Do you spend money on disposable dishes? Plastic, paper, et

[ilovedolphins]

Do you spend money on disposable dishes?  I bought a few plates, bowls and cups and thought I would use them to cut down on some of the work of doing dishes.  I know it is the lazy way out but between working full time and being my parents caregivers I thought it might save me a bit of work.

I don't like that they fill up the landfills and I could easily just do the dishes after each meal...or just put them in the dishwasher.  But I come home from working 8 hours and then spending a couple of hours at my parents and just don't keep on top of them so pretty soon the sink is full.

[suesinfl]

With all that you have going on, I see no problem with buying them. I agree that I hate what they do to the environment, but I know that there’s much worse stuff being thrown out.

[Blonde Granny]

Seldom now but have in the past. What do now however is save plastic containers of various sizes to use them when I take my lunch to work.  Other times I've used the saved containers to take desserts or something to my neighbor. I'd rather she throw it out than wash & return to me.

[Lizard Queen]

Only for parties.  We've got Corelle and a dishwasher.  Seems simple enough.  Plus, the waste from 4 people adds up fast.  Time saved not rinsing dishes would go into taking out the garbage more often.

[NastyWoman]

I wouldn't if I had a dishwasher. I run mine once a week and that takes care of it all. Unless the weather is hot (stinky stuff) I don't rinse either and the dishes come out clean anyway. 

Keep in mind that I was recycling and minimizing waste as soon as I left my parents' home 45 years ago --- this was an awareness issue much earlier in Europe than over here.  That said, if the dishes and other housework stress you out too much → reduce that instead. Your health and well being should come first with all that is on your plate (be that china, plastic, or paper)

[ilovedolphins]

It's not that I use a lot of dishes so there really isn't any reason to not just wash them but I can go a week without doing them and then the sink is full.  So it's also not like I would be using a lot of disposable ones either.  I could always just wash them after each meal whether I am tired or not.  I guess I can try the disposable ones for a week or so and see how that goes.  I also don't like spending money on that kind of stuff but the package of cups, bowls, and plates cost me $10 total and they will probably last a few months.

[busymom]

We always have some paper plates on hand, but rarely use them, unless we've got a large group visiting, or, if I'm sending a batch of cookies to a neighbor.  Obviously, I buy the sturdy kind.  

[CCL]

Would it be any help to use disposables for the messy stuff like chili, spaghetti, etc. then regular dishes for things you could rinse and be done like cereal bowls and juice glasses? That would eliminate half of my dishes and the ones left would be much quicker and easier to clean.

I agree, though, sometimes you need to make adjustments in some areas of you life.

[ilovedolphins]

I had thought that it would be easy to rinse out cereal bowls and the silverware.

[dee27]

We use paper plates, Dixie cups for the bathroom, and paper napkins that are recyclable every day. Paper plates are used in the microwave. Water and sewer charges are expensive, and we save more money and conserve water by using paper goods that can be recycled.

[ilovedolphins]

I have also thought about using paper for everything...hoping that it is more environmentally friendly than plastic or styrofoam.

[Deleted]

I try to minimize use of disposable things.  It's easier for me- I'm retired, I live alone and I have a dishwasher.

[Deleted]

I have a plate, soup mug, fork, knife, and spoon at work.  I hate plastic.  Paper plates, assuming they are paper, don't annoy me so much.  But they are so flimsy. Don't get me started on sporks.

DH, however, likes disposables.  So I buy paper bowls and small paper plates just for him.  My sister is the same way; she insists on using them while she is here.

I think it's a product of living alone for both of them.  Since I rinse my dishes, I had no problem using them until the dishwasher fills up even if it takes a week.  

We do use paper plates at  Thanksgiving and Christmas (chinet).  There are 16 of us including DIL's mother, who would otherwise be alone.  I have that much Christmas china, but the plates would fill the dishwasher all by themselves.  However, we do use real silverware.  

[giramomma]

Sometimes it's worth it to pay for convenience.

While not the same, we are using disposable diapers with #4.  We did our part and used cloth diapers 95% of the time for #1, and then 75% of the time for #2 and #3.

We have a stash. The YMER in me says that we should save that $25-40/month. And cloth diaper.

But, hell. Even with DH and I working part time (opposite hours though) and only one baby at home...I know you all are like, "Well of course they should be able to handle more laundry." The realist in me says "If you get 10 minutes of free time a day, do you want to spend it doing more laundry, or would you like to do something fun?"

I'm going for fun instead of more laundry. My sanity is worth $1-2/day.

[wvugurl26]

I typically have some on hand. They aren't used daily but it's nice to have. Be kind to yourself right now, that's a very full load. If it saves some time in your day go for it.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 17, 2017 18:56:05 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Sometimes it's worth it to pay for convenience.

While not the same, we are using disposable diapers with #4.  We did our part and used cloth diapers 95% of the time for #1, and then 75% of the time for #2 and #3.

We have a stash. The YMER in me says that we should save that $25-40/month. And cloth diaper.

But, hell. Even with DH and I working part time (opposite hours though) and only one baby at home...I know you all are like, "Well of course they should be able to handle more laundry." The realist in me says "If you get 10 minutes of free time a day, do you want to spend it doing more laundry, or would you like to do something fun?"

I'm going for fun instead of more laundry. My sanity is worth $1-2/day.

H*ll no. I cloth diapered my first one. But the kid only pooped once a day. Number 2 came along and he pooped in every diaper I put on him. Cloth diapers were replaced with disposable ones within a week. Not going to happen...  and, even after all these years and me recycling wherever I lived and doing my thing for the environment, I still don't feel guilty and wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it all over again!

