Hello hello hello!
Hope your summer was delish and filled with all the things you wanted to do.
This blog post is going to be less of a do-this-and-this-and-this type post and more just chatting about 4 concepts / ideas / thoughts that you can incorporate into your life to become more conscious about the environment. Does that make any sense haha?
When it comes to being more eco-friendly there's so much talk, do this, don't do that, and tbh it's kinda overwhelming. There's so much information (which is fab) but sometimes there are mixed messages and it can get a bit confusing.
I'm not an expert by any means but I definitely feel that the 4 things I'm chatting about in this blog post are really easy to understand, anyone can do them, and hopefully they'll encourage you to make better choices for yourself and for the planet.
Alright let's goooo.
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Get outside.
I know this probably sounds really silly and straightforward, but getting outside into nature and into fresh air is such a brilliant way at helping remind you what matters.
We get so caught up with work and friends and to-do lists etc that it's so easy to forget how brilliant and how beautiful the world is.
Getting outside into the real world always reminds me why I'm doing what I do. Sometimes I get lazy about being eco-friendly and then when I'm out running I remember how unreal nature is and I'm like fuckkkk there's so much to fight for and so much to protect.
Go for a walk in a forest, go running on the beach, go for a hike, have a picnic in a park, whatever it is you like to do just get outside and appreciate the world and then remember that appreciation and use it to inspire others to look after the planet too.
I think when you remember the beauty of nature it's so much easier to know the 'why' you're doing what you're doing. Like, the next time someone asks you why you're cutting down on plastic or eating more locally sourced food or whatever you can explain your 'why' to them and ya never know, that could inspire them to make more eco-friendly decisions in their life!
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Support local.
Another really simple way to be more environmentally friendly is to support local businesses / companies / people whenever you can.
In an ideal world we'd get everything as local as possible but it's not so straight forward with big companies offering products at such cheap prices and misleading advertising etc.
I try my best to buy things and support local businesses as much as I can, but I'm not perfect at all.
I think the best thing you can do is the next time you need to buy something new, let's say some coffee beans, try and find a local roaster or cafe and support them and what they're doing, instead of getting some not-so-good-quality beans from the supermarket.
And you can apply the coffee beans example to anything, like from clothes to food to eating out, and so much more.
Wherever you are in the world, find some people who make some good stuff and support them!
Ireland has so much to offer, like it's amazing!
Some of my favourite local businesses that make the most stunning and brilliant things are:
West Cork Coffee - The most delish coffee, roasted in Innishannon in West Cork. I might be biased but it's my favourite coffee like ever. (Tony's coffee has fuelled many of these blog posts!)
Badly Made Books - Gorgeous notebooks, planners, sketchpads, and books all handmade from recycled materials. If you're geeky about stationary like me then you need some (a lot of) Badly Made Books in ya life.
West Cork Beard Company - If you've got hair on your face, you need West Cork Beard Company's stuff. Really gorgeous beard oils, beard balms, and anything else you might need. And Colin has the most stunning beard, so his products obviously do the right job!
fiid - Absolutely delicious plant-based meals, literally just heat them up and they're good to go. And for every meal you buy, a meal is donated to a child in the developing world, like how incredible is that! Read more about the delish fiid here.
Other faves include:
Holo Kombucha (Cork), KO Kombucha (Offaly), and All About Kombucha (Galway) - Unreal organic kombucha, loads of different flavours, fill up your fridge with all their bottles because they're all stunning.
Suds Johnson - Absolutely brilliant soap and loads of eco friendly stuff like travel tins for your soap and shampoo bar etc. All handmade, vegan, and cruelty free. So good you wanna eat them.
Concrete Forest - The most stunning Irish made concrete designs like tea light holders and stuff. I think concrete is so cool, and the simplicity of their products is so brilliant, I love them so much. Absolutely gorgeous as presents or even just treat yo self.
Criostal na Rinne - Incredible hand cut crystal in Waterford. I was lucky enough to see the workshop when I was in the Gaeltacht a few weeks ago! The attention to detail, time, effort, and love that goes into it all is so stunning. Definitely check them out if you wanna be blown away.
Ireland has so many brilliant local businesses, so hopefully this has inspired you a bit to get out there, chat to some new people, make some new friends, and support some local businesses while you're at it!
And I think it's so important to support local cafés / restaurants / food stalls etc as much as possible.
Check out my PPH Guide To Cork Food to see where's good to go in Cork eyyy.
Like if you're gonna get a coffee, why not get it from the local café that uses good beans and cares about sustainability and your cup of coffee, instead of the large chain coffee shop that kinda just wants your money.
(Sorry all my examples are about coffee ahahaha)
I know it's not possible to get something local all the time, but if we all tried then all the local businesses would be pure like yasss thank you.
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Embrace minimalism.
For me minimalism is kinda just not having a crazy amount of stuff. I'm not talking about those Insta-minimalist-house-people who live in whitewashed houses and only own 3 books or whatever, even though that's cool like you do you honey.
Basically there's like too much stuff in the world. Too many clothes, too many things, too much plastic, too much food waste, the list goes on. A lot of the time we buy things because we're bored or just for the rush of buying something new. It'd be cool if everyone took a second to appreciate what they already have, get rid of what they don't use / don't like / don't want anymore, and only bought new things that they'll actually use.
I guess I'm trying to say that life is so much easier when you've got less clutter, both physically and mentally.
Please don't think that I'm telling you not to buy new things! How about the next time you're going to buy something new, let's say a new t-shirt, ask yourself if you really need it, if you'd actually wear it (or would it end up in your wardrobe with the price tag still on it, we've all been there!), and if you like it.
By buying less things you think you 'need' and by appreciating what you already have, not only do you save money but you're also helping the environment in so many ways.
So I guess it's true, less is more.
(That was so cheesy, I'm sorry)
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Eat plants.
Eating more plants is just as good for the planet as it is for your own body, like how cool is that!
There are so many benefits to increasing your intake of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, and whole grains etc, I won't bore you with all the facts and stuff haha but I'd highly recommend checking out all the info you can find online and in books, it's so so interesting.
I think the most important thing when it comes to eating more veg is to have an open mind and to try and make it as interesting, as tasty, as sexyyy, as inviting, and as filling as possible!
After a while you really find out what you like and what keeps you full. For me, my staples are bananas, oats, peanut butter, rice, and potatoes. I try and keep them stocked up in the kitchen cuz then I know that I'll always be able to cook up some sort of meal.
I get most of my inspo from cookbooks that I have and from Instagram as well.
I'd really recommend checking out these accounts (I love them all so much) and see how they use plants and how they make incredibly deliciously sexy food mmmm.
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So there we have it!
I hope you liked this blog post and that you got some bit of inspiration from it!
I genuinely believe that everyone is capable of positive change, once they're given information in a not-so-annoying way.
G'wan and get outside, support local, embrace minimalism, and eat plants.
If you have any questions or want to get in touch, just give me a shout over on my Instagram or you can send me an email to plantpoweredhuman@gmail.com.
Thanks so much for reading all of this, if indeed you still are, and I'll see ya soon for another blog post!
Big love,
Darragh
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