Wednesday, March 14, 2012

whose glass is this?

You hear it everywhere. 

"Go green!" 

"Be eco-friendly!" 

"Consume less!"

When I talk about consuming less, I'm not just talking about groceries or garbage. While it may seem all noble and environmental-ly , I do it for totally selfish reasons.

Less dishes.

 In our house, we stopped using regular glasses for drinking. It seemed like we were having to buy new sets every other week for all the accidental slams on the counters or floors. Now we use good old fashioned pint canning jars. It's been years since I was able to can anything in a pint jar, so now the hundred's we have waiting around for our nest to empty are being put to good use. They're cheap and I never have to worry about the glasses matching each other. (Because these are the things that keep me up at night.) Problem is, since all the glasses look alike, no one knows which one is theirs so the dishwasher ends up being filled with nothing but pint jars! 

You may have seen the drink bands for sale that are being used to identify glassware. I first saw these on Pinterest, but am now seeing them everywhere. It's a great idea for sure. Each person gets their own personal color, wraps it around their glass, and for the rest of the day, gets the privilege of not drinking someone else's backwash. 

Personally, I think the person who invented these bands deserves an award of some kind. We should name a constellation after them or declare May 3rd a holiday in their honor. (Not that May 3rd holds any significance, it's just open and I need a day off between St. Patrick's and Independence Day.) Seriously. If someone invents something that saves me time at the kitchen sink, they deserve their own holiday.

Here's my issue...there are only 6 in a package and that package costs more than $9. 

Call me cheap (not really, it messes with my self-esteem), but that's too much money for a family that has to buy 2 packages for this plan to work. Great idea, but I squeak.

My solution? How about purchasing a multi-colored rubberband ball at the local dollar store for...

wait for it...

a buck. 

That would be 4 quarters, 10 dimes, 20 nickels, or 100 pennies.


 We assign a color to each child and that's the band that goes on their glass. At the end of the day, the bands come off and the jar goes into the dishwasher. One jar per person. (For the adults, we use 2 bands.) And of course, because I'm so excited about all the extra time I'll have somewhere other than the kitchen sink, I write it down and put it for all to see.

Lest they forget...

Now, what am I going to do with all that extra time?☺

 

10 comments:

Farmgirl Cyn said...

This is so funny! When unpacking from the move, just about the only glassware that survived unscathed were our pint jars...which we have been using for drinking glasses for several years! I do use them for canning, but still manage to have enough leftover to fill the cupboard. Last year i used them to can ground beef....a pint is just enough to feed the two of us for a meal, with even a bit of leftover.
We don't have to worry too much anymore about whose glass is whose as it is just the two of us. But I remember when all 7 of us were in the same house....oy vey!

Unknown said...

What a great idea! It seems like I'm always washing glasses, the rubber bands are the perfect solution. Don't feel bad, I'm "Frugal" too. :)

Lisa said...

I fellow blogger is offering a link to buy these on her blog and I thought, "Cool idea, but no way am I spending that kind of money for gum bands!" I simply dug into my kitchen junk drawer and pulled out a few colorful bands and wa-la! Free is a good price. Fewer dirty cups to wash? Even better. :) ~Lisa

PS: Kim, did you wake up to snow on Monday morning? We had almost 5 inches -- I'm so ready for spring...

Freedom Acres Farm said...

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! I am SO sick of washing tons of glasses. We too are almost out and I was going to have to buy more. Nope, I'm taking the wonderful advice of Kim - she is SO wise!!! Thanks!

Carolyn said...

Six bands for NINE dollars?? Am I missing something?

Kudos on the colored rubber bands idea!

We're still using plastic cups as DD is still prone to dropping them, but DH & I even use the quart jars for drinking; we're REALLY thirsty sometimes!

Candy C. said...

Very clever and frugal idea! Colorful too! :)

Anonymous said...

My oldest daughter has been doing this for years! I was surprised the first time we went to her home (after leaving here to live on Orcas Island) but she said the same thing. With 3 young children at the time, they are almost indestructable.

Susan :)

Kim said...

Farmgirl Cyn~I've learned that canning jars are invincible! Well, unless one is canning peaches outside on a windy day...;)

April~Washing glasses ranks right up there with cleaning bathrooms for me..especially if there isn't enough room in the dishwasher for anything else!

Lisa~I saw that post too, but I hadn't seen those bands before...even more money! Yikes!

Yes! We got some snow, but not very much...just enough to make a slippery mess out here. Never thought I'd admit this, but I'm done with the snow...for now! :)

Freedom Acres Farm~Wise? Nah, just desperate! And cheap...and the proud owner of at least a thousand pint jars!

Carolyn Renee~My Mister is rather fond of his quart jars too...he'd better enjoy them for now. They'll be full of vittles soon! :)

SweetLand Farm said...

We have started using pint jars to drink from too! I'm forever breaking my glasses, or the kiddos. They seem to be much more durable. Will have to check out the bands for them though. Great idea!

Michaela said...

Plus tax.