# Coffee mugs...am I the only one



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

who has more blankety-blank coffee mugs than can be used in a lifetime? Geez. I try to just weed them out and throw some in the trash, but it seems that for every one that I get rid of, two more appear in its place.

There are some that I don't use but just can't part with because there are special memories attached. Some I've had for many years...even one that was a gift from DD 30 years ago... Believe it or not, I have a couple of mugs that I really, really like and used until the handles broke. So why can't I get rid of them? Am I becoming a specialized hoarder of only coffee mugs? Think of the cupboard space I could free up! There are cup hooks under the upper cupboards where the six mugs hang that I use regularly.

I'm beginning to understand @debodun's reluctance to unload so many of her knick-knacks. Sigh.


----------



## Pinky (Oct 31, 2021)

I _used _to have numerous coffee cups, from as far away as Australia .. however, they had to finally be donated to Goodwill, for lack of cupboard space.


----------



## Jules (Oct 31, 2021)

We use stainless steel travel mugs for our coffee.  I keep just enough mugs for guests and a couple of souvenir mugs with our names on.  My kitchen is small.


----------



## SmoothSeas (Oct 31, 2021)

I have a few go-to favorites that I use daily, then a few with cats on them which I originally gifted to my mother, who was a for real cat lover...


----------



## Gary O' (Oct 31, 2021)

Couple stainless steel ones for the shop and travel
One handy mug for the house
Three or four keepsakes, one being made from the ashes of Mt St Helens 

Mug/cup *collections *just take up too much room


----------



## feywon (Oct 31, 2021)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> who has more blankety-blank coffee mugs than can be used in a lifetime? Geez. I try to just weed them out and throw some in the trash, but it seems that for every one that I get rid of, two more appear in its place.
> 
> There are some that I don't use but just can't part with because there are special memories attached. Some I've had for many years...even one that was a gift from DD 30 years ago... Believe it or not, I have a couple of mugs that I really, really like and used until the handles broke. So why can't I get rid of them? Am I becoming a specialized hoarder of only coffee mugs? Think of the cupboard space I could free up! There are cup hooks under the upper cupboards where the six mugs hang that I use regularly.
> 
> I'm beginning to understand @debodun's reluctance to unload so many of her knick-knacks. Sigh.


You are not alone, and for the same reasons--sentimental attachments.   When a handle breaks but not the cup i often convert it's use to being a 'holder' of something--pens, pencils, small kitchen specialty implements. As for cupboard space, both the few i use routinely -- because i prefer a different cup for teas than coffee--and the 'collected'  surplus are on display around kitchen, surrounding doorways mostly  where they routinely and repeatedly form their own collections of dust no matter how often i tend them.


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

Jules said:


> We use stainless steel travel mugs for our coffee.  I keep just enough mugs for guests and a couple of souvenir mugs with our names on.  My kitchen is small.


Your kitchen is small. LOL! My whole apartment (that I fondly call The Hovel) is just under 300sf. No  kidding.

But you "keep just enough mugs"...keep being the key word. I just can't part with my mugs. I swear I'm in a special sub-set of hoarders. Are there hoarders that only hoard one thing? I haven't counted, but there must be at least four or five dozen coffee mugs.



Pinky said:


> I _used _to have numerous coffee cups, from as far away as Australia .. however, they had to finally be donated to Goodwill, for lack of cupboard space.


Donate to Goodwill? Every time I've been in Goodwill there are shelves and shelves chock-a-block full of coffee mugs. Would they even accept more and how would I decide which ones to give them? 

There's the dark blue mug with gold lettering with DH's name, the date he retired, and the State Department logo. How can I get rid of that? Or the one from a family reunion in 1996 that was the 333rd anniversary of the date the King of France (Louis XIII) gave my ancestors a land grant in Canada where much of Quebec is now.

Is this what's called a first-world problem or does it not even rise to that level?

As DH would say "shitohdear".


----------



## hollydolly (Oct 31, 2021)

A couple of Dozen ?... yep that's a lot, far more than me... and I was thinking I had a lot.

I have 2 shelves (narrow shelves which hold about 8 cups comfortable..  2 from  my Dd with her picture on one and the other with pictures of the dogs. I never use them because they're not the size I would ordinarily use.. then there's a couple with the Company Logo on, to whom my o/h works..and I used to... because of their size they're used just for coffee...

the rest are large Tea Mugs in various plain pastel colours.. which hold about a 1/3rd of alitre each... and which are my favourites... except for my Kath Kidston floral Mug  which I love but don't use as often as the plain ones, but can't get rid of that because I love it and anyhoo it's not cheap, it's selling online for £14 each mug..

I tend to use the same 3 mugs every day the big 1/3rd pinters which I pick up in the Big discount stores for a couple  of quid each... and the Kidstone one to make sauces or gravy in if I'm don't need enough to warrant the use of the pyrex jug...

