My family has a bad habit of breaking glass. We’ve actually gotten better but for years it was pretty ridiculous. For example:
1. For our wedding, we were given a crystal pitcher and a set of four crystal goblets. It didn’t take us long to break them all and we can’t blame that on the kids since we didn’t have them yet. That was all us!
2. Years ago my mother-in-law gave us a set of goblets, and right off the bat, my daughter tipped one over and broke it. She was SO upset! When we got to the last one, we tried breaking it and it took multiple attempts. Go figure.
3. I had a 12-piece collection of Pfaltzgraff dishes that I was very fond of. One day, I was taking about 8 plates out of the dishwasher, at the same time, and dropped the whole stack! I still don’t know how it happened. The kids heard the crash and came running. They were about 12 and 10 at the time. They looked at the mess and then at me. They shook their heads and one of them said, “I’m glad we didn’t do that.” Then I started bawling. Of course, I broke five of the eight but not any of the ones that were chipped.
With such a bad track record for glass usage, we gave up on glass for a while. We used plastic drinking glasses. I think we still used glass plates but we got some of the nearly indestructible Corelle (which actually do break – we should know!) and had better luck with that.
But eventually we went back to glass and actually found we had improved with our glass handling skills. But we’re still not perfect.
Unfortunately, all the dishes we’ve ever had owned come in sets of 4 (except the Pfaltzgraff from years ago). So when we break one of the dishes, which we inevitably do, we’re left with the problem of only having 7 left and no way to replace the one we broke. So I solved that problem once and for all. Here’s what I did instead:
This is the plan: I switched to solid color dinner plates, dessert plates and bowls. I’m not going with one particular style but having an eclectic mix (currently all my plates & bowls match but that was just to get me started). The only common denominator will be that they are all solid colored. Then if a dish gets broken, I can purchase a replacement ANYWHERE.
And it makes for a very colorful dinner table which I love!
So if your family has trouble with glass, maybe you should think about solid colored dishes, too.
For years, I was hung up on the notion that tableware had to be matching, so it was a disaster if an item broke and could involve considerable expense to replace it. Now, I think that odd items are actually more interesting. I agree with you that the mixed colours of your dishes make for an attractive table setting. What has also helped me to calm down if something breaks was reading the little book called, I think, Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff. In it, the author said that everything was destined to return to the earth (dust to dust etc.), so when an item broke, just regard it as inevitable and say to yourself “ah well, there it goes”. Not so easy if it’s a Ming vase, perhaps!
I wish I could have a do-over for those days when I got so upset with the kids for breaking glass. They didn’t do it on purpose but it always made me so upset! You’re right – it’s just not that big of a deal. Stuff happens.
I also use multi-colored dishes and I love them. Although I have to confess that I still use plastic glasses. I started that when my son was about 8 years old and was drinking out of a glass tumbler and it broke in his mouth. I’m sure he probably bit down too hard on it but I wasn’t about to take a chance so I got rid of the glass and got some plastic. Now the kids are grown and I’ve been thinking about switching back to glass. Anyway, loved your article and how you’ve come to accept the fact that your family is a little accident prone!
Wow, Deb. We’ve broken a lot of glass but we never had that happen. I would have ditched the glass glasses, too.
I like that – “a little accident prone”. Definitely. I thought we outgrew it but apparently not. I broke one of our glasses last week – tipped it over on the granite tiles on the counter and it broke. Then I dropped one on the wood floor – it didn’t break. That’s two mishaps in a few days. Maybe I need more sleep or something.
Patty, when I start dropping stuff and being generally clumsy, I usually need to get my glasses changed. Other clues are walking into doorways instead of through them, and tripping over shadows.
I was a very clumsy child until I finally got glasses! It’s no wonder I always got creamed in snowball fights.
You made me laugh.
I have all white dishes, and I love them. I almost got a Pfaltzgraff heirloom white set but in the end I ended up getting the Home Store version of plain white open stock stuff. We havne only broken one plate of those, but lots of bowls. The styles have changed a lot in 12 years, but bowls are bowls. Unfortunately, we have broken a ton of my glasses from Pottery Barn…My Christmas present from my parents a couple years after we were married because I hated the glasses we registered for. The nice thing is that they will probably always sell them, and they’re about $2.00-$2.50 per glass.
Ok, so dishes are often made of stonewear… Like all Pfaltzgraff are stone wear, etc. Did you know that you are NOT supposed to soak them because it makes them brittle? You can tell if that’s what you have if you look at the bottom of the plate…if the foot is glazed, you can soak them, but if the very bottom of the foot where it touches the table is unglazed, then it can soak up water and dry out and soak up water and dry out, etc. I think I remember reading that no more than four hours should they be wet…why they are dishwasher safe, but don’t soak…I think it is the same with crockpot crocks…
I don’t think I had heard that about not soaking stonewear but it makes sense. I always thought they seemed fragile. And the foot on mine was definitely NOT glazed. I always wondered why it wasn’t.
Thanks for the info.
I LOVE this idea. We use Corelle, but that breaks too. I have been buying glass/ceramic bowls at the thrift store and they are just so much more colorful and fun.
Agreed. I love the color and the variety.
We break and cut ourselves. I still don’t let my daughters handle the big knives. Visiting from SITS.
Oh, bummer about getting hurt. We’ve been pretty lucky in that no one’s ever gotten hurt. Good call on the big knives.
Thanks for stopping by.
My aunt collected white dishes with a blue pattern. Even though the patterns didn’t match, her table looked really neat. I’ve inherited some of her dishes, and they even go great with my white Correll.
That’s a great idea!