I need your advice and suggestions

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I need your advice and suggestions

(18 posts) (15 voices)

Started 1 year ago by maxinemarshall
Latest reply from Netleigh
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Silver

maxinemarshall
Member

I have only recently found your forum, all very useful, especially as I am having a serious clean out.

I have a silver cutlery set, about 30 pieces. In my country of origin it is a bit of a tradition for the godmother to buy a couple of pieces every year for the god child and this is how my set came about. I had one fork and one spoon and used these daily when I was a child. I have had the rest of the set for some 30 years. My husband and I used these for 6 months when we got married. We then bought our own house, dishwasher included, and stopped using the cutlery as the dishwasher & detergent ruin the silver.

I have taken this cutlery with us when we moved house, but basically it has been in the back of a cupboard for 17 or so years.

The cutlery is from Germany, and the series is discontinued.

What should I do with this set? I looked on ebay and found only a couple of unsuccessful auction listings. I think I'd have been happy to pass it on to someone who wanted it to add to their collection.

I can't bring myself to throw it in the bin, but I am not sure it is good if I keep it forever after. My dishwasherless friend said she would have it, but I nearly can't do that either. After talking to her, I remembered how much I liked the feel of it in my mouth and how much I actually liked the design. It proved impractical to use once we had the dishwasher and I think it would be even more impractical now that we have kids.

I am really not sure what I should do with it. I actually want it gone, but can't bring myself to do it. I will await your practical tips! Thanks in advance

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

hi maxine.
i have silver cutlery too....and i love to use it every day.
i handwash mine (no dishwasher here....we actually enjoy the ritual of washing up together after a meal) and then about once a month i clean it using tinfoil and washing soda.
twice a year or so, i sit down and polish it properly with brasso or silvo.
it takes very little time and six monthly clean is done with cups of coffee and music.

i also have beautiful old irish linen napkins.
when i bought them, they were fifty years old and they had never been used.
they had the original sizing on them, and it had gone all yellow and cracked.
i laundered them, ironed them, and threw a dinner party.
and now we use them at least three times a week and again, caring for them takes very little time.
to think of them languishing in a trunk somewhere, waiting for a special enough occasion....when the very act of putting them on the table makes it a special occasion!

i figure life is too short for paper napkins and cheap cutlery, especially if you have the good stuff in a drawer somewhere.
the things that make me happiest are the small gracious things....and i do not begrudge them the time it takes to look after them.
i don't have a lot of stuff (especially not after the last 2 years of major decluttering), but what i do have, i cherish. and i use it.
i would gently encourage you to enjoy your beautiful silver. it sounds pretty special. and there is much much more to life than mere convenience.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

i have a silver cutlery set, and i put it in the dishwasher. no problems, just look for a silver-friedly cleanser.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

I love my Moms silver set that I was given. I agree with bandicoot-I try to use it as often as I can. If we- and by that I mean "me"- slow down enough to enjoy using and taking care of something- it's really not a chore. Of course, I probably would not have said the same thing 10 years ago when I still had 5 kids at home to feed 3 meals a day! Then again, I didn't have the silver then, either.

Posted 1 year ago #
Netleigh
Member

We just don't put the silverware in the dishwasher. Along with wooden spoons, my sharp kitchen knives and delicate glassware they go next to the sink for handwashing.
It is not too great a burden to handwash then leave them to drain in a rack and my son and husband are trained up to separate and recognise what does go into the dishwasher and what doesn't.

If you love it use it, if not then free yourself from the guilt and let it find someone who will love it.

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahJ
Member

I have silver, too. I use it. Anytime it's more than just my husband and I eating, I get out the china, the silver, and the cloth napkins. (I decided not to just pull them out for fancy special occasions, because let's face it, the odds of the Queen stopping by for tea are pretty slim.) I also don't have a dishwasher, so I have to wash everything by hand anyway.

