tangomoon Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've been reading the minimalist thread with intrigue. How do those of you who have really pared down handle having people over, either for meals or overnights (such as grandparents) in terms of having enough place settings, towels, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I have a stack of large square reusable and dishwasher safe plastic plates that were 5 for $1. I have a stash of plastic silverware that is heavy duty and goes through the dishwasher very well. We use plastic cups that are recyclable. These work well for parties. We actually have plenty of towels. Some of them are a bit worn out but they still work. Our only overnight houseguest is my mom, and she is fine with hanging her towels over the back of the chair in the room where she stays. The only time we had a problem was when DH's parents, and his sister, her husband, and their twins were all here at the same time. I had to buy extra towels for that, and extra cups for the kids. I don't think they will ever be back though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Special stash! We do most of our entertaining in the garden in the summer. I have enamelware cups, plates and bowls, similar to camping plates, but white, as well as some wooden salad-type bowls, that I bought at the thrift store. I have a stash of soup sized stainless spoons and forks that we bought at a dime store. I wanted sturdy, non-breakable items, and these have worked well. All that stuff lives in a corner of the garage. I have enough plates in my regular china for visitors, but we don't often have folks over in the winter. We don't often have overnight guests; the house is very small so the towels and bedding aren't really an issue. I have sometimes given up my bed and sleep on the couch so a guest can have my room. We make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've been reading the minimalist thread with intrigue. How do those of you who have really pared down handle having people over, either for meals or overnights (such as grandparents) in terms of having enough place settings, towels, etc.? Our entertaining is infrequent, but I use disposable items when hosting anything more than 2 extra people. We usually have enough items to add 2 more people, but the cups/plates/silverware/etc don't match. Every place setting looks different. We have one towel per person, and our family shares towels if we have people overnight guests. The towels are used on clean bodies, so we don't have any issues with sharing. If we did have issues and everyone needed to bath the same day (my kids don't take daily showers yet), I would have half of us do our shower at night, wash and dry the towels, and have the other half do our showering in the morning so the guests could have towels. We would ask guests to bring extra pillows. For bed space, we have all the kids (ours and the guest's) sleep on the floor and give beds to the adults. We have plenty of blankets for guests (which does annoy me) since we live in MN and keep our house rather chilly in the winter. Anyone who comes to visit us already knows that we don't have a lot of things and/or they quickly figure it out. :D It's not hard to spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangomoon Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks for sharing some of the ways this works out in your families. I've been hanging on to a lot of extras thinking that I'll need them when company comes, but it sounds like I just need to think outside my previous box on it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I forgot to mention that in addition to our 6 bath towels, we have 5 swimming towels. We could definitely use the swimming towels for daily bathing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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