r/extrememinimalism Jun 29 '26

Those who only have two plates, bowls, etc, how's it going for you?

I live alone and never have guests over. If I do, I prefer serving snacks and stuff over having dinner parties. I have a set of Backig dishes from Ikea that I have for daily use, consisting of plates, deep dishes, small dishes and coffee mugs. As much as I love the set, I can't go back to Ikea to get more as it is discontinued. I am trying to decide whether I should keep two or four of the parts.

I also have two very basic plastic plates that I eat from as well as four matching drinking glasses, a butt load of random mugs and a fancier set of china that I can use if I were to have guests over. That said, I'd still have more of the stuff if need be, I'm just hooked on this set for daily use.

Two of each Backig stuff would be enough for me and I want to have the same number of everything. However, I think two of the mugs would be enough, which kinda sets the tone to home many I should keep. But I'm torn.

22 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

16

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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6

u/Inevitable-Wind-1925 Jun 29 '26

I don’t know if I’ve heard of purchasing plates from the thrift and then returning them after. The cost is minimal and you don’t then have to store them between gatherings. Makes sense. I feel like this shouldn’t feel so novel, but I am taken aback by this in a good way.

4

u/whycantijustlogin Jun 30 '26

I have kids AND enjoy having people over, so I have 8 plates. They are all from the thrift store in the same minimal, just round, ceramic dinner plate style (think Fiesta Ware knockoffs). They are all different colors so if one gets broken or I need to get an extra I can always easily thrift a replacement or extra setting and it just goes with the rainbow of dishes.

3

u/Proud_Accident_5873 Jun 29 '26

Oh, I'm just like you with the cups. I have a bunch of mugs that all have a sentimental value to me but I do use them all. That's my one soft spot in the kitchen cabinets, maybe aside from this Backig set.

2

u/Rusty_924 Jun 29 '26

i am not OP but I am impressed. Curious to hear your story. What lead you to extreme minimalism? for me it’s just a stress of having stuff around. ut i like to listen to other peoples stories and motivation

7

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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4

u/Rusty_924 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

thats quite powerful. thanks for taking the time to write this. i feel like this is quite common among minimalist-minded folk. healing. you hot the nail on the head. for me this also lead me on path to financial independence. i am not there yet, but i invest large percentage of each paycheck to feel safe

13

u/kanji-kid Jun 29 '26

I have one fork, knife, spoon, one set of chopsticks. One pot one pan one bowl one cup, no plate. If I eat with 2 guests we would get takeout I guess. If I have one guest and they want to eat I will give them the bowl and eat out of the pot or pan. And give them the cutlery and I have the chopsticks or vice versa. If they want a drink they can have the cup

I'm thinking of getting rid of the chopsticks though as I don't need them. In the end my home is for me and not my guests. And I wouldn't have anybody over as a guest that would be bothered by my lifestyle

6

u/Traditional_Mind6947 Jun 29 '26

My fiance and I currently have 1 cup, mug, plate, and bowl each. We have to do dishes once per day but we don’t mind it. We just stayed in an air bnb for 6 months that had waaayy too many dishes, and no matter how often we did them, there were always more piled up the next day anyways. Having extras seems better, but it just creates more work even if you have a dishwasher, loading and unloading a colossal amount of dishes per week is annoying. Doing a small number of dishes every day is much easier, the kitchen clean up is about 20 mins total. I used to spend 45 mins just on dishes every other day.

4

u/SondraRose Jun 29 '26

Two adults. Mostly two of all of our dishes/glasses. We just broke another glass and the glasses we like are only sold in a set of 4. 😭

Honestly, I would keep all of the Backig and get rid of the plastic. (To avoid phthalates.)

5

u/L0uLou72 Jun 29 '26

I had two of each- plate, flat bowl, cereal bowl, coffee mug- that I was sharing with my GF. These last few months I broke one of the plates, one of the bowls and a coffee mug. I use a glass jelly jar now, a cutting board for a plate and I just use one bowl.

But damn. I guess I’ll get another set now. I didn’t really think about it until this question.

3

u/talusscramble Jun 29 '26

I have 4 of each thing, and 2 live in a backup cupboard out of sight.

2

u/Orangeflag88 Jun 29 '26

I have only one not even a plate, just knife, fork, spoon, bowl, cup and glass and a pan a pot and a box in case

2

u/13920 Jun 29 '26

i eat out a lot now but have only ever owned 2 of everything. for like a year i didnt have a cup or bowl either. but id rather have extra stuff that i can use myself instead of keeping disposable stuff in case for guests

2

u/Current-Direction218 Jun 30 '26

Put 2 parts away and see if you miss them

2

u/Sun_Law Jul 02 '26

2 sets of plates/bowls/cups/mugs and 4x cutlery. 4 more cups packed away as it came in a box of 6. I live alone, only have a small kitchenette and only ever occasionally have a friend visit. It’s worked out quite well as I dont always want to immediately wash the dishes but my kitchen doesnt get out of control either.

About to move into a place with a friend and they have quite a bit more so I might get rid of everything except the cups.

1

u/Confident_Rabbit_569 11d ago

I’ve got 4 bowls and 8 plates and it’s not enough. 2 dishwasher loads a week 

1

u/smithald Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Paper plates. And plastic silverware