Spring-cleaning my basement and grateful for wedding registries
We're approaching wedding season, so listen up, boys and (mostly) girls: Registries are your friends. I just read this post by Reid, and it got me thinking about all the makers, dishes and gadget-y kitchen stuff that now lives in my basement thanks to my wedding four years ago. Yes, I got some incredible, beautiful things, some of which I haven't had use for yet but will -- like the handmade cake plate and server my aunt gave us, which I found when cleaning and displayed in my china hutch -- but as M says, one-use appliances are a waste of space.
I have an ice cream maker down there that's never been opened, two George Foreman grills, assorted bakeware I have no use for and lots of other stuff it's depressing me to even think about going through, never mind sorting and giving away.
Granted, our household goods pile comes in handy when it's time to regift. And I really don't want to sound ungrateful. It's just that there seems to be a whole industry peddling products that brides don't need, know they want or have room for, yet somehow they wind up at bridal showers across the land. Primo example: We have a breadmaker, which we used a whole lot for awhile, but then dropped. Guess where it went? You got it: The household goods pile. Or how about the latte maker that heated up the ingredients and frothed them, only to completely shit the bed on me one day AFTER I had dumped the milk and coffee and other ingredients in there?
If you're a bride trying to figure out what to register for, I'm going to do you a public service while indulging my recent love of top 5 lists. Here are the top 5 things I got for my wedding that I use all the time:
1) My Kitchen Aid standup mixer. This is an example of something we didn't register for but got anyway, thinking we didn't need it, and it's a godsend when I bake.
2) Calphalon pots and pans. Yeah, they're expensive, but you can't beat a solid set of pans going forward.
3) Card table and chairs. We use the folding chairs for company all the time and the table when we're having a party.
4) Henckels knife block and knives. Good knives are a must for cooking.
5) My china. I've talked to brides who didn't bother registering a pattern, because they thought they would never use it. I have used mine a million times over, even just parts of it, like the coffee cups and sugar and creamer sets when I have company.
What are your thoughts on good wedding gifts? I'd love to hear what other people consider essential to starting a home.
I have an ice cream maker down there that's never been opened, two George Foreman grills, assorted bakeware I have no use for and lots of other stuff it's depressing me to even think about going through, never mind sorting and giving away.
Granted, our household goods pile comes in handy when it's time to regift. And I really don't want to sound ungrateful. It's just that there seems to be a whole industry peddling products that brides don't need, know they want or have room for, yet somehow they wind up at bridal showers across the land. Primo example: We have a breadmaker, which we used a whole lot for awhile, but then dropped. Guess where it went? You got it: The household goods pile. Or how about the latte maker that heated up the ingredients and frothed them, only to completely shit the bed on me one day AFTER I had dumped the milk and coffee and other ingredients in there?
If you're a bride trying to figure out what to register for, I'm going to do you a public service while indulging my recent love of top 5 lists. Here are the top 5 things I got for my wedding that I use all the time:
1) My Kitchen Aid standup mixer. This is an example of something we didn't register for but got anyway, thinking we didn't need it, and it's a godsend when I bake.
2) Calphalon pots and pans. Yeah, they're expensive, but you can't beat a solid set of pans going forward.
3) Card table and chairs. We use the folding chairs for company all the time and the table when we're having a party.
4) Henckels knife block and knives. Good knives are a must for cooking.
5) My china. I've talked to brides who didn't bother registering a pattern, because they thought they would never use it. I have used mine a million times over, even just parts of it, like the coffee cups and sugar and creamer sets when I have company.
What are your thoughts on good wedding gifts? I'd love to hear what other people consider essential to starting a home.
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