[Closed] Cups in cupboards - today's moral dilema

It keeps the inside of the cup/glass dust free and clean. Why on earth would you put them away the right way up? 😉

stops you drinking dead flies dunnit.

FWIW I have mugs face down, some glasses face up and other glasses face down.

I'm confused.

gonefishing - putting them in upside down leads to chips around the edge?

putting them in upside down puts the rim on your dirty shelf...

I don't own anything delicate enough for that to be an issue. 🙂

putting them in upside down leads to chips around the edge

you're either cack-handed TJ or you drink your tea from fine bone china. The bourgeois these days eh?

I hope the upsidedowners clean their shelves daily. Otherwise you are putting the mouth edge of the glass onto a dirty shelf. Less of an issue if it's just the base of the glass

one way up they get dirty lips, the other they get dust in them.
at the end of the day, both ways are problematic if you really care about avoiding a bit of an immune system boost.

have you tried to pour your tea into the bottom of an upturned mug tankslapper?

I put all my glasses upside down too but them i have the clip mats they use in pubs for storing glasses, mainly because i prefer them like that and don't want dead flies/ dust etc in them!

Upside down to stop stuff ending up in them.
As for chipping them, what are your shelves made of?!?! Might worry if I used riven flags as shelves but the usual covered chipboard stuff seems fairly safe.

My real problem with this kind of thing is people "helping" full stop.
NO! The cups don't go there.
NO! That is not how the dishwasher is loaded.
YES! That is EXACTLY where I want it.
Usually pretty laid back, certainly not a neat freak by a huge margin but an a little "particular" about the strangest things

Upside down to stop stuff ending up in them.

And what, exactly, is going to 'end up in them' eh?

2-3 inches above the cup is another shelf. Or the top of the cupboard. Turn them upside down and the rim you drink from is in contact with the shelf. How often do you clean your shelves?
So ask yourself, what do I want to put in my mouth? The edge of a cup that's only had fresh air round it since I last used it, or one that's been dragged twice over a shelf that's been cleaned once this year.....

😈

Do you upside down lot not have doors on your cupboards? Just shutting the doors seems to do a pretty good job of keeping dust, flies etc out of things as far as I can see.

I lay all mine on their side within two hermetically sealed containers.

Ours hang on a mug tree! 😯

ours, on average spend less than 24 hours in the cupboard before coming back into circulation and being used/dishwashed.

We rarely clean our cupboard shelves and I'd notice a dead fly in a cup long before I dropped a tea bag in on or put it in the coffee machine...

Things get in them when they are upright???!!!

Where the hell do you people live? Chessington Zoo?!

See what I mean? As surfr and a number of people point out, cups upside down means the lip touches the shelf surface, so unless you clean your shelves on a daily basis then Euuuugggghhhhh!

What is going to get onto the rim of the cup? Either the same stuff that would be inside a right way up cup (but only a tiny amount on the rim rather than THE ENTIRE INSIDE SURFACE!) of the stuff on the shelf is also all over the outside of the cup (but not the inside at least.
So in summary, it is either
1. All clean and drinking vessel orientation is a matter of personal preference
or
2. There is lethal stuff everywhere and inverting drinking vessels cannot prevent ingestion, but can minimise it.
or possibly
3. something else...

Tracker1972 - my cupboard shelves tend to get cleaned when a) there's a spillage or b) we have a new kitchen installed.

Rubbing the rims of my mugs all over shelves that have had dust fallin on them for a long time is surely worse than the dust that may setlle in them in the 12 hours they are sat facing up?

LOL @ stoner - and this thread in total 🙂

But if the cupboard is full of mugs, then the dust will settle mostly on the mug bases, and not on the cupboard shelf anyway...

I out mine on their side, less dust and not a lot of shelf/rim contact.

funkynick-welcome to the clear thinking side of the world!
wwaswas-lift and place don't drag! That would need a whole new thread on it's own!

Surely the cup sits upside down on its saucer, rim of washed cup in contact with washed saucer & nothing comes into contact with the shelf surface except the base of the saucer........

I just use disposable paper cups.

Worrying levels of dust in a cupboard! Who are you people? Howard Hughes!

Using this 'logic' we would all be better buying a dishwasher and living out of it until such times as you had enough plates and cups stacked on the side to start again - is this the end of cupboards as we know it?

hilldodger- a saucer is a medieval device used for exactly the purpose you describe but with lower incidences of plague and advances in cupboard door technology is sadly outdated.
Ian- how exactly do you store the paper cups, in a cupboard? are they individually sealed or in an open pack? A pack that is opened at the base of the cups may hold some promise but the waxy coating may harm the delicate flavour of my Earl Grey.

