Long Married Peas do you wish you could....

If you really feel guilty getting rid of all of it and starting over because you have so many serving pieces, why not try to find new dishes that will coordinate with your serving pieces. That way, you blend some of the old and new.

It really is ok to replace your dishes and start over if you want. It can be expensive though so if you decide to do it slowly, make sure you choose something that will be around for a while. I have 4 place settings of dishes that I am using right now. They were a Christmas present a few years back but we only recently got rid of our old and started using them. However, you can't buy these anymore so I am buying solid color fiestaware to coordinate with them. I know you said you don't like fiestaware so I am not suggesting that you go with that. But, one thing I will tell you about fiestware, which is the primary reason I decided to give it a try since I needed something to coordinate, this stuff really holds up well. We use the dinner plates every day. I use at least one bowl almost every day. We have had these pieces for about 6-8 months now. There is not a single chip on any of them. On the other hand, the other dishes that we started using had chips on them within a week or two. DH almost always does the dishes and he does not seem to be very careful. LOL I will continue to buy fiestaware for this reason alone.

I'm just impressed that you have your original dishes still. My original set only lasted about 12 years. I had to replace them with a set from Ikea because I was down to four plates and three bowls. The Ikea set is now chipped and ugly with missing pieces (how do you all not get broken glasses and dishes??) so I need a new set. I'm hesitating though because I need 12 place settings (big family and I want enough for guests.) It's a big expense to buy 12 place settings.

My dh has talked about getting a new set of pots and pans and giving our dd our old ones. They are all in good condition, but I have a mismatched bunch that were purchased at different times.

Sell it all on Craig's list and use the money towards new dishes! Life is short!

I was married the first time in 1998 and I could definitely stand to replace some of my missing tupperware and my pots and pans.  I recently replaced my dishes with fiestaware and I am loving that.  I was able to donate my old dishes to a friend in need so at least I know someone is using them.

OMG...I wish we could have a long married shower and start over LOL

I really like when people unload their wedding china at goodwill or grandma's giveaway dishes.

I have bought Spode, mikasa, and noritaki. For $1 to. $2. A plate. I bought giveaway china for $.99.

I pass on fiesta or any of the stone / pottery plates. To heavy.

I still like my china, and we got basic heavy white plates when we married, so I can't hate those (we've been married 18 years, well, as of next month).

My kids have been kind enough to break or lose pretty much everything else.  Where did all of my teaspoons from my original silverware go?  Why do I not have a single drinking glass from my original set?  What happened to all of those glass serving bowls?  

Of course, I can't blame them for the fact that I think we broke all of our original every day wine glasses  .

I do the same thing! I pick up a piece or two of whatever I think is pretty, and the ones that I don't like anymore get thrown into a bag to use as mosaic pieces later.

We never registered for china in the first place, so we never had any. Our house at the time was too small to host anything and we worked all the time so what was the point? We still have our everyday Corelle from our wedding though, blue and red country flowers that I'm not in love with (I thought they were blue and pink when we registered for them). We did get some pretty Pfalzgraff canisters, sugar/creamer and S/P shakers that I still like.

The funny thing is when we entertain (even for big holidays) we break out the REALLY GOOD stuff--the CHINET, LOL, and it can all go in the trash when we're done!

I've been married for 17 years and it's only now that I have a set of dishes that I truly love ... yup, they're Fiestaware   

I think I've gone through three or four sets previous to getting these a couple of years ago ...

I say if you don't love them anymore it is time to move on   

Been married twenty years and finally changed some things out a couple of years ago. I think the only thing I have left from my wedding is DH.

I've been married over 40 yrs and I have replaced my dishes several times. I get tired of the same old thing so I get rid of them and get new. I never buy really expensive dishes so it isn't too hard to replace them. I have fiesta now and am loving those!

I say go for it. Who cares. Donate it and move on. I have gotten new dishes 4 or 5 times in 19 years. I get sick of them and find something else. I don't think everything needs to match the serving dishes. Right now we have all hand made (by my MIL) stonewear serving pieces and white dishes. Mix and match. Enjoy it. Life is short.