Skip to main content

My mug shot

Image
By
This is every mug I own.


How many did I buy? Zero. They seem to just appear.

I don't even drink tea or coffee. In winter I have might have a hot chocolate or cocoa. So 9 mugs seems like a lot.

How does this happen?

I reckon most mugs are gifts. There are two reasons for this.

1. It's a safe bet. People need to drink. It's kind of like buying your dad socks for father's day. But the difference is that socks wear out and need replacing. Cups don't. One of these mugs i received as a kid in the 90s. It still works fine. Now it has 8 friends.

2. It's often for what's on the mug. It might be a greeting card-style message, or a sports team logo, or something humorous. It's a good thing that something functional can also provide an inspiring message or pleasant memory as you use it.

But the problem comes when we have too much. If I use the cup my sister gave me at Christmas, then I'm not using the 'awesome brother' one she already gave me. And I'm not using the one mum gave me either.

So what to do?

If it were a different item I'd take photos of the memorable/sentimental ones, scale down to what I need and recycle the rest. But ceramic cups aren't recyclable and throwing them into landfill seems just as wasteful as having a shelf full of cups sitting untouched for 9 months each year.

I've considered selling some, but doesn't everyone else also have too many mugs? Who would want more?

What do you think? How many mugs do you have?
Would you like one with cartoon bees on it?
Read more about:

Comments

  1. Anonymous24 August 2018 at 19:51

    This is funny, we also have more than we need. I used to like having mugs that all match, but now I love the story behind every mug that I have.

    In the spirit of recycling and being green I've seen cafes at universities with a basket of old mugs at the counter that you can use (and return, if you want) instead of the plastic cups. Maybe it can be donated to a cafe like that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. david1 September 2018 at 15:31

    Hi Anonymous.
    Thanks for the tip. That's a good idea. I'll keep an eye out for a cafe like that.
    Also, I did manage to sell the one with the bees on it. A teacher wanted a mug for her classroom desk for pencils and thought the bees would be a design the (small) kids would love.
    Far better than it sitting in the back of my cupboard.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Big motivator for small living

By
It's been a while between posts here - mainly because we've been moving house. It's been a real motivator for downsizing. Packing each and every item we owned, really makes me wish there were fewer of them. Moving everything from the old apartment to the new one made me envious of those people who live in a "tiny house on wheels". For them moving house simply means towing it to a new location. No packing required. The whole process has reaffirmed our commitment to owning less stuff. So we're going to be intentional about downsizing. It will be an ongoing activity. My environmental heart couldn't stomach a spontaneous dumping of things into the garbage, but it's also more fun this way. Selling things online brings in some handy pocket money. Giving items away is also a great community activity, whether it is to friends and family, to charity or to people in the neighbourhood. I'm looking forward to it as a lifestyle rather than a task to do....
Post a Comment
Read more

The joy of selling - 3 ways it's great

By
My friend Stephen asked about charging for things. He felt bad about charging someone $30 for an artwork - even if it cost him much more. Should he feel bad? No. If someone wants to pay the price, they obviously value it highly (at least more than the $30). If he's willing to sell, he must value it less than $30. So it's going to the person who will get more joy out of it. Why not just give it to them for free? Money is a convenient way to measure value. It's also a way to share the joy. If Steve gives the art away then he no longer gets to enjoy it - so is worse off. By selling it for $30, he is happier with the $30, and the buyer is happier with the artwork. The end result of the sale is that both people are happier than they were before. Here are 3 reasons it's better to sell than to giveaway and how it helps you declutter and minimise better. 1. Money (most obviously). It might just be a few bucks here and there - but it adds up. My wife and I often sell an i...
2 comments
Read more

Offline

By
Yes, by now we all know that smartphones and social media are doing us harm. How do we harness the benefits of them without the destructive effects. The book Offline makes 5 main points. If you've only got a minute, here they are: The addictive design keeps us on online platforms longer. The 'brain hacks' disrupt our brain's ability to function. Humans need "real" interaction, and social media does not deliver this. Technoference (digital over-riding direct interactions at the play ground, coffee shop, dinner table) result in something valuable being lost. Speed of the transformation is astounding. 75% of people are connected, with almost half using social media. We have no idea what the long-term effects of this real-life experiment will be. Going a bit deeper, here are some of my highlights from the book. So what are side-effects? According to various studies, the effects can be grouped into the physiological (poor sleep, neural re-wiring, and increased str...
Post a Comment
Read more