainable home in the suburbs of Adelaide Australia.
In this episode, Paul joins me on Eco Chat to share our biggest learnings from the process.
From polystyrene construction materials to low VOC paints, we have it all covered in this episode. We share:
- what is the most sustainable floor covering
- how we tested the soil in our yard for metal contamination
- what not to do with your rainwater tank (hint: don't get it delivered until the very moment you want it installed)
- the no.1 choice you can make to reduce volative organic componds (VOCs) in your home
- the decisions you need to make up front to ensure your home is energy efficient (hint: it doesn't include installing solar)
There's been soooooooooo many learnings along the way that I thought I'd share them with you so if you're even in the position where you're building your own sustainable home, or adding sustainable features to your existing home, you can learn from some of the things that went right, and some of the things that went wrong, with our build.
Resources Mentioned:
Building a Sustainable Home in the Suburbs Part 1: Planning and Design
When we think of sustainability, underwear isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind.
But Modibodi founder Kristy Chong is certainly changing that!
Kristy is on a mission to revolutionized feminine hygiene products and her brand Modibodi and their period and leak-proof underwear is certainly making waves in this area.
In this chat Kristy and I talk about sustainable periods and how an embarrassing mishap while running the Seattle marathon led to her creating what will clearly become one of Australia’s iconic brands.
Click HERE to visit Modibodi's website
Click HERE to follow Modibodi on Facebook
Kids love collecting things and marketers know it.
Supermarkets, in a bid to up their market share, often offer free collectables to “reward” their shoppers. Or more specifically, their “Little Shoppers”, the children of their customers.
Coles new Little Shop promotion is one such promotion.
From tomorrow, Coles shoppers will be offered a free toy – a miniature version of 30 well-known household products – with every $30 spent.
It will no doubt be popular with millions of families, however the health and environmental costs of such a promotion shouldn’t be understated.
In this episode I discuss the marketing genius and environmental nightmare of the Coles Little Shop collection and share three reasons why you should rethink supermarket collectables.
With the spotlight continually being shone on plastics and the devastating impact they're having on the Environment, and with Australia’s Eastern States finally implementing a Plastic Bag Ban, let’s take a look at one of the alternatives to single-use plastic bags… Compostable plastic bags.
Today I’m joined by Darren McAllister, from BioBag Australia to chat about compostable bags, how they differ from biodegradable bags and how Biobag is championing this area.
Click HERE to purchase Biobag Compostable Bags from Sustainahome.
Want to Learn How To Reduce Plastics In Your Home?
Join my FREE 5-day Plastic Free Challenge!
There’s some sneaky plastics that have made their way into our bathrooms.
Whether it’s the innocent plastic wrap around a tampon, the hearty plastic toothbrush or the more concealed microscopic plastic beads in beauty products, our bathrooms punch above their weight in our overall plastic footprint.
To help change that in your household, I share five simple ways to reduce plastic waste in your bathroom.
Click HERE to Join my FREE 5-day Go Plastic Free Challenge this July
Additional Resources
Sustainahome.com - online eco store where you can SAVE 15% off the entire plastic-free range in July 2018 with code GOPLASTICFREE
Beat The MicroBead App - resource to help you find out if microbeads are in your favourite products. Scan the barcode of your product and use the app to discover if microbeads are present.
Plastics commonly make up the majority of a household's regular waste stream and most of us accept that soft plastic waste is just a part of life. Until now!
Thanks to one innovative mum, Australians now have the opportunity to recycle their soft plastics via REDcycle.
The REDcycle Program is a recovery initiative for post-consumer soft plastic. RED Group has teamed up with Coles, Woolworths and some of Australia’s most-loved brands to make it easy for you to keep your plastic bags and soft plastic packaging out of landfill.
In this episode, Rebecca Gleghorn from REDcycle will share how you (if you live in Australia) can easily get started recycling your soft plastics.
If you’re interested in being part of an active community supporting each other to reduce plastic consumption and transition to a zero waste home, join my growing Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs community.
In this episode I share which of my favourite natural cleaning products I used to complete the exit clean on my house in our recent house move, and how they performed.
Earlier this year we made our BIG family move from the small town of Roxby Downs to the city of Adelaide, 600 km away.
I contemplated outsourcing the exit clean to save time, but for various reasons, we decided to complete it ourselves.
