What to do with all the bone china?

Our editor Adrienne Kohler ponders what to do with our parents’ many treasures when they downsize.

It was a post born out of desperation. After my siblings and I had spent the last eight weekends packing up my mother’s apartment when she moved into a care facility, I was left with boxes filled with her life; her genealogy papers, slides and photos, clothes and handbags, boxes filled with bone china, crystal glasses, crockery, bowls and glass ornaments.

I couldn’t bear to send it to landfill, they were all beautiful pieces but also from another more delicate time where they sat in a glass cabinet waiting for the magical, mystical day when the Queen finally paid a visit.

At first, we tried the redistribution system; the children and grandchildren selected their favourite pieces, but still many boxes remained.

In desperation, I sent out a plea on social media: What do we do with all the bone china?”

It clearly is a global issue, as my post received 1800 likes and 1500 replies. Many just sympathised with my plight and shared their experiences, but more than a few shared some great ideas for ways to prevent our parent’s treasures ending up in landfill.

The ideas tended to fall into three categories: recycle, reuse and repurpose. Recycle fans generally suggested op shops but as many of these are reaching saturation point, it pays to check with them first. Another suggestion was cafes that serve high teas, but these could be a little hard to track down, or asking local drama groups if they needed them for props.

Reuse was more practical. I selected one set I liked and now use that daily – sorry your Majesty, we’re not waiting any more. I overcame my fear of dropping the crystal wine glasses and use them with wild abandon now, and as they tend to be smaller I drink less too – so win win, and the larger crystal whisky glasses are now everyday water glasses.

However, I was still left with a good number of bone china tea sets and tiny port and sherry glasses. I filled the  smaller crystal whiskey glasses with pebbles and now use them to weigh down my sewing patterns.

The third category was repurpose, which opened up the chance for some creativity,

Some contributors to the thread broke up china to make mosaics and jewellery. Others made clocks from the plates.

One idea I loved was tea cup pin cushions – you make a pin cushion that fits in the tea cup, which you can also do to make candles. Others suggested making tiered stands, wind chimes, bird feeders and even fountains.

I came up with an idea for the sherry glasses, and filled them with glass bubbles used in aquariums and a test tube to turn them into propagators – also great for single blooms.

I’ve managed to find uses for part of the collection and as for the rest, well that is still sitting in boxes for now. I don’t want to part with them and perhaps someone else will find a use for them. And it is  a memento of a slower, more delicate life so perhaps I will just rotate them around and have Sunday afternoon high teas on the lawn, drinking Earl Grey and eating scones with cream and jam.