Paper Plates and the cost of doing business.
I seem to have touched a nerve on the issue of disposable dishes especially around the holiday season. Let's review the options.
On the cons of disposable:
Increased trips to the trash bin.
Higher cost.
Increased grocery bags to bring in the house.
Variable quality, poor performance.
Decreased prestige and table ambiance.
That :fake feel: in the mouth, et al.
On the pros of disposable:
Decreased clean up time.
Planned obsolescence.
Can set the whole table with a matching set.
Can vary the look of the table for the occasion.
Can be used for Milchig or Fleishig or both.
So let me hear you weigh in on the matter and tell me what you choose and why. At the end, we will talley up and see who's a macher and who's a shlocker.
On the cons of disposable:
Increased trips to the trash bin.
Higher cost.
Increased grocery bags to bring in the house.
Variable quality, poor performance.
Decreased prestige and table ambiance.
That :fake feel: in the mouth, et al.
On the pros of disposable:
Decreased clean up time.
Planned obsolescence.
Can set the whole table with a matching set.
Can vary the look of the table for the occasion.
Can be used for Milchig or Fleishig or both.
So let me hear you weigh in on the matter and tell me what you choose and why. At the end, we will talley up and see who's a macher and who's a shlocker.
posted by Mrs. Balabusta @ 6:36 PM
13 Comments:
At 10:04 PM,
tuesdaywishes said…
Okay, I'm coming down squarely on the "real plates" side here, but with one caveat: This applies ONLY in my own house. Anyone else who invites us, please use paper so I don't feel like I'm making too much work for you.
My M-i-l and I have this as an ongoing debate. She says paper plates would save me time, and I say they cost me money. Besides, four of seven nights of the week my kids do dishes. (Hubby pitches in irregularly, like when the kids forget.) And paper still means you have to wash pots and serving utensils, so it's not like there's no clean-up.
Also, I've lived in a place where we paid by the bag for trash pickup, and that really makes you think about throwing things away. My current neighborhood just instituted a 4 can/bag per household limit, to be reduced to three next year.
This past Yom Tov, M-i-l not only used real dishes, but took out her good china for the occasion. My daughter had asked her why she never uses her nice things. (Hubby washed up; I was afraid I would chip one or something.)
If you are having guests and want the table to look good, but don't want to wash so many dishes, you can use this trick I got from my s-i-l. Set the table with real main course plates, but use paper for ancillary courses like appetizer, salads, and dessert. It's a good compromise.
One last note: I think washing disposable dishes or cutlery is the worst of both worlds.
At 1:24 AM,
Ezzie said…
In general, real dishes. On a Yom Tov such as this, I give in to my wife and we get the plastic that looks real for a few seconds - avoids pileups in kitchen that nobody wants, neither of us really want to do dishes (and I feel bad letting the gracious guests who offer do so), and cleanup is faster. Also makes for an easier milchig-fleishig transition. Honestly, I still would prefer the real dishes - but despite the expense Tuesday mentioned, this is so practical it's worth the money.
Slight compromise - we serve almost everything on real dishes, which makes a large difference. In contrast to Tuesday's s-i-l, I think that all plastic for the people but dishes for serving actually looks nicer than the other way around.
At 2:04 AM,
Matza said…
Well, at first I wouldn't have it at home...or agree to pay for it, but now we have a whole CLOSET for plastics (we don't have paper in Israel). I have the plainest cheapy kind for every day, and my kids know to use those or else...
And I have the more expensive thick and brightly colored for Shabbat.
(My 10 year old doesn't wash dishes too well, and the other three just doesn't at all)
That's how I went threw medical school...
Anyway, what we do is use those nice plastic plates, with real forks and knives (see how I avoided the S word again?), and we use pretty drinking glasses and matching paper napkins. Those are easy to clean, especially after I put a bowl of water in my tiny sink where the kids know to put everything in.
That was long. And I'm NOT going to look for my spelling mistakes or else we won't have food for Shabbat. (Dishes we do)
At 1:01 PM,
Essie said…
I like real dishes, too, but with no dishwasher...
Have you ever seen the Reflections silverwear? It looks completely real. Try it! As for plates, I usually end up with tuesday's suggestion--real dinner plates but disposable for appetizer/dessert. But whenever I use disposable, it's the excellent quality kind, not the cheap junk. (hard plastic, not the flowery platic coated paper) And for serving, I always use real. No disposable plate can handle being laden with chicken or meat or whatever you are serving.