I also secretly wanted to put my favourite natural cleaning products to the test to see if they were up to the big task of a leave-no-surface-spared exit clean, and they didn’t disappoint!
Links to Purchase
Click HERE to purchase koh (ekoWorx) Universal Surface Cleaner, Diamond Sponge, grout brush and microfibre cloths and receive $10 off your order (including bundles and sale items).
Click HERE to purchase Young Living Thieves Household Cleaner, Thieves Dishwashing Liquid and Eucalyptus and Thieves Essential Oils.
Click HERE to purchase Norwex Enviro Cloths (microfibre cloths).
Click HERE to purchase ENJO Window Cleaner and Cloth.
Please note: for some for these products I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase via these links. Rest assured I only ever recommend products I’ve used myself and which I am 100% happy with their performance.
Water is essential to life.
It’s quite possibly the most valuable resource on Earth, yet with the way we waste water in the Western world, you wouldn’t believe this to be the case.
Following the Millennial Drought, the worst recorded drought in Australia’s history, inventor Peter Cullin set himself a mission to do something about reducing household water consumption.
He discovered that the bathroom, and more specifically the shower, was the most wasteful area in a typical dwelling and that every minute of every day, in hundreds of millions of homes around the world quality fresh drinking water was being wasted due to inefficient showers.
So began the quest to create, from scratch, a new type of shower that would overcome the seven major waste problems inherent in typical showers.
Peter’s invention, The Cullector is now recognised as the world’s most efficient DIY retrofit shower. It’s a multi award winning ultra-efficient shower that combines several water saving solutions into one simple water saving shower, it’s self-powered and provides a quality showering experience that saves water, saves money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
If you’re keen to try out the Cullector Water Saving Shower for yourself Peter has offered a 20% discount on the full range at Water Saving Showers between now and end May 2018. Simply enter code ECOCHAT to save!
To help you get started reducing your household water consumption, pick up your FREE Water Savings Cheat Sheet that covers 30 Simple Ways To Reduce Water Use In and Around Your Home.
And if you’re interested in being part of an active community supporting each other to continually make small changes to create a healthier, more sustainable home and lifestyle, join my growing Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs community.
When did you last purchase a new item of clothing?
When did you last move an item on from your wardrobe? And where and how did you move this item on?
How much of your wardrobe do you actually wear on a regular basis?
I encourage you to take moment to reflect on these three questions, because you may not be aware of it, but your wardrobe may be the source of your greatest impact on the environment.
Fashion Revolution Week isn’t just about questioning the social impact of the Fashion Industry, it’s also a time to shine a light on its sustainability.
Today we’re taking a look at another side of fashion and I’m chatting with two gamechangers who have co-founded a clever start-up to make it easy for us to both move on quality items we no longer need and replace them with an entire new wardrobe….without spending a cent.
Through SilkRoll, Erin Wold and Janet Wu have created a shared economy for high end fashion. In this episode we chat about why the fashion industry needs an eco-makeover, some of the advantages of sourcing your clothing this way and the challenges faced by Erin and Janet in getting SilkRoll off the ground and how they overcame them.
Hold onto your seats because after this episode you’ll think three times before ever buying a new item of clothing again!
Today I’m coming to you with a podcast recorded from Antarctica! And I have one of my new friends joining me on the show. It was recorded on the Ushuaia ship whilst we were slicing through ice sheets just to the east of Adelaide Island.
I’m super excited to introduce you to Samantha Reynolds. Sam is a marine biologist and works with ECOCEAN, Australia’s only not-for-profit organisation dedicated to whale shark research and conservation. We are chatting all things whale sharks, science, and following your dreams.
You can learn more about ECOCEAN and the fantastic work they are doing on their website. Also follow them on Facebook or Instagram to keep up to date with their research.
In this podcast I reflect on my recent expedition to Antarctica and my involvement in the Homeward Bound Program to date.
My experience on board with the 80-odd other women in STEMM was incredible and as life changing as being in the pristine and rugged environment of Antarctica.
In a safe and collaborative space we networked, developed strategies to lead, increase our visibility, and act on issues that align with our individual values and lift women up in the call to create change for the greater good.
If you're interested in participating in Homeward Bound register your details here.
