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 Canadian eco-boutique and refill store focused on low waste living, eco friendly products, and non-toxic household essentials. What began as a personal search for safer products after her daughter developed severe allergies has grown into a retail business built around making sustainable living more accessible for everyday families.

Kind Matter now has multiple locations across Ontario, including a flagship store in Mississauga’s Heartland Town Centre — a typical suburban shopping plaza where refillable products, Canadian brands, and plastic-free options sit alongside everyday errands.

This conversation explores how refill stores and low waste shopping fit into suburban life, what customers are actually looking for, and how eco friendly products become part of real, everyday routines — without requiring a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Takeaways

• Why accessibility is one of the biggest barriers to sustainable living and low waste living
• What customers are most curious — and hesitant — about when they first encounter refill stores and refill systems
• Why cleaning products are often the gateway into refilling and eco friendly home swaps
• How placing refill shops inside suburban shopping plazas changes everyday shopping habits
• The role Canadian and women-owned brands play in Kind Matter’s product curation
• The importance of community-focused sustainability and local shopping in suburban areas

Connect With Laura

The Kind Matter Company

Terra Greenhouses

Products Mentioned

Birch Babe

Cheekbone Beauty

The Bare Home

Notice Hair Co. (see in store)

Routine Cream (see in store)

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Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

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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 is exactly what helps us feel re-energized.

Climate change feels HUGE — and it is. The problem is urgent and complex. And when you start looking for solutions, it can seem like there’s an endless list of things you should be doing. All of them are important, and that can feel completely overwhelming.

But meaningful climate action doesn’t happen because one person does everything. It happens when many people each find their place — in their homes, their neighbourhoods, and their communities.

In this episode, I’m sharing a simple framework I often come back to refocus my efforts: the Climate Action Venn Diagram from Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. We’ll talk about how your skills, your joys, and the needs of the world can come together to help you find your own personal starting point — one that feels meaningful, realistic, and sustainable for the long haul.

Takeaways

• The Climate Venn Diagram helps identify a meaningful starting point for climate action by looking at what brings you joy, what you’re good at, and what the world needs.
• Sustainable living isn’t about doing everything — it’s about doing something that feels right for you.
• Joy is a powerful motivator in climate work and there are countless ways to contribute your skills.
• Climate action often happens at the community level — through local advocacy, shared resources, and collective resilience.
• Building habits that feel good and fit your life helps make climate action sustainable for the long term.

One Small Shift

Download a copy of Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s Climate Venn Diagram worksheet, grab a pencil, and just see what comes up. You might be surprised by how much clarity this one little exercise can bring.

Resources

How to Start Living Sustainably: A Simple Framework for Climate Action

Climate Action Venn Diagram

How to Find Joy in Climate Action (TED Talk)

What If We Get It Right? (website)

All We Can Save - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson (book)

What If We Get It Right - Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (book)

Buy Nothing Project

Related Epiosdes

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Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

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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 her connection to nature, how the 2024 wildfires impacted her community, and how those experiences inform the way she approaches sustainability — both personally and professionally.

We talk about eco-friendly habits, secondhand fashion, sustainable travel, and what waste and sustainability look like behind the scenes on film sets. This is a conversation about environmental awareness, resilience, and the small shifts that can influence culture at work.

Takeaways

• How growing up in Jasper shaped Erin’s connection to nature and community
• The impact of the 2024 Jasper wildfires on memory and resilience
• What sustainable living looks like in everyday routines
• How sustainability in film production is evolving — and where it still needs work
• Practical eco-friendly travel habits for people who live on the road
• How small workplace habits can shift culture over time
• Why connection to people and place fuels environmental awareness

Connect With Erin

Instagram

Facebook

IMDb

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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.

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.

But most kids don’t actually need all of that.

In this episode, I’m sharing how we’ve kept birthday parties simple, low waste, and still genuinely fun — from smaller guest lists to reusable decorations, bulk food, experience gifts, and activities that don’t end up in the trash.

If you’re looking for practical, eco-friendly birthday party ideas that feel realistic for busy families, this episode walks through exactly how we do it.

Related Episodes

Ep. 16: Sustainable Living with Kids with Jessica Nakamura

Ep. 22: Simple, Real-Life Sustainable Living with Julie Darrell

Ep. 23: Borrow Before You Buy with LEND-IT.CA

Ep. 26: Holiday Food Waste — Simple Ways to Reduce Waste and Save Money

Resources

How to Have a Zero Waste Birthday Party for Kids (blog post)

Should You Give Secondhand Gifts (blog post)

Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas for Kids (blog post)

Balloons Blow

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Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

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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 functions — and how it holds up — for years.

