Sustainable Steps

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  • How to Win Against Carpenter Ants: An Eco-Friendly Guide to Murder

    I live in a forest. Every year, when it starts to get warmer outside (yes, that means February these days!), we start to see carpenter ants everywhere in our house. The bathroom. The kitchen. I even had to ditch my last batch of homemade kombucha when they crawled into the teapot to soak up some…

  • Eco-Friendly T-Shirts: Launching Sustainable Steps on Etsy

    I’ve been frustrated lately. While the planet continues to warm up way too fast for comfort, that slow burn of climate change has been shoved to the back of most of our minds as our world’s so-called leaders make takeover threats and commit human rights violations so egregious that the headlines are starting to feel…

  • Sustainable Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens: 2025 edition

    My daughter and her friends are becoming solid tweens, and their eyes are wide open to pop culture. They’re drawn to blingy plastic fidgets, to Labubus and Taylor merch, and to overpriced single use polyester Halloween costumes. And honestly, I think letting them have a small amount of that is fine, so they feel like…

  • Living With Climate Change: How to Stay Cool & Healthy During Wildfire Season (And Help Fight The Fires Long Term)

    I’m looking out my window at a sky that’s hazy with smoke. About half an hour north of here, a forest fire is burning in Squamish, growing larger each time I look. I used to associate summer in BC with fresh air and outdoor activities, long beach days or boat rides or hikes in the…

  • Healthy Sunscreen: A Guide To Choosing Products That Are Good For the Planet and Your Skin

    For most of my life, I’ve been more worried about the chemicals in sunscreen than I have about rays from the sun. My summer motto has generally been that the best sun protection is a good base tan. But at the ripe old age of (almost) fifty, I’m starting to see that the smart path…

  • The Green Way to Decaffeinate: Eco-Friendly Methods for Tea and Coffee

    Full disclosure: I’m a caffeine junkie. I’m on my second cup of coffee as I’m writing this, at 8:38 in the morning, and will drink many more before the day is through. But when a reader (okay, my mom) asked me about the most eco-friendly way to decaffeinate a coffee bean or tea leaf, I…

  • Why I’m Voting Green While Hoping Mark Carney Wins as PM

    Canada’s 2025 election is not typical. Donald Trump is threatening our sovereignty. Our economy is squeezing nearly every household budget from the upper middle class on down. And the threat in the air is that it’s going to get a lot worse before the situation stabilizes. Have we forgotten the environment in all this? Pretty…

  • The Art of Banksy: If You Can, Why Wouldn’t You?

    Over the March Break, I took my daughter and her friend to The Art of Banksy exhibit in Vancouver. Banksy is a street artist. He sprays stenciled art on public walls, and you never know when or where his next piece will pop up. His work is anonymous — and illegal. But unlike your average…

  • Sip Sustainably: Let’s Ditch Those Toxic Cups

    I wish I could say it was my altruistic love for Planet Earth that made me flip the switch to using sustainable hot beverage cups. But I made this change for selfish reasons: my long term health. The planet just reaps the side benefits. The Dirty Truth They’re everywhere. Paper cups from trendy coffee shops…

  • How to Grocery Shop Like You Rule the World

    My title is a bit tongue in cheek, but also it isn’t. One of my favorite ways to vote with my wallet is to say no, thanks to factory farms and GM crops, and yes, please to foods that nourish my family and the earth. I don’t choose the best of the best with every…