We're on a mission to find joy in a more sustainable life.

This is our journey as we recommit to a simple life with more time to play, less stuff to clean, and less waste to manage.

We celebrate our biggest triumphs, learn from utter failures, and share everything in between. We welcome you to do the same!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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ONLINE COURSES

$150

Kickstart Your Sustainability Journey: Small Group Coaching

This 6-week workshop is designed to change the way you think about sustainability, flipping your mindset so that sustainability is a natural part of every decision you make. Live zoom meetings will be held each week on Wednesday or Saturday... choose which session works best for you! Space is limited to 6 participants. Register today!

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FREE | At your own pace

Preserve Local Food for Eating All Year Long

Are you interested in incorporating more local food into your diet, even in the winter? 

If you've already found great sources for bulk fruits and vegetables during the growing season (usually, spring, summer and fall, depending on where you live) and are looking for ways to preserve these foods so you can eat local all year long... this is the course for you!

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FREE | At your own pace

Eat More Local Food

Are you interested in incorporating more local food into your diet? Local food is an important part of my sustainability journey, so I've created this course to help you eat more local. Work at your own pace! Each lesson will take you less than 15 minutes and is designed to help you quickly and easily build new habits.

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$25/month

Monthly Small Group Coaching

Have you completed the 6-week Kickstart Your Sustainability Journey workshop? Are you looking for ongoing engagement and accountability partners to keep your journey fresh and moving forward? This is the next workshop for you!

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

The humble zucchini + zucchini carpaccio salad recipe

Anyone else overwhelmed with zucchini? I’ll take ’em all and turn them into this delicious summer salad. It’s quickly become my “go to” dish for zucchini and I’m so happy to share it with you!

It’s tomato season!

It’s tomato season! It’s tomato season! IT’S TOMATO SEASON!!!! I’m celebrating with a roundup of my favorite recipes for eating them fresh and preserving them for later. 

Warm mushroom salad

I know I’m late to the countertop mushroom kit party, but I’m making up for it with my unbridled enthusiasm… I LOVE growing mushrooms! Here’s my favorite recipe to make with my homegrown oyster mushrooms.

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GETTING STARTED

Photo taken by James Harnois. Find him at http://www.jamesharnois.com/ and @jamesharnoisphoto on Instagram.

Introduction to Carbon Free Family

Hi! I’m Erin Augustine and welcome to Carbon Free Family — a blog where I’ll share tips and stories about my sustainability progress, failures, and philosophy. I hope to help you define what sustainability means for you and your family, achieve progress on your journey from exactly where you are, […]

How Do You Measure and Define Sustainability?

Let’s start with further defining sustainability. The traditional business definition is the triple bottom line – people, planet, profit –  and any good business needs to deliver on all three. I believe these same three values apply to personal life and I apply them in the following ways. People – […]

Getting Started on Your Journey

At least once a year (usually in January, but it can be anytime) I like to take a few moments to reflect on life and my progress on my sustainability journey. I think there’s huge value in reviewing my actions to make sure they’re a good reflection of my core […]

  • Carbon Free Family’s Kickstart Your Sustainability Journey workshop was transformative. Erin’s breadth of knowledge on sustainable practices is vast, but her true talent lies in her unique ability to flip your mindset and show you what is actually possible, what can indeed work in your life. 

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    Lacey B.

    May 2020 Workshop Participant

  • Erin is the voice of The Carbon Free Family - a family that "walks the walk" along the path we all must take, if we want to continue to enjoy life on Planet Earth. Her presentation is non-judgemental, thought-provoking and, most importantly, FUN! So, no matter where you might be on that path, you're sure to learn something from Erin. Her enthusiasm is infectious and you will come away realizing that the walk is not about sacrifice, it's about joy! 

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    Mindy M

    Rockford Sustainability Committee

  • Our Unitarian Universalist church engaged Erin as our guest speaker for our Earth Day service. Erin was really easy to work with and graciously practiced with us prior to the service as we were still learning how to conduct a virtual service during a global pandemic. This was one our best attended virtual services to date. Erin stayed after the service to join our coffee hour and answer questions. The service was so inspiring that our congregation has started a small sustainability group that is meeting monthly. What a great success!

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    Joe C

    Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Southwest Michigan
  • Erin's presentation was very approachable for those new to sustainability. She focuses on the joy you can find in this lifestyle and explains that being sustainable doesn't have to be expensive, which can keep many people from exploring this lifestyle. She also talked about how lessening your carbon footprint is a journey and that no matter where you are in that journey, it is important to be transparent and learn from others. Fostering such encouragement in a sustainable community is really inspiring!
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    Rachel K

    Henika District Library
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