I have the same issue, my MIL is also short so anything that goes high up gets stuffed in to lower shelves .... the one that has the misses hopping is when the airing cupboard gets "re-organised" ... still its free childcare so the pluses outweigh the minuses

Having two dishwashers is the way forward you just unload clean stuff, use it and then place in the other machine. Once the 'dirty' machine is full wash the stuff and reverse the process.

I use paper cups, sorted!!

The problem with this thread is that you're all consuming beverages that need to be taken in a mug.

Why? What is there nice about tea or coffee or hot bovril or any other hot drink? You're all weeeeeeird.

😆

tankslapper- that very innovation is most passionately argued by my brother but basically it involves 2 dishwashers and yes, no cupboards.
Use dishwasher A to store dirty "stuff" until full, then wash.
Only remove "stuff" as it is required and replace in dishwasher B until B is full, then wash.
No unnecessary unloading and even makes meal planning easier...
"whats for lunch?"
"only got bowls left"
"right, soup it is then!"
Think you will have to agree, genius (and coincidentally I was drinking Guinness at the time).

All this from a bunch of people who will probably ingest a lifetimes mug/cup rim contaminant in the first ten minutes of a muddy ride.

MrNuts - Member
I use paper cups, sorted!!

Ian- how exactly do you store the paper cups, in a cupboard? are they individually sealed or in an open pack?

Surely the whole point of the cupboard is to keep stuff from falling in your cups?

Tracker. wwaswas is your brother?! See above?

that you Adam?

[i]Ian- how exactly do you store the paper cups, in a cupboard? are they individually sealed or in an open pack? A pack that is opened at the base of the cups may hold some promise but the waxy coating may harm the delicate flavour of my Earl Grey.[/i]

Sorry I forgot to expand on this, I take topmost cup from the pack, but they're stored upside down and in a plastic bag to keep dust free. To clarify, I take the one whose inside is not potentially exposed to dust - naturally the last cup gets thrown straight in the bin. It's true the waxyness taint the flavour of Earl Grey and Herbal teas, but that's the least of your worries if you're drinking such muck. However if you insist on quaffing such beverages an alternative is disposable plastic cups. I find them slightly down market, but they may help with the particular circumstances that you describe.

I drink from a crap-covered camelbak thingie when out riding or walking. The inside of the hose is covered in black mould.

I don't worry which way up my mugs go.

(However, fine glasses and stemware go base downwards to prevent chipping)

wwaswas- I can see we are closely related spiritually but unless you have shortened Tim to wwaswas it is not genetic. Twin dishwashing is truly a future we can all work towards however, as is quicker one handed typing for me (no, not enjoying this [i]that[/i] much, knackered shoulder slowing me down).

I think I'd probably want 6 dishwashers and 3 complete sets of crockery saucepans and cutlery etc. You would be able to guarantee that you'd have everythign available for any meal you wanted to cook and still be able toput the 'dirty' stuff in a dishwasher not currentyl occupied by clean.

I've not got to the point of laying awake worryign about it but I did look at the plumbing implications in the kitchen.

I don't know, I have other, more important things to think about. Like those spoons I got the other week that are just a bit to big to be tea spoons and a bit too small for soup spoons. Where do they go? With the teaspoons? with the Other Spoons? Why do they seem to sneak in with the forks when the cutlery drawer gets closed? It's all getting too much for me, I can tell you.

[i]rogerthecat - Member
All this from a bunch of people who will probably ingest a lifetimes mug/cup rim contaminant in the first ten minutes of a muddy ride.
[/i]

Would be the case, but STWers clearly don't have the time to ride judging from this thread. Oh wait...

Ian- I can see you have considered this at great length and come up with an admirable solution. I am not sure that plastic disposables will prove practicable with any hot beverage though?
As we await the dawning of what will surely be looked back upon as a golden age of civilisation (the Twin Dishwasher Years) maybe some kind of cup liner prophylactic device is required?
A cupdom® if you will.

wwaswas- when you choose what to eat you have to start somewhere, why not with the (limited) available crockery/cooking utensils? I am certain it would lead to a whole new genre of equipment rather than ingredient or taste led cuisine.

see previous thread re: meal planning - I'm not sure my wife could cope with planning meals based on what might be in the dishwasher a week on Friday...

Right, well our glasses are slightly conical, so we store them up/down/up/down so that they fit together better and we can get more in the cupboard.

So there.

