New Posts  All Forums:
 

Anyone severely diminish cups/plates?

post #1 of 16
1/5/10 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
Is it useful to keep 1-2 cups/plates out per person and then box the rest for company?
Sponsored Links

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
Should I Train My Child....Like a Dog?!
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
post #2 of 16
1/5/10 at 8:18pm
We do that be default, really we just need a new set of dishes. I do have a full set stored away that we pull out for company. BUT I kinda like it like this. The pile beside the sink can only get so big and last for so long

We have 2 bowls, two large plates, 1 medium plate and 2 small plates per person.
I used to limit the cutlery, but now that we have a better storage system, I ended up just keeping it all out after we had major company over once.
Right now we have WAY too many mugs out and it's driving me nuts. DH has an enamel mug collection and he can't decide which ones to keep out to use and which ones to store away for company. Sounds like a good job to do tonight
post #3 of 16
1/5/10 at 10:17pm
I did it. One plate, cup, bowl for each person. Everything else is put away.
Kind of a pain when I don't keep up with dishes but awesome for forcing me to keep up with dishes!
post #4 of 16
1/5/10 at 10:32pm
We are a family of four with a set of eight plates and it works well for us. (Actually things break so it is more like a set of 7). I wash every 1.5 days and it works well for me.
post #5 of 16
1/5/10 at 10:47pm
I only have a few plates and 4 bowls and it works out well. I give the kids Preserve plastic storage bowls to use for their food and then it can also double as food storage. I only entertain maybe twice per year so I just use paper plates for that.
post #6 of 16
1/6/10 at 8:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by daytripper75 View Post
I did it. One plate, cup, bowl for each person. Everything else is put away.
Kind of a pain when I don't keep up with dishes but awesome for forcing me to keep up with dishes!
Same here. Anything more is too complicated for me.
post #7 of 16
1/6/10 at 1:21pm
for our family of 7 we have 8 corelle dinner plates (crazy daisy pattern... found them at Savers and I LOVE them!!), 4 plastic (bpa free though ) divided toddler plates, 12 bowls (kids tend to use these more and I found a matching set of 12 at Savers for only $3 so I grabbed them ). We also have 9 glass drinking glasses, 4 tupperware toddler cups, 6 coffee mugs (too many imo as it's just dh and I for coffee but I have as of yet to get rid of any ) oh and the kids have their eco something or other brand metal water bottles.
post #8 of 16
1/6/10 at 5:12pm
I lived with a family for a year in college that did this, and it was terrific. Each person had one dinner plate, one bowl, one small plate, one glass, one cup and one set of silverware. When you were done with a meal, each person took his or her own dishes to the sink and washed them immediately. I kept my own place this way until my husband revolted about 6 months into our marriage. I've been considering going back to it now that my youngest is 3 and big enough to wash his own dishes. Right now, though, I just don't have a convenient place to store the extra dishes, and which would also be easy to access when we had company.
post #9 of 16
1/6/10 at 5:25pm
We have one plate for everyone. We are down a couple bowls, though, so not enough for everyone to have soup at the same time. It's not been a huge enough problem for me to go get some more, though...although, I do have that on my list of things to grab when I see the right ones for the right price.

We do have more glasses than we need, and that creates a problem for me. Well, the glasses are actually different sized mason jars. What I'd like to do is get a different shape/size jar for each person, that way we know who each cup belongs to. The other thing is, we usually leave the glasses out all day, some people forget which is theirs, so they get another. Then we have a dishwasher full of glasses, and no glasses left to drink from. I think having all different ones will help us cut down on that.
post #10 of 16
1/6/10 at 5:40pm
Hahaha, yeah our 1.5 year old is taking care of limiting our dishes for us. My MIL is giving us a Buffet when we move so all the extra dishes (not that there will be many left) are going into it in a box. And someday I will have a nice set for company. I joke with my husband that it is good that they all get broken because it will force us to get new dishes.
It was nice because it was my husband's suggestion for moving that we pack the extra dishes ahead of time. (We still have like 3 weeks till we move)
post #11 of 16
1/6/10 at 9:02pm
We are a family of 4. We have a set of 8, which includes bowls, small plates, and large plates. We have a set of 16 glasses (probably too many, but they do get broken periodically). The kids also each have a small plastic bowl that I use for snacks or raw lunches.

I have minimal cooking dishes, though I could use 1-2 more pots. I also have a set of 4 really small saucers and 4 condiment bowls that come in handy. I use those all the time.

We do have a full set of china that we bring out sometimes when company is over. We also sometimes get it out just because we're feeling like being decadent that day. It stays in the hutch in the dining room otherwise. MIL gave me her silver, but I've yet to use it. It needs to be polished, and I haven't gotten around to it - maybe when the kids are grown.
post #12 of 16
1/7/10 at 12:10am

Yes, it's made life easier!

We have 8 place settings of Corelle in the cupboard for our family of six, plus four more settings in the box in case we break one or have a lot of guests (not very often). We use every dish, every single day. I like it because it forces me to do the dishes right away so there are plates and cups for the next meal and it keeps my counter clear.

Although theoretically we could reduce to only six place settings, I like having the extra plates for small serving dishes, a place to set raw meat while I'm seasoning it, etc. They're easier to wash than another heavy dish.
post #13 of 16
1/7/10 at 2:54am
No, we have a set of 12 place settings of our every day dishes (a few short on certain things that broke) and they all live in the cupboard. I run the dishwasher once a day, maybe once every day and a half. That works well for us, but I am pretty disciplined about unloading first thing in the morning, and loading it up as the day goes on. We also have 14 place settings of our daily flatware and sometimes we use up all the knives making sandwiches at odd times, or whatever. With the dishwasher it doesn't really matter, we just run it when it's full.

I have been glad to have that much, anytime we have guests stay for awhile we plow through the dishes. When my sister comes with her family, usually for about 2 weeks at a time, it adds 5 extra people, and with the 4 of us plus my mom, that's almost all the plates in one meal.

I also have 12 place settings of "good" china and flatware that haven't been used much since we had kids. But I do plan on getting it out more again once they are older.
post #14 of 16
1/7/10 at 3:01am
Thread Starter 
Thanks- I'm going to go for it! It would be kinda fun to take the kids to the store and let them pick a plate that they like so they have ownership over it. We mainly have a mug problem. About 18 for a family of 5
post #15 of 16
1/7/10 at 3:22am
No, we have a set of 12 dishes, cups, and silverware (which I just completed with a web order) and they all live in the cupboards. It's pretty easy to keep up with the dishwasher, so it hasn't been a problem. No-one can remember which dish is theirs, so it's easier to just have ones you can pull out of the cupboard. We have just enough for when family visits or we have a party.
post #16 of 16
1/7/10 at 5:25pm
yep!

for our family of 4 we have to share:

4 large plates
2 small plates
8 bowls
silverware
lots of canning jars for drinking.

the dishes are sooooo manageable now.

i'm really happy with the downsizing!