In this episode, I’m joined by Brittany Steptoe Wright, Founder and Principal of BSW Design and COO of Steptoe Carpentry, for a practical and thoughtful conversation about what sustainable design actually looks like inside real projects with real budgets.

If you’re planning a renovation — or simply thinking about your home with a longer lens — this conversation offers a steady framework for building and living in a way that lasts.

Takeaways

• What sustainable design actually looks like inside a renovation
• Where renovation waste comes from — and where it can realistically be diverted
• Why durability often matters more than trend cycles
• How antiques and inherited pieces can anchor a renovation
• How professionals weigh sourcing, longevity, and budget together
• Why maintenance plays a key role in sustainability

One Small Shift

Take care of your things — loved things last!

Maintain them. Repair them. Clean them properly. Loved things last — and extending the life of what’s already in your home is one of the simplest and most meaningful sustainability decisions you can make.

Connect With Brit

Website

Instagram

Podcast

Resources

Habitat for Humanity

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Sustainable Waste

Farrier Home

RC Home

HanStone

Jairpur Living

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Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

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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 gradually, beginning with using up what I already had, doing periodic waste audits to see what we were consistently throwing way, and getting very clear on how and where to spend our money.

Because truly, the most sustainable thing you can buy is nothing.

Takeaways

• Climate action begins at the kitchen table
• Many “household essentials” are designed to be constant restock items
• Marketing — especially in personal care — encourages us to buy more than we need
• Reusables make the most sense for things you use all the time
• Saving money and reducing waste naturally go hand in hand
• Not buying creates mental, physical, and financial space

One Small Shift

Instead of focusing on what you might stop buying next, try making a short list of things you already don’t buy anymore — and notice what made that possible.

Resources

Household Waste Audit Workbook (free download)

A Beginner’s Guide to a Sustainable Kitchen (use code PODCAST20)

How to Quit Using Amazon (blog post and podcast episode)

10 Zero Waste Kitchen Swaps That Save You Money (blog post)

How to Pack a Zero Waste School Lunch (blog post)

3 Ways to Have a Zero Waste Period (blog post)

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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.

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 of Sustainable in the Suburbs, I’m exploring the relationship between decluttering, donation, and sustainable living — and why donation isn’t bad, but also isn’t neutral. We talk about mindful decluttering, overwhelmed donation systems, and how slowing down the letting-go process can shape more intentional habits around both acquiring and discarding things.

This conversation sits at the intersection of sustainable decluttering, minimalism, and organization, and asks what becomes possible when we stay present through the full life cycle of our stuff, instead of treating decluttering as the end of the story.

Takeaways

• Decluttering is part of the buying cycle, not separate from it
• Donation isn’t bad — but it isn’t neutral
• Donation systems are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donated goods
• Slowing down decluttering creates useful feedback
• Community-based solutions take more time... and that's the point
• Paying attention when things leave your home shapes future purchases

One Small Shift

Look into your community-based options. That might mean joining a Buy Nothing group, checking what local organizations actually need, or learning where items are most likely to stay in use — and letting that guide how you let things go.

Resources

Sustainable Decluttering – An Eco-Friendly Approach to Letting Things Go (blog)

How to Host a Clothing Swap (podcast episode)

Fewer, Better Things - How to Reduce Kitchen Clutter (podcast episode)

Sustainable Minimalism - Stefanie Marie Seferian (book)

No New Things - Ashlee Piper (book)

The Story of Stuff - Annie Leonard (book)

Consumed - Aja Barber (book)

Aja Barber (Patreon)

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Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio

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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 bags are gone from the trunk, the buying cycle begins again.

In this episode, I’m taking a closer look at that pattern, and at what it might look like to slow down not just how we buy clothes, but how we let them go. We’re talking about clothing swaps — how they work in real life, why they’re such a powerful (and often overlooked) tool for sustainable living, and how sharing clothes within our existing circles can keep clothing in use closer to home, while also building connection and community.

Takeaways

• How donation has become part of the buying cycle (and why that matters)
• How clothing swaps keep clothes in use locally
• Why letting go of clothing is emotional (and how swaps create a softer landing)
• How to actually host a swap
• Why planning for leftovers is just as important as planning the swap itself
• How sharing clothes can quietly build connection and community

One Small Shift

Try it! If you have host energy, host a clothing swap — start small, keep it simple, and see what happens. And if hosting feels like too much, say YES to attending one.

Resources

How to Host a Clothing Swap (blog post)

Ep. 35: Rethinking Sustainable Fashion with Sabs Katz

Clotheshorse Podcast

Consumed - Aja Barber (book)

Aja Barber - Patreon

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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.