Many of us have way too many cups and mugs in our cupboards, and by discarding some of them would free up a ton of space.
Choose how many cups to save.
Here are a few
questions get you thinking about just how many you actually need. It is
up to you to decide what constitutes a reasonable number based on the needs of
your family.
- How many members of your household regularly drink from cups?
- How many cups do you use each day?
- When washed, how frequently?
Formula to Help you decide how many cups you need
Number of people x number
of cups you use daily x how often you wash up (days) + Spare
Let me give you an example. In my house there is only my husband and I that drink out of cups regularly. We tend to use the same cup throughout the day. I do the washing up at least once a day.
So our formula would be 2 x 1 x 1 +2 meaning we should only need (4)
My children do like the occasional hot chocolate – so I keep them one each (2)
I keep some for 2 for visitors – (2)
Meaning my total number of cups in my cupboard should be 8.
When I started the decluttering process, I had 32 cups. 32 cups!!! What on earth was I thinking?? I was stacking them on top of each other to try and get them to fit in the cupboard. There were always dirty cups in the sink, even though I used to do the washing up at least once a day. You know why this was? We had that many cups – it was much easier to get out a clean cup than to rinse the one we were using. Now that is just pure laziness.
I have whittled my way down to 13 cups now – The children have 2, I have 3 but my husband still has a whopping 8 in the cupboard – he is actually using up all of the formula by himself ☹ However, as we speak, we are decluttering the loft – so a couple of those cups can be relocated into his memory box – because there are 2 in the cupboard from the children on their first father’s day.
What about Cup Collections?
I totally
understand that that some people collect cups rather than just using them as a
functional vessel for hot liquids. If
this is the case, then it’s crucial to realise there is a distinction between
collections and useful used items when carrying out this task.
I don't mean to imply that you can't keep your cup collection. Everyone has things that make them happy, and the goal of decluttering is not to make you miserable. But it is worth you assessing, and I mean first honestly assessing whether or not that collection brings you joy.
You should focus only on the best items in your collection - so that you can keep having a collection that makes you happy and brings back wonderful memories - without making your life more difficult because the collection is too big and takes up too much space in your kitchen cupboards.
If you’re a collector – I know that you will not see these cups as clutter. But be careful that each cup in your collection meets these three requirements:
- Do you enjoy using it?
- Do you have room for it?
- Do you use it frequently?
If it’s a yes for all three, keep it without feeling any guilt. If the answer is no – have a think… Why are you keeping it? Are you holding on to it out of emotional attachment? Could you keep it somewhere else? Maybe you could keep your collection safe from damage by putting them on some shelves – and making a beautiful display out of them, or keep them In a Welsh dresser.
Considerations to Make When Choosing Which of Your Cups to Keep.
- Discard any that have scratches, chips/breaks, or stains (that will not come out)
- How much space in your cabinets can you really dedicate to cups?
- Which ones do you regularly use, versus which ones have you not even touched in three months. They should be kept, without a doubt! We all have favourite cups that we always reach for if they are clean.
Repurposing your Cups
If you are still
unsure about discarding them, but you are struggling for space in the cupboard,
why not try finding new uses for some of your cups. This will help you keep them out of your
kitchen.
Cups can be used as a pencil cup or a small planter, to name a couple of creative uses. There may be many more creative ways to use mugs, so please share them with me in the comments section below.