Is 'spring cleaning' a climate problem? 3 tips to simplify your home without hurting the planet

Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

March 28, 2025

After the birth of our fourth child last summer, I became particularly overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" in our home. Clothes, toys, books — all things that were loved and used well — there was simply just too much of it in our three-bedroom, six-person (plus a dog or two) household.

But I'd felt this way before, and I knew what came next: a sort of paralysis to do anything at all with it because I've been around the sustainability space long enough to know that when something leaves my house, that doesn't mean it ceases to exist or to be a burden on our common home, planet Earth. Furthermore, I don't like giving my things to thrift stores that turn around donations for a profit or that support values misaligned with my own.

I resolved to put in the effort to figure out the best way to pass along my stuff to people who would actually benefit from it. I discovered the solution is to focus on nearby neighbors in my local community.

I now drop off children's clothes to a community closet that gives them away for free, donate children's books to a food shelf that offers them to clients' families along with their groceries, and regularly post toys, decor and other items to my area's Facebook "free group" for porch pick-up. (I'm also a regular "shopper" of Facebook Marketplace.) A little extra time and research up front has resulted in a low-effort, hyper-localized system for redistributing my belongings that I can now enjoy for consistent, longterm use.

Pope Francis devotes a subsection in his encyclical Laudato Si' to "Pollution, waste and the throwaway culture," saying at one point, "We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet" (22).

This week at EarthBeat, Céire Kealty shared her own reflection on our "spring cleaning" habit and how she's pursuing personal, community and institutional challenges to throwaway culture as part of her Lenten commitment this year.

Read more: The challenge of stuff: How 'spring cleaning' here creates environmental harm there

For even more about "the challenge of stuff," revisit these headlines from the EarthBeat archives:

Used clothing imports to Africa strain local ecosystems, waste management

Our clothing donations may cause more harm than good

Swim expedition shows we might better 'clothe the naked' by buying fewer clothes

Why Catholics should divest from plastic in their closets

What else is new on EarthBeat:

What St. Francis and Brother Wolf teach us about cooperating with creation

by Nancy F. Castaldo

The legend of St. Francis of Assisi and Brother Wolf tells a story not of taming a wild creature, but of cooperation and mutual understanding with our siblings in creation. Today, ranchers and farmers use nonlethal methods to coexist with wolves.

SEC clears investor nuns to file Indigenous rights resolution against Citigroup

by Fiona Murphy, Religion News Service

Sr. Susan Francois has spent the past four years filing shareholder resolutions against Citigroup, urging the company to rethink its financial ties to fossil fuel projects that impact Indigenous communities.

NCR recipes for Lent: Kale with cannellini beans

by Teresa Malcolm

NCR copy chief Teresa Malcolm shares a favorite meatless meal she said works as a main or side dish.

What's happening in other climate news:

Christians worldwide urged to take legal action on climate crisis —Isabella Kaminski for the Guardian

She inspired laws to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable. Now she's a target. —Coral Davenport for The New York Times

Secret Energy Department "hit list" targets renewable energy industry —Emily Atkin for HEATED

Trump wants states to handle disasters. States aren't prepared —Lauren Sommer for NPR

Republicans helped some environment programs dodge DOGE —Kelsey Brugger and Andres Picon for E&E News

Supreme Court weighs which courts can hear Clean Air Act disputes —Rachel Frazin for The Hill

What the technofascists and religious fanatics have in common: End days theology —Amy Westervelt for Drilled

Final Beat:

Did you know that a global majority of people want climate action?

A collection of new scientific studies found that number could be as high as 89%. The statistic has inspired a year-long initiative from the Covering Climate Now journalism collaborative titled The 89 Percent Project, which aims to make known the reality that climate action is an overwhelmingly common concern of the world's people, despite many feeling alone in their anxiety and action.

NCR senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf reported for EarthBeat last year that young people experiencing climate anxiety found comfort and encouragement in values-aligned communities. What might it look like for more people to know their fellow citizens agree with them on the climate issue? The 89 Percent Project hopes to find out.

Be sure to check the "What's happening in other climate news" section of this newsletter throughout the year for stories from various outlets in partnership with this Covering Climate Now project.

Thanks for reading EarthBeat.

Stephanie Clary
Environment Editor
National Catholic Reporter
sclary@ncronline.org