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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!
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Low Waste Valentine’s Day
I think it’s really important to be able to show my love while staying true to my values and goals. What if gifts really matter to your partner? And how do we navigate the challenging world of the school Valentine’s Day party? For these situations, I offer a few sustainable tweaks to your “traditional” gifts and a tutorial for homemade, low waste Valentines.
2021 Intentions (part 2)
Last week, I shared my 2021 Goals in the travel, food and home categories. This week, I’m happy to share with you the rest of my goals… the ones related to goods, services, and self care.
2021 Intentions (part 1)
I like to take my time setting my annual goals, so here I am in early February finally writing them down. My annual goal setting, much like my life, is a slow and reflective process. I like to calculate my environmental footprint, reflect on last years’ progress and this year’s biggest opportunities. I’m excited to take you on a journey of my 2021 intentions.
Reflections on my 2020 Sustainability Progress
I like to take my time setting my annual intentions, spending the whole month of January slowly reflecting on my previous year’s progress, measuring my environmental footprint, and thinking of goals that will being me joy, connection, and reduced impact in the year to come.
GETTING STARTED
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, and debunk the “sustainability is hard” myth.
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.
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 beliefs and that I’m living the life of my dreams (or at least actively striving for it).
UPCOMING EVENTS
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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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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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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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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!