It’s easy to spot a Blisshaus kitchen.
There are no jumbled boxes or bags, and no plastic bins corralling more plastic-wrapped food. Instead, the shelves are lined with rows of gorgeous glass jars. Each jar is filled with favorite foods, from nuts and crackers, to pasta, coffee, flour or rice. There are even jars for jellybeans and cookies. The order and beauty are divine.
But there is more to a Blisshaus kitchen than just good looks. Blisshaus pantries are as pretty as they are low in waste; this is by design.
When Blisshaus’ founder, Wiebke Liu, launched the business, her goal was to start a top-to-bottom movement for cutting back on household waste. “The average Western family of four produces 123 pounds of garbage every week,” Liu said. “Fifty pounds is wasted food, and the other 73 pounds is packaging we stuff into recycling and garbage bins. Imagine the impact we can have if we all cut back by half or even more!”
However, shopping packaging-free seems daunting — if not impossible. “We are addicted to the convenience of wrapped products,” Liu said. “From snack-sized baggies of almonds to applesauce in sucky pouches, the consumer packaged goods industry has us hooked on grab-and-go products.”
Liu understands the conundrum all too well, and knew her own family of four wouldn’t be able to cut back on conveniently packaged goods unless waste-free alternatives were easy to find. “Our new way of shopping and cooking had to be fun, else we’d cave and buy plastic-wrapped food again,” she said.
So, she set out to make plastic-free living so simple and so beautiful that you can’t resist jumping on the Blisshaus wagon. The result is the Blisshaus organization system that transforms your existing cabinets and drawers into the beautiful and efficient kitchen of your dreams. No remodeling required. “It’s your food, your cabinets, your kitchen – just better,“ Liu said.
She adds, “Once you have set up your kitchen with Blisshaus jars, there is only one new thing for you to do: skip anything wrapped in plastic at the store.”
To help shopping plastic-free a convenient, long-term routine, Blisshaus provides families with shopping totes and maps of bulk-bin stores.
“Our bags have fill lines to match the jars and let you buy packaging-free,” Liu explained. “Our funnels make it fun to decant the food. In fact, when we first started to fill our jars, my little daughter asked whether they were called ‘fun’nels because they are so much fun to use. Fast forward five years, and plastic-free shopping is second nature for us.”
Liu does have words of encouragement for those who may be hesitant to go plastic-free. “It’s not all-or-nothing,” she clarified.
Liu said she makes exceptions for craveable items that are impossible to get unwrapped (chips or Oreos, anybody?). For the most part, though, Liu said her family has found that baking their own treats is just as satisfying as purchasing packaged, brand-name products.
“You’ll be amazed how much your garbage shrinks when you start to buy from bulk bins and reach for condiments in glass jars,” Liu says.
She invites all to join Blisshaus: “Together, we can create a safe and bright future for our children and generations to come. Visit our site to peek at before and after pictures, and book your personal consultation on how you, too, can start to live plastic-free in style.”