Posted 1 year ago #
Claycat
Member

I have a set of Buttercup Sterling that my grandmother gave to me. My mother added a few pieces along the way. My husband and I use it and enjoy it every day! We wash it by hand.

This is just a theory, but I believe eating from silver has health benefits. We have fewer colds. I know people use colloidal silver for its health benefits, so it made me wonder.

Posted 1 year ago #
WendyTheWindbag
Member

I just pulled my silver set out to poish and use for every day also! It is silly to keep it stored.

Posted 1 year ago #
ninakk
Member

Welcome! It's supposedly the reaction between silverware and non-silverware in water, which makes the silvery items go bad. As long as you place silver in other compartments than those of stainless steel etc. and also see to it that no silver touches other metals, you should be fine.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jude2004
Member

If you love it, use it.

Posted 1 year ago #
BevAnn
Member

I never wash my good knives, Calphalon cookware, or plastic glasses in the dishwasher - therefore every time we wash, we do a machine load and a hand wash load. It's no big deal to do both, since not much needs hand washing. Just takes about 10 minutes depending.

I'd say keep it and use it!

Posted 1 year ago #
lucy1965
Member

As everyone has covered the "If you love it, use it!" side of the equation, it's up to me to be the contrarian *grin* and suggest Replacements: the company buys discontinued patterns and makes them available to people who are looking for them. You're not likely to get a lot for it, but it will be out of your house and someone may be thrilled to have those pieces.

OTOH, like bandicoot, I have linen napkins that I bought on eBay years ago -- huge things from the '30s, never used -- and they're in constant rotation. The Abingdon "Cookie Time" jar and '40s Cornishware pudding basin are used for their intended purposes, to the horror of the person who sold me both, so I'm sympathetic.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sky
Member

If you love it, use it. If you don't, let it go to someone that will enjoy it. It is only silverware....not worth a quilt trip!

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

oh,I would have loved to inherit silver. I love to use it. However, I do have a small collection from an antique store in Provence, so I am able to pull it out when I wish. Strangely, DH, and also my best friend, does not like to use it because it "changes the taste" of the food. Which is why I love it. I always think food tastes better (and I eat more slowly) with silver.

Posted 1 year ago #
WendyTheWindbag
Member

WendyTheWindbag
Member
I just pulled my silver set out to poish and use for every day also! It is silly to keep it stored.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #
"polish", is what I meant to say, poish is not a Minnesota word, although we do have some; oohff duhh! My spelling has deteriorated since computers started doing it for me.

Posted 1 year ago #
Charity
Member

I have a silver set too, wedding present from DH's grandmother. We asked for stainless steel, but she upgraded against our wishes (this is MIL's mother, for those who read my other posts) and consequently in 9 years we have never ever used them. Infuriating. I don't love them at all, certainly not enough to handwash. Dh is in charge of handwashing the non-dishwasher items he insists we have - wooden chopping boards, posh wine glasses - and generally they sit there for a few days before the cleaner comes (twice weekly). Drives me nuts but I refuse to do them myself as it makes my hands sore. I' love to be rid of the cutlery, but it isn't up to me, and of course it is vey valuable, over UK£1k at the time.

PS I agree, silver makes food taste bad.

Posted 1 year ago #
maxinemarshall
Member

thanks ever so much for your suggestions. I polished it all up last night. I think I will use it. I will have a look on the internet about the dishwasher and silverware, and if that doesn't work I will hand wash it. It was late 1993 when we last used it, so much has changed since then. I only became aware of the internet in 1995. Isn't it wonderful that I am able to get all your opinions and ideas in such a short space of time. Thank you once more. I will use the cutlery and carry on getting rid of almost everything else!

Posted 1 year ago #
Netleigh
Member

Charity, you 'refuse to do them myself as it makes my hands sore'? What about using washing up gloves. I do, but pvc ones because I'm latex allergic. It felt funny years ago when I started using gloves because of eczema but I'm pretty dextrous now while wearing them.

Posted 1 year ago #

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