Open a kitchen cabinet and you are likely to find a shelf crowded with cups, mugs, and sports bottles. Most people accumulate these because:
– We need them for everyday use.
– We enjoy multiple sets for holidays and seasons.
– We collect these pieces as souvenirs.
– Mugs with slogans make popular gifts.
– Sports bottles are popular promotional giveaways.
– “Kid cups” with straws come back from restaurants and parties.
– We inherit sets of dishes from older relatives.
Since these tend to pile up over time, today’s challenge is to find seven beverage containers to give away. Does seven seem like too many? Remember to consider:
- Cups
- Mugs
- Sports Bottles
- Steins
- Travel mugs
- Kiddie cups
- Thermoses
- Tumblers
- Plastic Glasses
- Plastic Drink Coolers
Any of these items that are in good shape make great donations. If you have been accumulating a pile of items “to donate,” mark a time in your calendar to drop items off. A pile of donations quickly becomes a pile of clutter in itself!
Are you ready to free some space in your cabinet? What item from this category do you tend to keep too many of?
Oh god do I and have two cabinets full. Now I know what will be doing in the next week here 😉
Janine Huldie recently posted…Learning Still Never Say Never
Take before and after pictures, Janine! All those plastic cups with lids from restaurants… I remember having tons of those when my girls were little.
Those kids cups! Haha. I’m pretty good about tossing those. As far as extra mugs, we have a good amount at home that we regularly use and I can’t say we have an excess of them. I probably break them before it could get worse 🙂
Nina recently posted…How to Stay Organized
Good for you being ahead on this one, Nina. You get a day off! My daughter was helping me transfer Christmas dishes with regular dishes and I realized I had a couple of mugs that had snowmen on them (from various events) that didn’t match my set. She said she would love to take them to college and donate them to a campus group who hosts an “Everything-in-a-Mug” party each year. Definitely a win/win!
Visiting you back! Oh my goodness Seana, I needed to see this today. My cabinets are completely overrun with cups. Thank you!!
Katie recently posted…{Slow Cooker} Creamy Swedish Meatballs
If you do it, take before and after photos because that will make you feel great about yourself!
I think the worst ones for us were sippy cups that had milk remnants in them. Isn’t that disgusting??
The cupboard gets overrun here. Luckily Des is old enough for a cup, and uses one at school too. That gave us the incentive to clean out 80% of the cupboard. Now we have kid cups, adult cups, glasses, very adult glasses (wine, shot glasses, etc.)
The mugs are hard because many are sentimental but if they are cracked or chipped, they go bye!
Tamara recently posted…Winter Skin Pampering With Jergens.
Love that you have that boundary… “if they are cracked or chipped, they go bye!” So freeing to finally clear those sippy cups out of the cabinet – especially the gunky ones!Totally agree that they can get disgusting.
Seana, I have a constant tug of war with my husband over these items. He is sentimental about objects and loathes giving things away, growing up on a farm where they reused everything, including straightening nails to reuse. I think these series of blogs are a great reminder.
Jill Robson recently posted…What valuable changes will you make this year?
Isn’t it so common to have one partner be a “keeper” and one be a “shedder”? And I do think that our upbringing greatly impacts our relationship to possessions. Being frugal is an admirable trait, but both partners need to find a negotiated “middle ground.” Hang in there, Jill! I know YOU are doing all you can:)
Mugs are the big discussion point in our house right now. I use one mug but have 2 more that I use on occasion. I told my husband that we should get rid of the mugs that came with our set of plates. I only kept 8 from a set of 12 but we NEVER use them not even when company comes over. He said, ‘let’s keep 4’. =( We are still discussing. I am not letting it go. =)
Sabrina Quairoli recently posted…January’s 31 Days of Loves Challenge
Love how couples negotiate stuff like this:) I’d be willing to let go of 4, which would then make it increasingly unlikely that you would ever use them. Then in six months, you could bring it up again. Let me know what happens!!
Seana,
Enjoying your challenge series! This one hits home for me big time. Hope you are having a wonderful week!
~Laurie
Laurie recently posted…Brag About It Link Party!!
Thanks for visiting, Laurie. I love this task because it can free up a lot of space in a cabinet or location we touch every day. Enjoy the day!
Pingback: GO! Challenge: Recap | The Seana Method Organizing & Productivity