The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

Take kitchen roll.
I like kitchen roll to be thick and strong.
I use it to dry veg I've just washed, before they gets stir-fried.
Those sheets then get used to wipe down the sink and worktop, or to wipe away oil from the frying pan after stir-fries, and then any still-clean pieces finally get used for spills on the floor, etc.

I decided to try a brand that was on special offer, so was cheaper.
Bad move,
It was the thinnest kitchen roll I'd ever used. It was almost like a Kleenex tissue it was so thin.
After drying veg, it was useless for much else, as it disintegrated easily. So I end up using twice as much and get through the roll in super-quick time.

That's not cheaper, is it?

Even though I compare numbers of sheets on a roll, etc., you can't really compare sheet thickness without buying and opening it. Even the squeeze test isn't foolproof.

So I shan't bother going for cheap rolls any more, and just using more!

Same with washing-up liquid. Cheap stuff is just more diluted, so you use more.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

Take kitchen roll.

I buy cheapest as it's just used to cover something in the microwave or to wipe down a small worktop spill in the main.

Once used, if still "clean" I leave it on the worktop in case another small splash of water or spill occurs... and 2-3 will often sit scrunched up beside the sink to be used/re-used if they're not actually "dirty".

Sometimes, if I've got to the stage where there's 3-4 and if I've just done all the washing up and there are wet splashes on the worktop from when my wet hand's reached over for each of the items that was stacked waiting to be washed, I'll finally use that pile of kitchen towels up to wipe down the worktop/around the sink where the washing up water's splashed and then they're popped in the bin.

So cheapest, for me, works.

chris_m

Pyxis wrote: »

I'm in the process of renewing my glassware and crockery.

It's interesting, because years ago, plates and bowls used to be sold in sets of 6, yet now, so many are sold in sets of 4.

Which means that dishwasher still don't match the quantities - many nowadays being labelled as for 13 or even 15 place settings

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've no glasses whatsoever. I drink from cheery plastic beakers

For plates etc, I buy singles. Again, "if nothing matches you don't have to worry about matching things" - I've got three dinner plates now, one is plain white/oval and the other two have green and grey dots on. All from £land.

I've two bowls that are good for eating whole meals from, or two weetabix. £land/similar.

I've 2 matching "side plates" in a swirled "spun" red colour - and one Portmeirion (maybe a botanic) I got at a car boot for 10p.

I mostly eat from plastic picnic plates and a couple of melamine plates I bought (Xmas design!)... they're used for all the "non messy food" like toast, sandwiches, biscuits, cold bit of quiche ... small stuff where no sauce is involved.

I bought two mugs for 50p and another of a different shape for about £1. These are mostly used for cooking my cooked breakfasts and heating beans. I've a mug I "inherited" that's a good size for making yorkshire batter.

Good,we now know what to bring to the house warming party :T

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

Good,we now know what to bring to the house warming party :T

When I moved in here, my friend brought over a bottle of wine - and her own glass, saying "I know you don't have glasses" ... and she took it home with her again. She also knows I don't drink wine, but that was brought for her in any case in the main as she's a "bottle a day, at least" person

Glasses are a dangerous faff aren't they - you have to be so careful with them, they take up cupboard space ... and once one's broken you've lost "the set".

If I wanted to buy myself a wine glass... I'd look in £land for the colourful plastic ones

michaels

I drink pretty much only water. If you drink out of a plastic cup you can taste the plastic.

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

If you drink out of a plastic cup you can taste the plastic.

I've never noticed it.

I've got this set, £1.60 for 6: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/childrens-ikea-products/children-3-7/childrens-tableware/kalas-mug-mixed-colours-art-10192956/

And I got a juice jug with a lid and marked for measurements that also came with 2 slightly larger beakers... I bought that for making squash as it saved me measuring an amount in a measuring jug just to pour into an unmarked jug.

Doozergirl

michaels wrote: »

I drink pretty much only water. If you drink out of a plastic cup you can taste the plastic.

I can't bear drinking out of plastic.

I can do the bottles that drinks come in, but I can't do beakers or plastic wine glasses. I can taste the plastic and I can't bear the 'softness' of it. And it smells.

Bit of a problem for me with reusable water bottles. I have one that I can use that I don't mind, but if someone ever puts squash in one, that's it. It smells and tastes like squash forever. Gross.

Pyxis

I'm really funny about what I'll drink green tea and coffee out of!

For example, tea, any tea, tastes heaps better when drunk from porcelain cups.
If I can't get porcelain, then bone china is good.
Whether porcelain or bone china, it has to be thin.

(There is a scientific explanation for why it tastes better, but I can't remember what it is).

I don't drink much coffee now, but when I do, it's drunk out of a pottery cup with my name on it that I had made for me 40 years ago!

I really don't like tea drunk out of pottery cups. The thickness of the rims spoils the drinking experience!

Even food seems better when eaten off bone china/porcelain plates and bowls. It's pretty tough stuff, too, and all the modern stuff is dish-washer safe, and a lot is microwave-safe too.

Pyxis

With regard to glasses, Pastures, it depends on how good the glass is.

In the 70s, I was given a rather distinctive set of 6 (6!) wine glasses.

They survived house moves and constant use, and much later on they survived dishwasher cleaning too.

Ok, stuff happens, and they do eventually break, usually due to human cack-handedness, and a few months ago I was down to my last glass. Not bad for 40 years, though.

However, , I found the same ones, now classified as vintage, on the internet and bought them, so now have seven!
When I was putting them through the dishwasher, to give them their first good wash after they arrived, I dropped one into the dishwasher. It bounced off a pottery bowl and landed in the bottom of the dishwasher. Miraculously it was intact!
However, the pottery bowl it had bounced off had broken into two large pieces!

I was relieved, 'cos I really like them.

So if you buy reasonable quality glassware, it should last quite a while.

I must admit, I have had cheap glasses that break as soon as you even think about tapping them against something. You do get what you pay for, with things like glassware and china.




By the way, you can get good bargains on glasses in charity shops. I got 4 half pint stemmed beer goblets, for next to nothing, and a set of glasses like my favourite but half the size, also very cheaply.
Worth having a look.