Also, if you have thoughts on silver chests I am all ears. I have mine in a crappy fabric zip box, which is at least tarnish resistant but isn’t The Mood. Would prefer for it to fit a place size service for 12. Thanks for being the only place on the internet where I feel comfortable admitting to owning Sterling for 12, lol
OMG I was literally juuuuuust thinking that we need a, like, Great Jones for china and silver storage! Those old breakfronts, and silver chests, and sideboards our parents and grandparents had are so ugly!!!!!! And huge!!! Who has the space???
Let me poke around and see what I can come up with — my compromise was to take the entire fusty silver chest and shove it in my utility closet so I didn't have to look at the thing. You are definitely not alone here and it's an awkward thing to talk about because of the worry that people will be like, "Nice problems to have," which is unhelpful and, frankly, unfair. A lot of our families took great pride in investing in beautiful pieces for entertaining, no one needs to feel bad about inheriting those things! Let's All Use Our Silver!
See, you get me! In my case, I brought the problem upon myself because I bought the silver, which is another reason to be mildly sheepish. Beverly Bremer’s - THE silver place in Atlanta - went out of business, and there was a massive sale, and it was early Pandemic, and, well, obviously it wasn’t my fault.
I also have Too Much China. Hot tip there - Coverstore makes really beautiful quilted covers in a wide variety of sizes. Get on the email list, they do 30% off promos pretty often.
Finally, I am available to die on the following hill at any time: bone china CAN be practical, it’s just that I have extra place settings now, and I’m damn sure not going to give any away when I plan to use my very plain pattern forever and will probably break a cereal bowl eventually!
Oh wow…so jealous! If it’s sterling and not plate, using it as your daily silverware keeps it from getting tarnished. My stepmom used to throw hers in the dishwasher every now and again. My husband accidentally threw a silver plate espresso spoon in there and it came out like it had been polished, so I guess it works….and we weren’t hit by a lightning bolt or anything. I use my granny china so rarely that I just put it in the dishwasher. Eventually supposedly the gold will get worn off but I’ll be dead before that happens and nobody wants their great-granny’s china.
I specifically selected Wedgwood White because I love the shapes and proportions and with no metal it can go in the dishwasher and the microwave 😍😍😍 with a toddler in the house I’m not ready to go Sterling 365 but… someday!
My everyday stuff is from Costco, but I have my granny’s first set of china, which was her Sunday/holiday and then in the ‘70’s they got prosperous and she bought herself a full set of white china with gold rims. The old stuff was a Noritake set with gold rims and flower garlands. When I was little it was the china we used for nice dinners and holidays. I never had any sentimental attachment to the gold/white set she bought—I loved the funky old flowery set she decided would be her everyday dishes when she and my grandfather moved to an apartment with no dishwasher and she had to go to TWO full dish sets and not three.
When she had to move to assisted living I took all the flowery china (this was in 1989) because I loved it and associated it with her gorgeous Christmas Eve dinners. My aunt took the sterling. Nobody wanted to look grabby, so nobody took her gold and white set that she had purchased. We found out later she was really bummed that I took “that old junk” and not the nice china.
Jolie Kerr!! AACP!! I was trying to google “Jolie Kerr + my cleaning question” when Jolie Kerr Substack popped up. God, I love Ask a Clean Person. So glad it’s back!!!
My granny, who was a young woman during the Depression, is smiling down on you for pointing out that you can cut a sponge in half.
I am a diehard fan of microfiber cleaning cloths, but I feel guilty about them. I was raised to cut up worn out bath towels into dishrags. Cut ‘em up, zigzag the edges and use them until they are full of holes. Microfiber cleans so much better though. Anyhoo, we have a stack of rags under the sink and I pull a clean one out every morning, or every time I use the rag to wash or wipe something gross. The sponge is there because my husband thinks we need it.
Yelped in a public place when I saw my name in your post, I feel so honored! Thanks for making cleaning delightful (seriously)
Same!
