Getting rid of "nice" china

[althara]

I'm thinking about getting rid of my china set. I live in a small house and will for the forseeable future. Only my parents are local. We use my regular dish set for holiday meals. If family visits we would eat at my parents. Their house is quite nice and spacious.

This was my Mom's first china set. She actually purchased it as a bank promotion sometime in the 70s or 80s. I spent a fair amount of money to bring the place setting count up to 10 full sets, some pieces I have between 12 and 16, back when I was married. I don't have a lot of storage space and would like to minimize my general stuff level.

I don't have any particular emotional attachment to it, aside from the money spent 5-6 years ago to add pieces. My Mom wouldn't be upset if I got rid of it.

Would you keep it for the someday in the distant future use, sell it, or donate it?

[treeoflife3]

I'd get rid of it, but then I've never owned nice china.  My everyday dishware set is all I've ever owned.  I don't know anyone who would expect something different at my house.  My family thinks its a big deal if I use our regular plates rather than paper when everyone gets together haha.  I wouldn't store something I may never use and have no attachment to.

[Chamomile Girl]

Awww...I would keep it because you might have a different view about it as you get older.  But then I attach importance to passed-down family stuff like china.  I have a set that I display in a china cabinet in my (very small) livingroom (in my very small house) because I think its pretty.

[Crayfish]

If it were me, I'd keep one small piece - a cream pitcher, for example - and get rid of the rest. The one piece gives you a souvenir in case you get more sentimental later, and you've cleared the vast majority of the space.

[Alyantavid]

I'd sell it.

I'm in the same boat actually.  My mom gave me her china set when her and my dad split up. It's been boxed up for years but turns out its worth quite a bit.  I have no desire to own it (even though it is really pretty), I'd never use it and don't have the space to store it.

There are lots of websites where you can sell entire sets, just google the name of the china and that should get you on the right track.

[K'sMama]

I tried selling mine, and when I couldn't get any interest I just went ahead and donated it.  It was such a freeing feeling have it gone!

[skreader]

Offer it back to your mom. If she doesn't want it, check and see if any of your sibs (if you have any) want it. If not, donate it.

My mom "gave" me a set of wedding porcelain when I got married. It was my grandma's. But I live overseas and shipping it would have been expensive and maybe broken it. I also have no space for it. So finally, I "gave" it back to my mom and she gave her wedding  porcelain to my sister and now uses her mom's as her best. So, everyone is happy.

[weliveintheforest]

It depends if you like it!  Would you choose it for yourself or do you only have it because it is what was given to you?  If you don't love it, get rid of it.  If you like it and would be happy to use it down the road, keep it.

[MsFortune]

I'd ditch it.  Formal china just does not suit the way most people live these days.  It's not useful.  

If it's not sentimental, and you don't use it, I think the question would be why WOULD you keep it?

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by MsFortune 

I'd ditch it.  Formal china just does not suit the way most people live these days.  It's not useful.  

If it's not sentimental, and you don't use it, I think the question would be why WOULD you keep it?

A couple of other reasons to keep china:

It may be valuable, rare, collectable.

It may be beautiful to look at when displayed nicely.

However one needs to have an appreciation of fine china before there is any point keeping it, and even so one needs to keep a limit to how much one keeps, as it can definitely become clutter.

[rachelsmama]

Do you like the dishes?  If you do, then why not just use them as your everyday dishes?  Yes, some might get broken, but I tend to think it's better to risk breaking something in the process of enjoying it than have it sitting in a box somewhere collecting dust.  We have some fine china in the regular rotation here and it's nice to use, and some of it is actually more functional than the cheaper counterparts; bone china teacups are easier for my kids to use than a lot of cups because they are lighter, smaller, and have a nicer shape than a lot of the alternatives.

[althara]

I don't care for it enough to use it as my daily dish set. Tonight I'm going to ask my Mom if she wants it back. If not it's going to be donated.

[CynthiaCharleen]

Good idea. Depending on the type of china, check out Replacements.com and it may be worth something before you give it away. I sold my Franciscan pieces to them and made a good bit of money when I was tired of it.