Hey, grab me a cup!

Well, dear frugal bloggie friends, it seems like forever since I talked about frugality. Oh sure, lots of my recipes are frugal, because, well I am frugal.

 Picture source

I was just sitting here enjoying a cup of green tea (with a TBS of coconut oil and a TBS of honey) and thinking about disposable cups, and plates, and silverware. I was thinking about how we don't use disposables. I have a stack of pretty plates I bought from the Pickens awhile back and a bunch of coffee cups and miscellaneous silverware for our everyday needs.

Nothing matches perfectly but I have plenty of it. With 9 people at home we need lots of dishes. We would go through a ton of paper products. It is sometimes a hassle to do the dishes for this crowd. And I do use child labor to get it done, so I occasionally feel bad for the dish doer when the dishwasher is on the fritz but not bad enough to use 27 disposable plates, bowls, cups and sets of silverware each day.

When we entertain (unless it is outside in the barn, by the pond) we use real dishes. It is what I have them for. I often will use my china. CHINA?? Yes china.  But don't worry, remember how frugal I am?  My china is white and so whenever I see a pretty plate at a garage sale or the Pickens I buy it. I have bought over the years enough china to serve 60 or so people. Nothing cost much but it is pretty and with a nice tablecloth and some flowers for decor it looks great.
I also rarely use plastic silverware when we entertain either - I have many many miscellaneous pieces of silverware that we use. It is different than my good stuff - it is disposable if it is accidentally pitched. 

It is a small way to not only be frugal but also crunchy because as I explain to my kids "we are saving the world, one plate at a time".

I am linking to the brand new blog hop Simple Lives Thursday hosted by 4 wonderful bloggers!
I am also linking to Life as Mom's Frugal Friday.

Stop back on Tuesday and Link up to Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop - a hop about Real Food!