Also, if you have thoughts on silver chests I am all ears. I have mine in a crappy fabric zip box, which is at least tarnish resistant but isn’t The Mood. Would prefer for it to fit a place size service for 12. Thanks for being the only place on the internet where I feel comfortable admitting to owning Sterling for 12, lol
OMG I was literally juuuuuust thinking that we need a, like, Great Jones for china and silver storage! Those old breakfronts, and silver chests, and sideboards our parents and grandparents had are so ugly!!!!!! And huge!!! Who has the space???
Let me poke around and see what I can come up with — my compromise was to take the entire fusty silver chest and shove it in my utility closet so I didn't have to look at the thing. You are definitely not alone here and it's an awkward thing to talk about because of the worry that people will be like, "Nice problems to have," which is unhelpful and, frankly, unfair. A lot of our families took great pride in investing in beautiful pieces for entertaining, no one needs to feel bad about inheriting those things! Let's All Use Our Silver!
I AM HERE FOR CHINA AND SILVER DISCUSSIONS! And crystal…
I feel seen.
See, you get me! In my case, I brought the problem upon myself because I bought the silver, which is another reason to be mildly sheepish. Beverly Bremer’s - THE silver place in Atlanta - went out of business, and there was a massive sale, and it was early Pandemic, and, well, obviously it wasn’t my fault.
I also have Too Much China. Hot tip there - Coverstore makes really beautiful quilted covers in a wide variety of sizes. Get on the email list, they do 30% off promos pretty often.
Finally, I am available to die on the following hill at any time: bone china CAN be practical, it’s just that I have extra place settings now, and I’m damn sure not going to give any away when I plan to use my very plain pattern forever and will probably break a cereal bowl eventually!
Oh wow…so jealous! If it’s sterling and not plate, using it as your daily silverware keeps it from getting tarnished. My stepmom used to throw hers in the dishwasher every now and again. My husband accidentally threw a silver plate espresso spoon in there and it came out like it had been polished, so I guess it works….and we weren’t hit by a lightning bolt or anything. I use my granny china so rarely that I just put it in the dishwasher. Eventually supposedly the gold will get worn off but I’ll be dead before that happens and nobody wants their great-granny’s china.
I specifically selected Wedgwood White because I love the shapes and proportions and with no metal it can go in the dishwasher and the microwave 😍😍😍 with a toddler in the house I’m not ready to go Sterling 365 but… someday!
My everyday stuff is from Costco, but I have my granny’s first set of china, which was her Sunday/holiday and then in the ‘70’s they got prosperous and she bought herself a full set of white china with gold rims. The old stuff was a Noritake set with gold rims and flower garlands. When I was little it was the china we used for nice dinners and holidays. I never had any sentimental attachment to the gold/white set she bought—I loved the funky old flowery set she decided would be her everyday dishes when she and my grandfather moved to an apartment with no dishwasher and she had to go to TWO full dish sets and not three.
When she had to move to assisted living I took all the flowery china (this was in 1989) because I loved it and associated it with her gorgeous Christmas Eve dinners. My aunt took the sterling. Nobody wanted to look grabby, so nobody took her gold and white set that she had purchased. We found out later she was really bummed that I took “that old junk” and not the nice china.
I cut my magic erasers (because a smushed grubby one bums me out) and somehow didn’t think to cut sponges?! Genius as always.
Jolie Kerr!! AACP!! I was trying to google “Jolie Kerr + my cleaning question” when Jolie Kerr Substack popped up. God, I love Ask a Clean Person. So glad it’s back!!!
My granny, who was a young woman during the Depression, is smiling down on you for pointing out that you can cut a sponge in half.
I am a diehard fan of microfiber cleaning cloths, but I feel guilty about them. I was raised to cut up worn out bath towels into dishrags. Cut ‘em up, zigzag the edges and use them until they are full of holes. Microfiber cleans so much better though. Anyhoo, we have a stack of rags under the sink and I pull a clean one out every morning, or every time I use the rag to wash or wipe something gross. The sponge is there because my husband thinks we need it.
Please accept my dare!
This is just the post I needed today. Now to try and find my favorite sponge!!! 🧽