My Three Plates

Just so you know - as I'm writing this, in the back of my mind I'm humming the theme song from My Three Sons, and my foot is tapping.

Ya - I'm that old.

I have to say, I feel mighty silly blogging about my three plates.

First off - you must know - I DO own more than three plates.  I had a few comments on my post about streamlining, and it sounded like a few of you thought that's all I owned.

Oh my.

No - I have three plates out in my everyday area.  The reason for the three?  Well - these delicious 1970's vintage plates were purchased at a thrift store, and there were 5 of them.  Two are out in the camper, three in the kitchen.  Luckily my OCD has calmed enough so that I can own odd numbers of things (as long as they match), and given that there are three people living in the household at the moment - it works.  

I change my plates often.  As soon as I tire of these, they'll get donated, and I'll find others that make me happy for a while.

The three plates reside on my shelf in the kitchen near the sink, and they are the everyday plates.

What I love is the ease of getting them, and the ease of putting them back right from the sink.  Nearly everything I use can be put away from standing right in front of my sink.

What I also love is that I'm not opening a cabinet chock full of dishes and items that I'm not using.  For my delicate brain - this is a good thing.  I truly believe, and I betcha there are studies to back it up - clutter stresses.  

these chickens belonged to my dear Aunt Jean, and therefore, one of my most prized possessions

Here's where I keep the company dishes (again, I'm feeling mighty silly)

This is where you'll find me every morning making tea.  Right in front of my tea pot is a reminder of my kitty love, Slinx - she jumped on the hutch when the paint was still wet - I just had to leave it - it was too perfect.

Now, there are six plates to that set, but the other is stashed underneath - I just felt to have all six up there was too visually heavy, and needed breaking up.  

So my odds and ends are under the cupboard.  Please note the vintage butterscotch coffee cups and saucers scored for 25 cents each.  

 I find myself completely satisfied after culling this area out.  A month ago, you could barely open the door without stuff falling out.  My rule?  If I haven't used it in a year - it goes.

And so it went, and I was exceedingly happy - until I saw this on Pornterest, I mean Pinterest -

Then I was all like - 

Oh snap, I got rid of all my dishes!

But then I think of my mantra - 

And I realize - there is nothing wrong with setting a lovely, over the top table, but it's just not in the cards for me - I'm much happier with less stuff in the house - less stuff to manage, less stuff to store, less stuff to clean and move and pack away and take out.  I'm not saying this is the "right" way to live, but it's right for me, and I've felt so much better mentally since I've decluttered.  

The house stays clean, and my time is freed up tremendously!

Simple is my way, and I'm sticking to it.