We Americans are notorious for making our unwanted stuff someone else's problem. Part of the reason has to do with our desire to be altruistic: We tell ourselves we're helping the less fortunate when we pass on our perfectly decent items.
But the reality is much bleaker: Both our recently-decluttered donations and our down-and-dirty trash create problems for the people and places that get stuck with our stuff.
Here's a preview of what we're discussing today:
[3:00] The literal mountain of clothes in West Africa
[7:00] Swirling, soupy, and more than one: Here's what you likely didn't know about the Pacific trash vortex
[14:00] Alabama's recent landfill fire
[18:00] What's the reality re: America's plastic recyclables?
[22:00] You - yes you! - can help. Here's how
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Om Podcasten
Creating eco-minimalist, non-toxic homes (without the extra work). Although minimalism has experienced a rebirth in recent years, the "less is more" movement has been around for centuries. Yet today's minimalist influencers have resurrected minimalism with a decidedly consumerist spin, as modern minimalism is nearly synonymous with decluttering. While there's a lot of chatter about tidying, it's radio silence and crickets when it comes to sustainability. The result? Aspiring minimalists find themselves on an endless hamster wheel of buying, decluttering, buying more, and purging again. Overemphasizing decluttering and underemphasizing the reasons why we overbuy in the first place is thoroughly inconsistent with slow living as a movement; consumption without intention is terrible for the planet, too. Your host, Stephanie Seferian, is a stay-at-home/podcast-from-home mom and author who believes that minimalism, eco-friendliness, and non-toxic living are intrinsically intertwined. She's here to explore the topics of conscious consumerism, sustainability, and environmentally-friendly parenting practices with like-minded women; she's here, too, to show you how to curate eco-friendly, decluttered homes (without the extra work).