How do we incorporate the beautiful glass dishes of yesterday with today's casual lifestyle? As part of my presentation on Organize to Downsize, members of an Omaha, NE area women's group shared their stories with me this week about how they are transferring the joy and beauty of special collections to family members.
One of the group members related how she and her daughter carefully hand washed the cherished collection of long-ago-collected glass plates and dishes. As the holidays approached she tried to decide what to do with these lovely dishes that she no longer had the occasion to use. Read more to learn the fate of these dishes.
With a flash of wisdom that grandmothers often have, she announced, "Let's get out the red tablecloth and use these dishes for Christmas dinner!" She involved her grandchildren in helping to set the special table. The glass dishes that were part of a life long collection had come out of the cupboard to bring life and beauty to a special family dinner.
The dishes, so long protected and washed by hand, went into the dishwasher after the meal. They came out beautiful!
We sometimes have to find new homes for special collections, but we can continue to be creative in the ways we incorporate cherished items in today's lifestyles. There also may new ways of caring for items (think dishwasher)!
Do you have a story of how you re-purposed a special item to give it new life? Click below and tell us about it.
Instead of using boring paperclips, in my home office, I have pretty jewel colored plastic paperclips. I took a fancy little lead crystal bowl out of my china cabinet and set it atop my desk to hold my pretty paperclips in!
Posted by: Brenda | July 03, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Using your fancy lead crystal bowl on your desk is a great way to honor its beauty!
Posted by: Ellen Hankes | July 03, 2008 at 10:31 AM