Dishes

On HGTV shows, when people tour kitchens and say, "Oh, there's not much cabinet space," sometimes my minimalist-leaning mind thinks, "How much do you have to store? There are two of you!"

How many dishes do you have?  I have two 8-piece sets.  One set is in the kitchen cabinets, the other on a hutch in the dining room.  We really only need two plates, two cups, and two bowls most of the time.   A friend of mine once told me she collected sets of dishes.  I think she had eight at the time.  To her, they were beautiful AND useful.  She loved to entertain, so used the varied patterns to set an elegant table.

Sadly, for most of us, dinner parties with full tableware have become infrequent.  If we do have a BBQ or dinner, often it's casual and paper plates are used.

Bottom line is, if you use your dishes as my friend did, and aren't overwhelmed with storing them, great!  If you really could use the extra space that multiple sets of unused dishes are commanding, donate or sell them.  Another thought... how many dishes, matching and unmatching,  that crowd the cabinets do you really use?  Could you store some boxed in a closet somewhere until you have a large number of people over for dinner?

Lots to think about on our quest to simplify our spaces and lives.