Nearly half a billion euro worth of unused kitchen gadgets are taking up space in our cupboards, according to new research by Deliveroo.
The company found that the average Irish kitchen has €652 worth of unwanted appliances, with 60 per cent of respondents admitting to only ever using half of them. Biscuit cutters and whisks top the utensils rarely used in Irish kitchens
One in four (28 per cent ) would choose to swap their kitchen for an alternative space that they would use more.
The average Irish kitchen holds 33 gadgets and appliances. With 1.6m households in Ireland, this equates to some 54 million kitchen gadgets and gizmos worth an estimated €1 billion that take up space in Irish kitchen drawers and cupboards.
The research, commissioned by Deliveroo, reveals that two thirds (67 per cent ) of Irish people complain about lack of space in their kitchen, with unused cooking appliance including juicers, pasta makers, and blenders, taking up valuable space.
To give these unloved gadgets and appliances a new lease of life Deliveroo has commissioned Design Works engineer Sean Miles to build a fully functional bicycle from the least-used kitchen items including biscuit-cutters, whisks, and blenders. The Deliveroo up-cycle, will soon join the fleet of some 400 riders that deliver food to across the country.
“My cupboards are full of expensive cooking gadgets that are collecting nothing but dust. It’s so sad to see these materials - steel, wood, and glass - fall into obsolescence. This project, to make unloved and unused equipment, useful again appealed to my ‘make do and mend’ sensibilities. It’s so exciting to work with Deliveroo to give a new lease of life to thousands of perfectly good raw materials."
Almost three quarters (70 per cent ) of Irish people admit to using their kitchen during weekdays only, with more than a quarter (28 per cent ) of the nation admitting they would opt to swap their kitchen for a more relaxed area, such as an entertainment space if they no longer had to cook.
Deliveroo is encouraging the nation to declutter their drawers of glitzy, unused gadgets and leave it to the professionals to provide a deliciously prepared meal.
“We hope that by commissioning the very first working bicycle made from unloved kitchen appliances, we would fire up people’s imaginations, and encourage them to ditch the gadgets and stop being a slave to their kitchens," said Deliveroo head of PR Kate Thomas. "Food is central to how Irish people live and enjoy themselves, so spring is the perfect season to shake things up and re-evaluate how to make our kitchens complement - not clutter - our lives.”
The research also reveals the joy that food brings Irish people, with 99.85 per cent of the population agreeing that food is central to key life events and social occasions. The top food occasions among Irish people are brunch with friends (62 per cent ), hangover days (50 per cent ), date nights (48 per cent ), family time (39 per cent ), and movie nights (35 per cent ).
