A MORE SUSTAINABLE MÈLISSES
The beginning of a new year feels like a good time to implement some mindful changes in our lives.
Here at Mèlisses we do our best every day to make our hospitality business a more sustainable one. Today we are sharing some practices and small environmental kindnesses that we hope will inspire you and your household to be more conscious and eco-friendly.
WATER, THE SIMPLEST AND MOST IMPORTANT PART OF LIFE
Our sustainability ethos began with water. Running Mèlisses and catering for a handful of guests requires an abundance of drinking water every single day. That, unfortunately, resulted in an overwhelming number of plastic bottles which we didn’t like to see around us.
We looked near and far until we found an alternative source of water in the nearby village of Palaiopoli and its spring water fountain.
We now collect our daily water from this local fountain and store it in glass bottles. It’s the best and easiest way to minimise plastic, and guess what? It’s a much more cost-efficient option.
There are also many ways to improve the quality of your water at home through natural methods. Just to mention a few: silver, coriander, and various gems have been proven to help purify your water.
RECYCLE, THERE’S NO NEED FOR MORE TRASH!
Minimising plastic waste helped us to have a more efficient recycling plan.
While we have reduced our reliance on plastic bottles, and there are no single-use plastic cups or cutlery in the house, unfortunately we still come across some plastic from other products or packaging which we recycle together with glass. In terms of paper, we collect it and keep it to the side, to be used later when lighting our BBQ or wood fire ovens at night. These small details help us to reduce the amount of daily waste here at Mèlisses.
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND
Cooking goes hand in hand with wastage, particularly biodegradable waste such as vegetable and fruit scraps. At first, we thought only of a composter, but another solution found us by great luck, as our little farm came to life. Now our animals indulge in all our food scraps and any suitable leftovers which can no longer be used in the kitchen. This way we feel that both sides, the animals and ourselves, are doing our share to minimise waste. What’s more, our animals are enjoying a colourful diet every single day. :)
If you can, look around for a composter or worm farm which will also serve your garden and house plants very well. Alternatively, you can even consider keeping a small rabbit if living in the city. They eat most food scraps and are very clean (and cute) animals, helping generously with your food waste.
MOVING ONTO OUR FAVOURITE… THE KITCHEN!
The Mèlisses kitchen is the heart of the house.
So much baking and cooking happens in our kitchen every day. The use of parchment paper, aluminium foil and cling film were responsible for an excessive amount of waste, until we started using silicone sheets. They are reusable, non-stick, super easy to use and come in versatile shapes. A true game-changer for us!
With all those baked goods, we also befriended beeswax wraps. They’re an efficient and effective way to wrap leftover food, and together with sealable pouches and glass jars, are our favourite allies in the kitchen.
IT DOESN’T GET OLD, IT JUST MATURES WITH GRACE!
It is no surprise that we l-o-v-e antique furniture and décor in the house.
The majority of what you see in and around Mèlisses came back to Andros with us after we hunted through countless markets in Greece, France and Italy. We buy second-hand, because we believe that pre-loved pieces will always have a better story to tell and offer a more conscious way of living.
Use more of what is already available, produce less.
COSMETICS THAT ARE KIND TO SKIN AS WELL AS NATURE
Being mindful of our consumption and waste lead us to rethink our bathroom essentials too. We want to provide not only high-quality products but also know their exact origin and ingredients, as well as having reusable packaging. We started with natural soaps handmade in Andros that come with no wrapping. From there, we slowly replaced all the cosmetics in our guests’ rooms, introducing refillable options in all our bathrooms and kitchens.
Speaking of essentials, laundry is a central part of running a hospitality business. Last summer, we opted for a brilliant eco-friendly washing pouch, filled with magnesium, which replaced all the synthetic detergents we would otherwise use. All we have to do is to add a teaspoon of laundry perfume (also made here in Andros with essential oils), and that’s it.
We hope you enjoyed reading a little more about our philosophy here at Mèlisses. We always strive to make our guests’ experience as authentic, transparent and conscious as possible. Sharing is caring as they say, and we love our new little community.
If you have any questions or suggestions on how to be even more eco-friendly, please be in touch, we are all ears!
As always, take care. Sending health and happiness your way xx
Words by Allegra Pomilio & Veronika Krizova