So... much as I could do with the space in that cupboard because they're in there with all the drinking glasses and tumblers... I can't see how I can....


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

Short text with DD revealed that she has the same coffee mug problem. Maybe it's an inherited trait?

Oh...just FYI, text because my hovel is ground level on the west end of the house; her office is upstairs on the east end. It's easier to text, email or phone than to hike through the house and up the stairs or to holler up the stairs. She, DSIL and g'kids and I live under the same roof but separately. Wait. DGS doesn't live here. He moved to his own place years ago. Seems like just last week when he was moving up from elementary school to middle school...


----------



## PamfromTx (Oct 31, 2021)

I'm just waiting for my next trip back home; they are in for a surprise.  I have been slowly decluttering and they are going to be 'mugged' out.  lol


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

Welp. I emptied out the mugs from the kitchen cupboards. There aren't four-five dozen, only two dozen. Found a couple that I'd forgotten about. The question remains: what to do with them now that they're out there on the counter? I don't wanna put them back, don't wanna pack them away, don't wanna throw them out. Can't give them to DD because she's got cupboards full, too, and she has more than I do for sure.


----------



## Ruth n Jersey (Oct 31, 2021)

I got rid of most of mine. I saved our Oma and Opa mugs because that's what the grandkids call us. 
One of my favorites is a mug I got when my daughter lived in Oregon because her hubby was in the navy. . It isn't the prettiest mug in the world but of all the places they lived I loved Oregon the most. I also like it because it has  a solid handle that doesn't get so hot as the hollow ones when I put it in the microwave.


----------



## WheatenLover (Oct 31, 2021)

I have one coffee mug. I dropped a couple when my hands were weaker, and they broke. I am waiting to fall in love with another two, so I have three. So far, I've looked at hundreds online, and nothing has fallen into the "I love you and have to have you" category. Maybe I will buy three, because I sure don't love the one I am using now.


----------



## Feelslikefar (Oct 31, 2021)

When one of us does the dishes, the other one will say that the 'Elves' came by and did them for us.

Being just the two of us, we rarely fire up the dishwasher and we do them by hand.
Now I'm wondering if they are the ones taking our clothes hangers in payment for their work?
Can't seem to find any and have replaced them numerous times.
Maybe to hang the mountain of socks they have taken from us over the years.

They might be the ones who are leaving coffee mugs also?


----------



## hollydolly (Oct 31, 2021)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> Welp. I emptied out the mugs from the kitchen cupboards. There aren't four-five dozen, only two dozen. Found a couple that I'd forgotten about. The question remains: what to do with them now that they're out there on the counter? I don't wanna put them back, don't wanna pack them away, don't wanna throw them out. Can't give them to DD because she's got cupboards full, too, and she has more than I do for sure.


Just bundle them in a box, close it up.. and donate it...


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

Socks go missing because there's a whole 'nuther universe where sock people live. Our socks escape to live among their own.

Hangers? There seem to be fewer and fewer in my closet, and when I go hunting them in DD's laundry room, they aren't there, either. The socks take them to build sock houses when they escape.

I don't have any theories about the mugs.

@hollydolly Box them up and donate? Nooooooooooooo! I can't part with them. It would be like giving away my old friends


----------



## Jondalar7 (Oct 31, 2021)

I was part of a retreat that used a mug with our name on it and a scripture verse. They were used as a place marker at our tables and a memory gift. I had 19 of them. With eight of us living here and at least two people come or go each year, a few cups disappear each year. I check the cupboard each fall I have a stash in the garage that I use to refill the empty spaces. I just restocked and the cupboard holds 20. We are all set for morning coffee and Hot cocoa by the fire this winter.


----------



## hollydolly (Oct 31, 2021)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> Socks go missing because there's a whole 'nuther universe where sock people live. Our socks escape to live among their own.
> 
> Hangers? There seem to be fewer and fewer in my closet, and when I go hunting them in DD's laundry room, they aren't there, either. The socks take them to build sock houses when they escape.
> 
> ...


listen young lady...once those mugs are in that box and all closed up...put them in a cupboard or under your bed, and see if you miss them ...betcha don't ..


----------



## Llynn (Oct 31, 2021)

When I was working, coffee mugs used to breed like rabbits around me.  Every dealer/vendor brought me one with each call and of course every time I attended a convention or training session I was presented with more. I have a dozen or so that I kept because I like the way they perform the coffee mug job for me.  The rest have been shifted to those in need (or who would take one).

I have an even dozen of the heavy white handle-less porcelan watch mugs that were traditional in the Navy years ago although I haven't used one of them for a long time.


----------



## Jondalar7 (Oct 31, 2021)

I am looking forward to making hand warmer mugs this winter.


----------



## Ruthanne (Oct 31, 2021)

Don't ask why because I don't  know why I love coffee/tea cups!  I have what I think are a lot but I still want to order some more on Amazon!

I only have 15 of them right now, I thinkand I want more!



