I recently gave away three pillowcases that I had come to HATE, and replaced them with handmade white linen pillowcases. I gave away some cloth dinner napkins that I had always loathed and replaced them with hand-hemmed white linen napkins that I made from the leftover linen.
It feels good to get rid of the old stuff and replace it with quality stuff that is just right!
One of these days, I'm going to buy some linen to make napkins. I'm still using paper because I have not found a linen napkin in the stores that is soft enough. All of them are too heavy, and since I'm not going to fold them into swans, I'd like a lighter weight linen.
I enjoyed upgrading, too! I like quality a lot better than quantity.
Try Ebay for old linen napkins. I have my great-grandmother's old linen napkins and tablecloth and they are thin (but not too thin) and soft and good for another 100 years, or so it seems.
Of course, there are 12 napkins in the set and I never have 12 people over for dinner, so 6 of them are masquerading as kitchen curtains.
Upgrading is how I got my husband on board with decluttering. We focus on keeping only a few high quality items around instead of multiple inferior items. It's awesome!!! As times goes by we have done this with more and more of our home. Congrats, and enjoy! :)
My DH bought new linen napkins at Christmas. Thy look lovely, but are thick/heavy and not especially absorbent. Sigh. I want to wash them several hundred times and tumble them with rocks to soften them up.....
Seconding xarcady on checking eBay and Etsy: I found 14 big linen napkins from the '30s that had been languishing in a drawer somewhere for years.
they had linen bedding at a shop I was in the other day, soooo tempting, but the £200 price tag wasn't so tempting :) I had a lovely duvet cover which was a 50/50 linen cotton mix and it was lovely and soft, but it fell apart in the washing machine after 8 years or so. I've been searching for a replacement ever since, I really loved that bedding. Quality is certainly better than quantity :)
I had several sets of linen napkins from my Grandma, have used them constantly and they are all starting to give up the ghost. My new ones are cotton, from World Market ... not quite as nice, but so much cheaper than "new" linen - and less unforgiving.
I have napkins and tablecloths my Mom bought in Panama 50 years ago. Some are wearing out but they are the softest cotton. Pillow cases too. She used them everyday!
I have a handful of cotton napkins, white, that I have been picking up at the Goodwill when I need them. These have some crochet work on an edge that gives them a little extra nice feel. We use them now instead of paper napkins.
I'm trying to do a bit of moving up with my wardrobe, too. Granted, I'm still shopping second-hand, but thanks to doing that for a while, I'm learning which pricier brands are worth buying new (or at least on sale or at the outlets.) I like not having to replace basics all the time, and much prefer stuff that isn't going to fade or pill within the first year.
Trish: Upgrading is how I got my husband...
is how I read it!
I 'upgraded' when I remarried - number 2 is a real upgrade from number 1 ....
*cracking up at julia* Me, too!
Me three! Too funny.
Oh, #2 is definitely an upgrade! :)
I'm doing the same as jlbeany - no more ebay shopping for clothes! I'm purging and what I buy from now on will be pricier, but I'll buy fewer items that are better quality. That's basically what started my whole uncluttering lifestyle this year. Now that I've found all of you, you've inspired me to declutter the rest of my home!
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