I am trying to make "new relationships with things" as part of my growth and change. I have tendencies to be a hoarder, things have been very emotionally bound to me. I'm working on things like a plate is a plate and not a history...
There is so much to say for family gatherings to use disposable, and there are all levels of disposable from plain white to eco-conscious to really pretty darn nice and fancy. Clean up is a breeze! A few more people, not much of a problem! And then there are the more... reusable but temporary? sort of cute things for holidays. Love snapping them up after the holiday at half or lower prices and use them the next time. Had a spot for a set of summer bbq dishes and plates, big colorful fish from Target or somewhere.
One concept I like is "let goodwill store it"! So many lovely things get donated (or at least in big cities). You can go out and get lovely center pieces or sets of dishes or whatever, bundles of stuff for $20 (the same I will spend on disposable). Yes, you still have to wash it but then just take it back and re-donate it. And yes, if you love something you might want to keep it. Likewise, if you do want to use real dishes, it is amazing what you can buy for cheap these days, thousands of dollars worth of 1960s formal wedding china, set for 12 for $40-100.
We moved one set of dishes with us, it had been our "good" dishes before the move. Thick Yorktown stoneware by Pfaltgraff it filled up the entire dishes with one meal (had to leave a space between each plate, etc.) for just the three of us and I didn't appreciate the disregard my son was showing them doing his only real chore of emptying the dishwasher. He would grab two bowls or plates at the same time out of the dishwasher and clack them together and suddenly I was getting chips and daily issues... Anyway, put them away and in a hutch and used thinner normal sized dishes for years.
We started getting the pieces in the 70s... the teapot is about to explode from all the crazing going on, one of these days it probably will just fall apart. It will be ok when it does, that piece does have a direct tie to my father who died when I was 15 but I've had it and used it for a long time, and basically a teapot isn't much good unused. It doesn't need to be kept as a tribute to my father, I just recognize that of all the things I have, I know he touched that.
Last month I went to a guild retreat and there was a potluck. I decided to make a quiche and I have a quiche dish in with my set that I have never used. I got it at the thrift store and believe it had never been used before I got it as well. I don't make quiches often and I thought about getting a cheap dish at the thrift store, but no -- I moved these dishes because I want them to be used. It made a beautiful quiche and survived the travel and potluck just fine. And is back in the hutch for who knows how long?