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My mug shot

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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?

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  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.

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