Eat on the good china
How to make any Tuesday feel a little more special
Fancy dishware may be one of the biggest rackets in existence. People register for nice china for their weddings, then store it somewhere in their apartments, moving it from home to home. It almost never gets used because what occasion might be special enough to justify the risk of it breaking?
Eventually it gets passed down to children who don’t feel they can get rid of Grandma’s china…but also don’t want to use it, lest it break. All these plates and dishes might take up space for decades, despite being used at a rate of 2-3 times per decade. If that.
If this sounds familiar, resolve to change that today. Why not eat on the good china tonight?
Yes, I’m publishing this Vanderhack on a Tuesday. So what? You can absolutely eat spaghetti or tacos or whatever your usual Tuesday meal is on a fancy plate. You can order from Grubhub and eat that on a fancy plate. You might need to hand wash the dishes but four plates or bowls isn’t really that much. It will be OK.
If you’d like, you can use your utilization of the good dishes to take Tuesday up a notch. Light a candle. Or eat outside! If you’ve been “saving” some bottle of wine you could even open that bottle (maybe invite the neighbors over for a glass so it doesn’t go to waste). But you don’t have to do any of that. Using the dishes will make it an occasion if for no other reason than that you’re using dishes that probably don’t get used that much!
Of course, if you use the fancy dishes, it is possible that one will break. But the good news is that because so many people do register for fancy china, pass it on to their kids, and then the kids need to declutter it at some point, you can probably buy a replacement plate online. Check eBay, Replacements Ltd., or Missing Pieces Discontinued Tableware. You can use your good china and deal with it if you lose a piece. That’s a win all around.
I did register (and receive) good china. Now, my choice for good china was a lot more fun than your typical formal grandma china. It's got color and 4 mix and match patterns. And we have used it everyday since we got married. Little known fact: China is a lot more durable than, say, stoneware. Does it break sometimes? Sure. But unless I get Corelware, everything breaks eventually. We have UUUUUUSED our china. Our china is the only option in my house. Everyday is special.
I love this idea. My university roommate's mother told me once in passing that she puts her good china in the dishwasher because it's the only way she'll use it and it was meant to be used. I have inherited my mother in law's good china because she has two sets from her grandmother's, and when we use it, it goes in the dishwasher. The gold rim might get a little worn but to me, that just means it's getting used!