I don't keep them on the counter like that but put them out so you could see them all.


----------



## Gemma (Oct 31, 2021)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> Welp. I emptied out the mugs from the kitchen cupboards. There aren't four-five dozen, only two dozen. Found a couple that I'd forgotten about. The question remains: what to do with them now that they're out there on the counter? I don't wanna put them back, don't wanna pack them away, don't wanna throw them out. Can't give them to DD because she's got cupboards full, too, and she has more than I do for sure.


If in good shape, gift them at the Holiday, filled with hot cocoa packets, tea, candy, or small flower arrangement, whatever else would fit into a mug, wrap with a fancy bow and gift them to a letter carrier, residents at a nursing home, to first responders, your neighbors, waitresses at your favorite eatery, etc.


----------



## Remy (Nov 1, 2021)

If I see a clean vintage coffee mug at the thrift store and it has ducks, geese or animals I like on it, I can't leave it there. So I have plenty. I also like those handled soup mugs. I use them for cereal also.


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Nov 2, 2021)

Well, I've separated out the Christmas mugs from the others, and since there's no sentimental attachment to any of them, they're going to Goodwill. I haven't yet figured out what to do with the others...maybe just rotate them on the cup hangers under the kitchen cupboard from time to time so they'll get used. That still leaves me with the problem of storing what I'm not using. Sigh.

Maybe what I should do is purge the cupboards. Heaven knows there's plenty in them that I haven't used since I've been here (12 years, I think) so if stuff goes, there will be room left to store the coffee mugs (and then proceed to fill up with other cr@p)  Then there's the added benefit that if the cupboards get emptied, they'll get cleaned before anything goes back in.


----------



## Pappy (Nov 2, 2021)

Seems like someone is always buying me coffee cups. I have a cupboard full of them which reminds me I need to clean out that cupboard soon. With all the cups I have, I still use the same old cup over and over again..


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Nov 2, 2021)

Well, my goodness! I started out looking in my closet for a suitable container for the mugs. Then I contracted a case of "Oh, look! Shiny!" and saw some clothes that needed to be sorted out to pack away for the winter or take to Goodwill, dug out some clothes for winter and put them in the dryer to fluff them up, hung them, and finally found a clear plastic storage box that's just the right size for the mugs I'm going to keep. Yippee. 

All of that just to find something to store eight coffee mugs. They're now packed up and sitting on a closet shelf.


----------



## PamfromTx (Nov 2, 2021)

I have this addiction to collecting mugs.


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Nov 2, 2021)

PamfromTx said:


> I have this addiction to collecting mugs.


Not me. They just appear and multiply when I'm not looking. Then I can't bear to part with them!


----------



## Tish (Nov 2, 2021)

I have a heap of coffee cups but usually stick to one.


----------



## caroln (Nov 10, 2021)

I gave away all my odd mugs a long time ago, replaced with a nice matching set of 6, and refuse to put any more mismatched mugs in my cabinet.  I have one big mug I keep for hot chocolate.  Some mugs have huge handles or are so heavy I have to use 2 hands to lift it when they're full.  The ones I use are a lightweight porcelain and the handles fit my fingers perfectly.


----------



## Purwell (Nov 10, 2021)

> As DH would say "shitohdear".





> Can't give them to DD because she's got cupboards full, too, and she has more than I do for sure.



I do wish people would not assume that we all know what these abbreviations mean.
Please who are DD and DH?


----------



## caroln (Nov 10, 2021)

Purwell said:


> I do wish people would not assume that we all know what these abbreviations mean.
> Please who are DD and DH?


DD=dear daughter  DH=dear husband  TY=thank you  SIL=son in law  DIL=daughter in law
Can't think of any others right now.


----------



## Sassycakes (Nov 10, 2021)

I have 6 coffee mugs . Of course, I have coffee cups for when company comesI bought this years ago.


----------



## Shero (Nov 10, 2021)

Purwell said:


> I do wish people would not assume that we all know what these abbreviations mean.
> Please who are DD and DH?


Merci Purwell, for saying that - sometimes I am completely lost and so I avoid that post since I may not know what the abbreviation means!


----------



## Purwell (Nov 11, 2021)

> DD=dear daughter DH=dear husband TY=thank you SIL=son in law DIL=daughter in law
> Can't think of any others right now.


I thought DD might be Dear Departed and had no idea about DH.


----------



## Jackie23 (Nov 11, 2021)

I'm partial to tall mugs for coffee, I've got about six that I use daily....I have to keep all dishes to a minimum, just don't have the space.


----------



## Remy (Nov 11, 2021)

Jackie23 said:


> I'm partial to tall mugs for coffee, I've got about six that I use daily....I have to keep all dishes to a minimum, just don't have the space.


I don't have the best storage in my apartment kitchen either but I can't leave a good vintage coffee mug behind if it has animals or ducks on it. I've found room. Most recently a riser between the microwave and the wall. More mug storage. Yay!


----------