The cloth diapers ended up in an orphange in Thailand since we moved there within a year after DS2 was born and they really needed diapers (so those were recycled)

[Bonny]

I know Costco is using compostable flatware and that you can recycle their paper goods even dirty. Not sure if that's an option for you.

Maintaining my sanity in your situation would be my first priority.

[empress of self-improvement]

I bought some paper plates for a cookout in August and still have most of them left. I don't really like using disposables unless I can recycle them. The failed environmentalist in me, I guess. Usually I rinse and reuse a dish or 2 and my fork. My "dishwasher" only washes them once a week. He doesn't care. He uses paper towels for plates and then gets pissy about crumbs everywhere. Asshole.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Rarely.  Usually only if we are traveling, or have a party.

[zibazinski]

Nope but I'm a paper towel junkie. 

[cktc]

I use paper plates for parties. Usually use real utensils, and drink out of whatever bottles, cans or glasses depending on the drink. Most of my serving dishes are plastic from the dollar store. Going on 7 years since I bought them. Just can't bring myself to recycle them until they crack. I've though about investing in propwe serving dishes, but it's always nice knowing they are cheap and can be discarded or lefdt behind.

[Deleted]

Just for the big garage parties.  I typically have 2 every summer.  I have a huge stack of Corelle plates, so for smaller gatherings in the house I use those.   I have quite a bit of regular silverware too and the plastic forks and spoons I have are heavy duty.  I try to rescue them from being put in the garbage at parties and throw them in the dishwasher. 

[obelisk]

with my retirement at zero sum zero, the recycling of base paper versus base sub material to meet CA Carb standard as a 2020 flushable  California standard is less than zero.

[tcu2003]

Rarely. We still have disposable plates and cups from around the time we married 7+ years ago that had made 3 moves. We finally used some of it for DD's baptism party at our house earlier this year. My preference is to use reusable whenever possible. We go through 1-2 rolls of paper towels a year, and use cloth napkins, so do our best to cut down on waste in the kitchen.

[teen persuasion]

Rarely use disposable stuff.

No dishwasher, I do dishes once a day.  Occasionally, if we have dinner out I will skip doing the dishes (telling myself there aren't that many w/o dinner cooking and eating), but I always kick myself the next day looking at the bigger pile of breakfast and lunch dishes.

That said, as mom of 5 kids, I instituted some common sense rules years ago when the kids were little.  Each person had a personal cup at their place that stayed there all day - no new glasses for each meal, reuse it, rinsing if needed.  If you used a plate at breakfast, say for toast, leave it at your place for lunch, too.  This cut down on the dishes I needed to wash daily (and more importantly, the space needed to dry them).  Now that we are usually only 3 at home, dishes only take a few minutes each night.  If I lived alone, I'd probably wash them every few days.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Oct 17, 2017 17:49:11 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I wouldn't if I had a dishwasher. I run mine once a week and that takes care of it all. Unless the weather is hot (stinky stuff) I don't rinse either and the dishes come out clean anyway. 

Keep in mind that I was recycling and minimizing waste as soon as I left my parents' home 45 years ago --- this was an awareness issue much earlier in Europe than over here.  That said, if the dishes and other housework stress you out too much → reduce that instead. Your health and well being should come first with all that is on your plate (be that china, plastic, or paper)

Maybe you are in the know....I always wonder which is better using thin cheap paper plates vs the soap and water to wash up a real one?

[Lizard Queen]

Yeah, when I lived alone, I had so few dishes that I didn't even bother using my dishwasher and washed them every day or 2.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 17, 2017 22:56:45 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Oct 17, 2017 17:49:11 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I wouldn't if I had a dishwasher. I run mine once a week and that takes care of it all. Unless the weather is hot (stinky stuff) I don't rinse either and the dishes come out clean anyway. 

Keep in mind that I was recycling and minimizing waste as soon as I left my parents' home 45 years ago --- this was an awareness issue much earlier in Europe than over here.  That said, if the dishes and other housework stress you out too much → reduce that instead. Your health and well being should come first with all that is on your plate (be that china, plastic, or paper)

Maybe you are in the know....I always wonder which is better using thin cheap paper plates vs the soap and water to wash up a real one?

I really have never fully analysed it since I just want to reduce trash. A superficial analysis might come out in favor of the paper plates, but I strongly suspect that if one figures in the environmental impact of the production of paper plates that the outcome will be different and the reusable plates are far better.  

[Waffle]

Oct 18, 2017 1:08:12 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Oct 17, 2017 22:56:45 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Maybe you are in the know....I always wonder which is better using thin cheap paper plates vs the soap and water to wash up a real one?

I really have never fully analysed it since I just want to reduce trash. A superficial analysis might come out in favor of the paper plates, but I strongly suspect that if one figures in the environmental impact of the production of paper plates that the outcome will be different and the reusable plates are far better.  

But then wouldn't you have to figure in the environmental impact of the production of soap?

Regarding the OP - yes I use disposables most of the time.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2017 20:02:22 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Nope but I'm a paper towel junkie. 

I participate in e-Rewards surveys and have seen a few on cleaning products- I even got paper towels to evaluate a couple of times. It was clear that they really want people to expand their use. I'm pretty conservative with them. I use them for things that would stain cloth towels (wiping out my cast-iron skillets after use, for example) but I have a good supply of rags that I use for nearly everything else.

Years ago I had a cleaning lady who would go through an entire roll (our supply) cleaning our house.  It drove me crazy.