Declutter and Simplify :: My One-Woman War on Sippy Cups

sippy cupsThere are adversaries in my house who must be defeated. They’re wreaking havoc, causing destruction, inciting sibling battles, and aggravating me at every turn. They must be stopped. I’m waging war against the sippy cups, and there will be casualties. I’ve had enough.

If you came to this post looking for solidarity on removing sippy cups from homes for developmental, aesthetic or other reasons, sorry to disappoint. I big red puffy heart LOVE sippy cups. Sippy cups for President.

I don’t, however, love how they’ve begun to rule my kitchen.

There’s a cupboard where the sippy cups dwell together. Every shape, size and style known to man has taken residence there. Cartoon characters, double-walled, grab & go – we’ve got them all. But there’s a problem.

I only like one brand, one style.

It’s the hero, the first cup I always reach for. Its cabinet mates only get called off the bench if my old stand-by is in the dishwasher. Sure, they’ve tried their best…but all of them have let me down.

  • They’ve leaked (on the floor, on the couch, in my diaper bag, on our shirts).
  • They require an advanced degree to reassemble with a half dozen plastic parts.
  • They’ve grown mold in tiny crevices that’s really freaked me out.
  • The toddler’s figured out how to get the lid off. The baby’s figured out how to get the lid off.
  • The straw’s been disfigured in an ill-advised dishwasher trip.
  • The valve has gotten lost and I’m holding on to it just in case it shows up some day.

In short, they’re making me crazy.

I know it sounds like an insignificant thing, sippy cup curtailment, but it’s a battle that will be worth it. I know because I embarked on a similar war against child’s plates this year and emerged victorious. Switching out all the mismatched bowls and plates we’d accumulated over the past several years was the best, most proactive, sanity saving decision I made all year. One trip to Target and I procured inexpensive plates and bowls that nest and stack like a dream. They’re all dishwasher and microwave safe. Their solid colors are never out of season. I said good bye once and for all the the avalanche of plates that plagued me if Thomas the Train wasn’t stacked quite right on the Valentine’s Pirates destabilizing the whole tower. My plates cabinet is no longer the world’s least fun game of Jenga. The brothers can’t argue over who gets which reindeer plate, and I no longer feel mom guilt for using reindeer plates in July.

It's the little things

Onward! To my sippy cup attack! Each cup was purchased because they looked promising, they were on sale, or the design was cute. But now they’ve multiplied, and I have five cups I like and nineteen cups that I avoid.

That changes today. I’m ruthlessly thinning the ranks.

The character cup that cost as much as the Disney on Ice tickets? That can go in the keepsake box.

The cups with the wide arms? Those go to the Grandma who has more cabinet real estate than I do.

The cup I’m embarrassed to admit how much I paid for after seeing it on Shark Tank? It goes to the Grandma who will never have to toss it in a bag to go.

The rest are being donated or recycled. So long, suckers!

Have you made a simple change that’s made a big difference in your life?

 

Ginny Ellis
Ginny Ellis is a hometown girl who happily resides in East Wichita with her husband, two young sons, two rowdy dogs, and one spoiled tortoise. Together they enjoy taking part in all our city has to offer, especially if it involves being outdoors, supporting the arts, or is particularly delicious. She is a WAHM who serves as WMB's Events Director as well as holding volunteer positions in Junior League of Wichita, on her neighborhood elementary school's PTO Board, and for United Way of the Plains. Ginny is a podcast enthusiast, laundry folding procrastinator, and insatiable reader who loves the Shockers, theme parties, and her margaritas on the rocks.