At 3:11 PM,
cruisin-mom said…
I came here by way of Toronto Pearl...this is one of my favorite subjects! I'm for paper all the way...and whoever dares to complain, is more than welcome to hold the festivities next time! Time with family and friends is too valuable to spend washing dishes. Occasions are about wonderful food and being together. But that is what works for me...and I make no apologies for it. I understand the other side as well...a beautifully set table with china and real silver is a lovely sight. You need to be secure and confident with your decision and not let others make you feel badly for your choice.
At my wedding shower, my girlfriends gave me different sets of beautiful paper plates...and labeled it my "good china"!
At 3:51 PM,
Mrs. Balabusta said…
My great grandmother Sophie did not like to be served on paper plates "like a dog", so when she was alive she ate on dishes, although no two were of the same pattern any any time (some of them were KLM pattern). Once you get in the habit of washing dishes, you really don't notice it much. In fact, I would rather wash dishes than have to take out the garbage at night when it's below 40 degrees (Fahrnheit, thank you).
As for dishwashers, we have one (milchig), don't use it. The PT feels it is more work to load it correctly, unload it, and rewash the things that didn't get cleaned or didn't fit in the dishwasher than just wash the dishes in the sink already.
And for the reflections, or "good paper china", I have seen them and I think they are nice, in fact, it's a shame to throw them out. I keep those little paper plates on the counter for desserts and oranges and things, but when you're talking about 28 cents a plate, we are getting close to what my real dishes cost.
PS, I bought new glasses at wal-mart today. they were 4/$1.92. I bought 8, and 2 of them cracked when I toiveled them (relax, I used the mesh bag), so a net gain of 6.
At 9:32 PM,
tuesdaywishes said…
I liked the KLM plates! (and the ELAL silverware)And Pt is right about the dishwasher. When I had one, everything had to be either washed before or after the dishwasher did it. But it was a good place put dirty dishes over Shabbat.
At 9:33 PM,
Ezzie said…
Are they the ones with horizontal lines all the way up? Tallish? They always break, but they're so cheap they're still worth it.
At 12:28 AM,
SephardiLady said…
When I got married I told my husband that I was not using paper plates (too much trash, too much wasted money, and it is just not enjoyable to eat off paper). He was concerned about the fact that there would be a lot of dishes to do. My solution: get a -nice- dishwasher.
The dishes have paid for themselves, as has the dishwasher.
At 1:32 PM,
Mrs. Balabusta said…
Lately I have been thinking more about the dishwasher.
And then I think I would rather keep the money and wash the dishes myself.
At 11:40 PM,
SephardiLady said…
From one Balabusta to another: buy the dishwasher. You will not be sorry. You can even buy a very, very nice dishwasher for under $500 during a sale at Sears.
If you do one load of dishes a day for 365 days a year, it will almost have paid for itself by the end of the year.
I personally run at least 5 loads a week. I run 2-3 following Shabbat. I run 1-2 loads while cooking for Shabbat. I also seem to run at least 1-2 loads during the week.
I don't use any disposable, not foil pans, not paper/plastic plates, etc. The only time I use paper/plastics in our household is when I need to deliver a meal for Bikur Cholim to a friend that I don't visit regularly and can't trust that I will get back my pan.
Like I said before, the dishwasher is a bargain!
At 8:41 PM,
Mrs. Balabusta said…
We had company for lunch today, an old friend and her husband and baby. My boys set the table with paper and I didn't have the guts to tell them to reset it with real dishes,(we ate inside because of the rain).
I feel like I insulted them, although I know I didn't. I wish we had put out real dishes. It would have been worth it.
As for running the dishwasher 3 times, I would go insane with dirty dishes in the kitchen waiting to be washed.
I think it's just the way I was put together. Refer to your manufacturer's warranty for further information.
At 11:23 PM,
Adi said…
Oes Tsetnoc one of the ways in which we can learn seo besides Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa. By participating in the Oes Tsetnoc or Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa we can improve our seo skills. To find more information about Oest Tsetnoc please visit my Oes Tsetnoc pages. And to find more information about Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa please visit my Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa pages. Thank you So much.
Oes Tsetnoc | Semangat Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa
Post a Comment
<< Home