Oooh, I've never selected crockery on the grounds of 'propensity to tessalate'.

There's possibilities in that 😉

The relative packing fractions of different products could be life or death in "The Twin Dishwasher Years".
I wonder if legislation will be required to force manufacturers to put a packing index on packaging or would they self regulate?
EDIT- we did select square crockery for the campervan based on packing space v food area though.

'tessalate'

I like it! 😀

Back on OP - surely you 'upside-downers' must have cupboard liners or something to rest cup/glass edges on? Preventing chipping/marks/dirt?

Having a slightly similar experience - my MIL is helping out with our new additions and every time she comes up she attacks my cheese. She doesn't slice it or grate it. She breaks chunks off with a spade or something. Then leaves it in the fridge, unwrapped, to dry out.

Grrrrr

Tesselate - I like it better.

In my missus family they put cups in a drawer, which just seems WRONG to me, but I have got used to it, so when visitors come it seems strange that they can't find the cups.

I discourage visitors by only having one cup. And spoon.

What do you use the spoon for?

That's right Simon, blame the crockery...

[i] simonfbarnes - Member

I discourage visitors by only having one cup. And spoon. [/i]

does your being simonfbarnes not discourage them in the first place?

What do you use the spoon for?

it's an eating utensil

actually I wasn't being quite truthful. I have 2 cups. And a friend gave me a teaspoon she stole from a Virgin train. But I don't drink tea.

This thread clearly needs a pic of said Mother-in-Law.

tankslapper - Member
'tessalate'

I like it!

Back on OP - surely you 'upside-downers' must have cupboard liners or something to rest cup/glass edges on? Preventing chipping/marks/dirt?

I go through my dishes easily so I keep them upright but if I didn't use them for ages then upside down is a good idea.

Then again if it's been that long-better off washing?

Immune system should kick in though -I mean what about all the spiders you swallow in your sleep?

simonfbarnes - Member

I discourage visitors by only having one cup. And spoon.

....and to save on tea they drink from the spoon? 😆

mastiles_fanylion - Member

Having a slightly similar experience - my MIL is helping out with our new additions and every time she comes up she attacks my cheese. She doesn't slice it or grate it. She breaks chunks off with a spade or something. Then leaves it in the fridge, unwrapped, to dry out.

Grrrrr

OMG! I'm going to have nightmares! That is just plain wrong!!!!

In my missus family they put cups in a drawer, which just seems WRONG to me, but I have got used to it, so when visitors come it seems strange that they can't find the cups.

NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

But I don't drink tea.

I'm putting in a new kitchen soon and this twin dishwasher things sounds like a winner.

Why don't kitchen designers copy the dishwasher designers and make a cupboard that stores crockery etc in exactly the same way as a dishwasher? It's amazing that you can get ALL your kitchenware in one 600mm washer but it takes several cupboards to store it in when it has been washed.

Or do the dishwasher manufacturers build in some sort of space/time wormhole in order to fit it all in.

I think we, the innocent public, should be told. I don't want to destroy the universe by incorrectly loading a dishwasher.

simonfbarnes - Member
I discourage visitors by only having one cup. And spoon.

So if I visit you, I not only don't get a cup of tea, I have to get into bed with you and cuddle?

Why don't kitchen designers copy the dishwasher designers and make a cupboard that stores crockery etc in exactly the same way as a dishwasher?

just buy a 2nd hand broken dishwasher :o)

robdob - Member

I'm putting in a new kitchen soon and this twin dishwasher things sounds like a winner.

...and so the golden age begins...

.and so the golden age begins...

People will come from far and wide to see this new age of crockery storage/cleansing.

Hopefully I'll be able to charge admittance to view it.

I not only don't get a cup of tea, I have to get into bed with you and cuddle?

I can't say till I've seen you - you might not be my type 🙁 Oh and you'd better bring some tea too, and milk if you want any...

And a chuffin' cup too! 😉

I may as well stay at home and devise my twin dishwasher kitchen.

Mwahahahaaaa!

robdob- I hope your fellow visionaries (myself and wwaswas) will be invited to the inaugural loading and kitchen opening. We could cut a ribbon on each machine 🙂

I may as well stay at home and devise my twin dishwasher kitchen.

and just think, a little light comes on when you open the door - take [b]THAT[/b] boring shadowy wooden cupboards!!

My dishwasher doesn't have a little light - was I conned?

My dishwasher doesn't have a little light - was I conned?

REALLY ? Perhaps I made that bit up. I've never actually looked inside a dishwasher as they are of course, the work of the Devil ...