http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal The community for people interested in home and office organizing. en-US Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:46:14 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://unclutterer.com/discuss/search.php http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/4#post-19926 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:10:53 +0000 pkilmain 19926@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I love fiesta ware, and have it lined up for my next everyday dishes! I currently have stoneware from Scotland called "Thistleware"which I love, but yes it chps - and breaks pretty easily, and worst of all is not manufactured any more. There are a few pieces on eBay, mostly serving dishes. I'm down to two cereal bowls but otherwise have most of a serving for six, but several chipped plates. When it gets down, I'll put my pieces on eBay and get the fiesta ware. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/4#post-19905 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:44:16 +0000 tmichelle 19905@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Shebolt, Fiesta ware is a great idea too! I almost bought it when I switched up my everyday dishes. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/4#post-19887 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:12:45 +0000 morfydd 19887@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Ildeth, I noticed that Apartment Therapy had a quick roundup of inexpensive white dishes: <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/tabletop-servingware/budget-basics-cheap-white-dinnerware-shoppers-guide-136039" rel="nofollow">http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/tabletop-servingware/budget-basics-cheap-white-dinnerware-shoppers-guide-136039</a> </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19882 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:53:48 +0000 shebolt 19882@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I prefer Fiestaware. It's still made in the USA, plus it comes in a wide variety of colors. My husband and I registered for a couple of colors and have been using them for 13 years. We added a third coordinating color somewhere along the way.</p> <p>This stuff is really hard to break. We have granite counters and have accidentally dropped the Fiestaware onto the counters (and floors) a few times, without any problems. No chips, cracks or anything after 13 years of daily use. </p> <p>It looks a lot nicer than Corelle, and you don't have to worry about some plastic chemical leaching into your food and poisoning you. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19879 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 06:27:03 +0000 morfydd 19879@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Deb, the demonstration sounds cool!</p> <p>Ildeth, I'd avoid stoneware unless you love it - I find it chips worse than anything. The idea of getting china from a restaurant or hotel supply store sounds like a good one.</p> <p>Random comments: I grew up with Corelle dishes, and they do shatter. (Maybe my family was particularly clumsy, but we broke a lot of pieces.) But they are inexpensive and lightweight and otherwise easy to live with.</p> <p>Also, I've just given up on martini glasses. For some reason I spill drinks in martini glasses by just looking at them. (See above with the clumsy.) </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19871 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:12:59 +0000 tmichelle 19871@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Deb, next time you and your students do this, I'd love to see a YouTube video! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19870 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:25:25 +0000 Another Deb 19870@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>tmichelle, it really does! The trick is to snap the cloth out from under the plates fast and with a smooth motion. I use a plain, fine textured cloth and make sure the table underneath it is smooth. I usually wax the table the day before the demo with auto wax. Before I tried it with plates, I tried it with books. Then, noisy rounds with Corelle. </p> <p>The concept is Newton's First law, that an object at rest stays at rest until acted upon by another force. Inertia is keeping the plate from moving. Minimal friction keeps the tablecloth from dragging the plates to the floor. The kids usually do better than I at not even rattling the plates! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19868 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:15:41 +0000 tmichelle 19868@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Deb, does that "pull-the-tablecloth-out-from-under-the-dishes" really work? If so, how??? </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19867 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:09:03 +0000 Another Deb 19867@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>JuliaJane, I use Corelle from the Goodwill as my "pull-the-tablecloth-out-from-under-the-dishes" physics demonstration. It hits the floor (concrete with linoleum) quite frequently as I let volunteers try the trick. Usually they are convinced that it is real china when they hear me tap on it, but one year a young man loudly claimed that it was plastic. So...I casually dropped a plate and the thing shattered, surprising me, but totally impressing the rest of the class! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19864 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:55:06 +0000 ElFish1 19864@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I love Corelle too! They actually have some nice patterns, and because they don't take up much space I have room for several patterns so we get variety in our dishes. I've been using them for years and have only broken one, and I really had to work hard to do that. </p> <p>They're lightweight, sturdy, and the dishwasher loves them. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19862 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:33:22 +0000 SunshineR 19862@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>A friend told me that her Corelle has broken by falling onto a tiled ceramic floor. And an uncle burnt one of his pieces by putting it onto a hot electric stove burner, which had recently been turned off. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19859 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:16:06 +0000 Rosa 19859@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Juliajayne, they do break into shards (say, if you take it out of a freezing-cold cupboard and drop it on hard floor, if you were me) but I've only ever broken maybe two bowls? We had them the whole time I was growing up and I took that same set to college with me. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19842 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:20:50 +0000 jbeany 19842@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>@Ildeth, oh, yeah, some of the patterns were very trendy! And kind of scary to look at now....<br /> I have one batch in plain white, and one batch with a small pattern on the rim with a small green and black modern lily pattern. I still like it, so I haven't switched it out, but it wasn't anything over the top in the first place. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19827 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:23:24 +0000 Ildeth 19827@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Thanks for all the tips about Corelle! I live in the UK, but I'm American and I remember early 80s Corelle with a mixture of fondness and bewilderment (the latter was mostly to do with the colour choices, not the dishes themselves!).</p> <p>And I was pleasantly surprised to see that a limited range of Corelle is available in the UK. So I'll have a look into that, and if that doesn't work it's off to the catering supply store for me! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19820 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:55:53 +0000 jbeany 19820@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Got me, jj - I've had my Corelle for 15 years and haven't managed to break any of it yet! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19812 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:12:05 +0000 JuliaJayne 19812@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>For those of you who like Corelle: I hated Corelle. My experience was that when something broke, it shattered into a million tiny shards, which were hard to pick up. Did I have a bad batch? </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19809 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:46:48 +0000 Rosa 19809@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Heh, chacha, I got our martini glasses (4) off the top shelf to wash the dust off and donate them, and my 5 year old decided they are his favorite thing. So I need to get a photo of *that* and let him get over this phase before I can donate them. But they're in use! Milk Martinis. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19800 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:40:51 +0000 chacha1 19800@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>+1 on Corelle. My folks used this when we were growing up and it was great - the space-saving aspect is worth reiterating, and the lightweight quality of the stuff means anyone can handle it safely, even little kids and the opposite, arthritis-ridden end of the age spectrum.</p> <p>akcorcoran, after re-reading, I wanted to say I appreciate your effort to keep valued things in your life, and to be a good model for your girls. My own experience is that from age 7-8, I was deliriously happy to sit at a fully set table, with china dinner AND salad AND dessert plates, and have my water or milk from a stemmed glass. It made me feel very grown-up and glamorous. </p> <p>It doesn't have to be about the whole "princess" thing, but it's definitely part of training a child to live in the adult world.</p> <p>I managed to get rid of twenty or so stemmed glasses last year. Six (three pairs) went to friends who were stocking their new RV. The rest went to a firmwide yard sale (fundraiser for a staffer with serious illness in the family). </p> <p>I am contemplating divesting the martini glasses; we use them VERY rarely and have never used all of them. I think a pair will suffice ... we don't need fifteen. :-) </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19795 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:07:21 +0000 irishbell 19795@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>We started with corelle when we got married- 29 years ago and have used nothing different since then. Different patterns and shapes but alwasy Corelle. love it. I kept my good china and crystal in a storage area downstairs, and used it maybe 10 times in 20 years. Then I finally got it out, made room in the kitchen and stored it there- started to use it more often as my kids were older and I hosted more gatherings. Now I have a china cabinet to store/display it all and use it every chance i get! It was a matter of having the space to keep it where I could get to it easily. I'm so glad I never got rid of it, I really do enjoy using it all. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/giving-up-on-the-china-and-crystal/page/3#post-19792 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:12:17 +0000 tmichelle 19792@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Love the Corelle idea. There is NO WAY you would have been able to talk my younger self into putting that "cheap stuff" on my registry, but now I wish I had instead of the expensive (but beautiful) Noritake that I don't use as much. Not only is Corelle durable, but it is light weight, and after having moved so much I can appreciate that fact! </p>