I used to think that having more of something would mean less work for me. More socks and underwear meant I could do laundry less often. More plates and bowls meant I could do dishes less often. I wasn't exactly wrong, but my system created a whole other problem: Overflowing laundry baskets and piles of dirty dishes on the counter.
Overwhelmed and fed up, I took more than half of my family's everyday dishes and flatware out of rotation a few years ago. I haven't looked back since. Sure, I kept some of my favorite vintage tableware packed away so I'd have enough for holidays and dinner parties, but my household of three certainly didn't need 16 dinner plates and 18 forks available to us at all times.
Living with only the pieces we needed was life-changing. Staying on top of the dishes suddenly felt like no big deal because there was no longer a big pile filling me with dread. If I needed a plate before I was ready to run the dishwasher, I'd just hand-wash it.
Of course, all of that handwashing forced me to notice how scratched-up my cheap IKEA dishes had become and it didn't take long for me to shift my mindset from "more stuff = less work" to "fewer, nicer things = less overwhelm." I started to swap out my dull dinnerware for pieces I really loved—which, it turned out, made me even more excited to wash my dishes in a timely manner.
Now my countertop stays (mostly) clear and my kitchen cabinets and drawers are filled with tableware and flatware I truly love. And yes, I eventually got rid of most of my old socks and underwear too.
Has anything revolutionized your dish routine? If so, I'd love to hear about it at emily_farris@condenast.com.
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