Thanks to my sponsors Macpac, Travel with Jane and Civil Construction Partners, as well as my crowdfunding supporters, for making my participation in Homeward Bound possible.
As you may be aware, I’ve spent the past 3 weeks on a ship in Antarctica with 77 other female scientists, all participating in the Homeward Bound program.
To say the experience has been life changing wouldn’t do it justice.
In a safe and collaborative space we networked, developed strategies to lead, increase our visibility, and act on issues that align with our individual values and lift women up in the call to create change for the greater good. All of this in the spectacular setting of Antarctica.
In coming podcast episodes I’ll be reflecting on the voyage and sharing the outcomes and resulting projects, but first I wanted to give you a solid background on what is Homeward Bound.
Today’s episode is a warm and candid chat Homeward Bound co-founder Fabian Dattner, recorded on the ship on one of our final days on board.
In this discussion Fabian shares the inspiration and vision behind Homeward Bound, why women with a STEMM (science, technology, engineering mathematics and medicine) background are central to the mission, why Antarctica and some of the biggest challenges the leadership team have overcome on the journey.
Gut Health, or more specifically, poor gut health has received much publicity in recent times and for very good reason.
Gut bacteria and poor digestion have been linked to many diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, obesity, HIV, auto immune disorders, arthritis, mental illnesses and autism.
Why Am I Talking About Gut Health on Eco Chat?
Because looking after ourselves and our planet go hand in hand. We can’t perform at our optimum and care for our Earth if we’re sick or low in energy.
Which is why I have one of Australia’s leading experts in gut health on Eco Chat today.
Micheline Andrews is a nutritional health coach focusing on gut health. She is a bone broth advocate, speaker, and author of a brand-new cookbook ‘Bone Broth Basics’ , which we will talk about today.
When most people talk about healing the environment, they mention simple acts we can do to minimise out impact. It’s rare to find someone who is prepared to go that extra mile and speak the truth… that minimising our impact isn’t going to cut it.
Dr Mahdi Mason is an environmental consultant, author and land healer. She recently released her second book ‘Earth Healing: Healing the Earth to heal ourselves’ to critical acclaim. Her passion is helping people to understand the importance of reversing our environmental impacts, not just reducing them
In this chat Mahdi and I talk about:
- What an Earth Healer is and how to become one;
- How Western Society can better harness the wisdom of our first nations people, particularly when it comes to how they care for Mother Earth;
- How humans became disconnect with the Earth and how we, as a species, can reverse this and build strong connections to the land again;
- How embracing our feminine energy can help to heal the Earth;
- Why we not only need to reduce our physical impact on the environment, but our metaphysical impact too;
- Plus many simple ways in which you can help heal the Earth.
I really like Mahdi’s view on life and passion for sustainability, and I’m thrilled to be sharing her message with you.
If you’re an avid reader and are keen to learn how to indulge your habit in the most sustainable way possible then you’re in for a real treat today!
I’m joined by my friend and author Lisa White to chat all about books verses e-books and which is the most sustainable choice.
We also cover how Lisa recently made the leap from naturopath (and author of many cookbooks available through her Alternate Chef Kitchen business) to fictional author with her brand Contemporary Fantasy novella “A Touch of Magic” which is available now.
The nightly ritual of packing school and kindergarten lunches can sometimes seem tedious and unrelenting, but it doesn't have to be hard and it doesn't need to take as long as an episode of The Bachelor.
In this post I'll share six tips to help you create a waste-free lunchbox for your school-aged child.
Enter code BACKTOSCHOOL before 31 Jan 2018 at Sustainahome to receive FREE Shipping Australia-wide on your order of zero waste lunchbox products.
So many of us grew up with the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ mantra that’s as ingrained in our psyche as the ‘Slip Slop Slap’ sun protection slogan.
But just as ‘Slip Slop Slap’ has moved with the times and been revised to ‘Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide’ I thought the start of a new year was the perfect opportunity to cast an eye over ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.’ In particular I’m keen to share my thoughts on where the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ mantra needs an upgrade, and why.
If you’re keen to be part of a growing community of like-minded conscious consumers all keen to create a healthier, more sustainable home, check out Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs! It’s the place where I guide you through the process of creating a self-sufficient lifestyle, without the overwhelm and without turning your back on the modern world.
