With all that's going on these days and more time at home, our kitchens are busier than ever. With that in mind, we've rounded up some thoughts on how to move towards a more Planet friendly kitchen with some tips and ideas from our range and beyond.
- Coffee of Queens. Swap out a few of those takeaway coffees and treat yourself to a home coffee routine to rival any barista offering. The move away from single use coffee cups can really add up, especially if you’re having a coffee every day. It can really save a few bob too! Finding a little private moment before the pace picks up in the morning to relish the sacred ritual of making a home coffee can be a thing of true beauty - picture a special mug from one of many fabulous Irish ceramicists, coffee freshly ground and roasted in a local roastery (we’re on the Cloud Picker - drool worthy) and piping hot. All those locally sourced reduced the carbon footprint of your coffee and an ethical roaster like Cloud Picker makes sure the people supplying those magic beans to you are taken care of as well. Check out our home brewing bits here.
- Roll in the Reusables. Over the course of one week in your kitchen, notice the things that end up in your bin most often. For us, it was tinfoil and kitchen roll, hands down. Now we’ve switched over to the most lovely reusable beeswax wraps to replace tinfoil or clingfilm. It’s made locally and it looks super cute - brightens up our fridges no end! We’ve also recently discovered reusable bamboo kitchen roll and it truly has been a game-changer!
- Where to buy Ware? When buying for your kitchen - look locally and you will find the most amazing gems in ceramics, serving boards, even Irish made kitchen knives (we’re big fans of Hugo Byrne’s Knives!). Buying from local makers not only makes things more interesting from a kitchen decor perspective, it also reduces the mileage from raw materials to your kitchen. In our own range, we love Aoife Slattery Ceramics and CK53 Butter Knife Set.
- Rejoice, it’s Repurposed. Have a look into all the fantastic kitchen items out there that are using reclaimed or repurposed materials. Repurposed materials save any extra stress on the planet and can also make for a super interesting back story to your kitchen. There are some truly beautiful pieces available, from reclaimed glass to industrial copper to beach plastics to coffee husks. We love our glassware collection from Glint Glass, Kopper Kreation for amazing statement pieces as well as Huskee Cups for our morning coffee.
- Research some refills. These days, it’s becoming more likely you’ll find a refill store locally to stock up on the essentials, eco cleaning products and local fresh produce. Check out your local area and then get to work on repurposing jars and containers to bring along and fill with the goods. It makes for a really gorgeous shelf or press display and saves on so much packaging, you will be chuffed with yourself. In Dublin, Martha pops into the Hopsack. Mimi is a fan of the Urban Co-Op in Limerick for refills and treats of all sorts.
- What’s in your kitchen presses? It’s not just about what equipment you use in the kitchen, but the food and produce you eat and how you use it. Food waste is huge and the best way to avoid it is to plan your food shopping according to what you plan to cook and eat. Can you buy from some local food producers? We love the food produce that we stock, including Nutshed peanut butter and Achill Island Sea Salt. Not to mention Bean & Goose chocolate for when we fancy treating ourselves to ethical bean to bar chocolate made in Co. Wexford.
- Bye bye Plastic. Ditch the plastic scrubbing brushes and utensils and look towards some more sustainable materials such as bamboo and the trusty old wooden spoon. Pop them all into a beautiful utensil holder the likes of Aoife Slattery Ceramics and you’ve got a kitchen feature rather than an eyesore.
- Invest in some linens. Kitchen linens are perhaps the greatest unsung hero of our kitchens - a quality set of linens can be put to work as a tea towel, a table runner, placemats or a decorative splash of colour. Irish linen is known for its quality and the sustainable nature of the material makes it a super eco choice. We are very excited to have designed a matching linens and apron set with the talented Enrich and Endure.
We hope these spark a little bit of inspiration and thought about the way we live in our homes and we'd love to hear some of your tips! Drop us a message on any of our social media accounts.
Le grá
- MIMI+MARTHA.
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