I know buying paper plates is a tempting thing. They are sooo easy when you have a crowd or when you are feeling too lazy to wash dishes. But I’ll let you in on a little secret {that’s pretty much common knowledge, so I guess that makes it absolutely no secret AT ALL!}, paper plates = money being literally thrown away. Eight years ago I invested $40 for a stack of 50 dinner plates at Costco and let me tell you Bob, it was money well spent.
There are so many cool alternatives to paper plates these days. You can find great melamine plates at Target or at Walmart. Or some great plastic plates for camping and the like can be found on Amazon, too, as well as at the dollar store. You can even buy them in bulk if you have large family gatherings or sports team dinners at your house. They’ll think you are way classier for having such cool reusable plates. Ha!
Wash, rinse, repeat and you’ve saved hundred over the course of your life! Plus, just think about how many trees you’re saving. It really is a win/win.
So are you a paper plate user or hater?
~Mavis
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jestjack says
Gonna disagree a bit about the paper plates. I just bought 70 paper plates for 99 cents….so about 1.5 cents each. Sometimes I can use one plate for breakfast and lunch….So my thought is when you take into account the soap…water…time and depreciation of the plates I may be coming out ahead using the paper plates. We do put our discarded paper plates in the tumbling composter …… Just my 2 cents….
momof2 says
A little of both. I like using them for a larger group that includes kids. However; they are cheap looking if you have a dinner party at your house of all adults. lol.
Mary G says
Before we installed an automatic generator, we stored some paper plates for dire emergencies (sickly long power outages–we’ve had two in the last five years that were more than six days in length). I have a couple of packages of plates from those days, but they’ve been sticking around since the last long outage. In general, I hate paper plates and never use them.
Kelly says
My husband and I are both VERY frugal. But for some reason, paper plates is something we have just become willing to spend a little $ on (especially since we can get them cheap from Costco. For our family of 5, it means the difference between running our dishwasher once versus twice a day, so i figure it all evens out. And with our current schedule and my constantly eating kids, it really has made my life SO much easier. I would definitely not use styrofoam ones, but I’m okay with the paper (at least for this stage in life). 🙂
Tammy says
For most of the calendar year, I do not buy paper plates at all. However, during the late summer and early fall, when I am at my busiest with canning, I do buy paper plates because something has to give! I don’t have a dishwasher and when I’m canning I feel like I’m either doing dishes so I can do my canning, or doing dishes because I canned. So a package or two of paper plates is an OK splurge for me!
Janelle says
I agree!!! I have a large bible study at my house several times a month… and even though the church was willing to donate paper plates… I’d much rather buy reusable plates!
Sharon says
I, very much, hate paper plates. People have given them to me, and they sit up in the cupboard, and they wait for the very rare occasion that I use one to share food with people that I know I will not get my regular plate back from. I also have thrifter regular plates for this, but sometimes I figure this is better… So they can trash/ recycle it if they eat the food on the journey home.
Linda says
I keep paper plates on hand for microwaving. I can’t seem to find a plate that doesn’t get hot in the microwave. I also use them when I’m cutting up veggies so I don’t use one of our regular plates. I compost the paper ones too. They just seem to come in handy.
Darci says
Our family uses paper plates for our reunions! (in the summer) There are a lot of kids and we use the reusable plastic, plate shaped baskets underneath. 😀 Otherwise i use our dinner plates for home.
Laurel says
I agree with some of the other commenters who are pro- paper plate under certain circumstances. Sometimes I find we are in phases in our family life where I am willing to spend a little to know the dishes will be done quickly and easily and can be dumped into our recycle or compost. I’m glad to have the option when I need it.
Kayla says
I still buy paper plates. When I give a plate of cookies to friends, I don’t want to worry about the plate. I use paper plates for rare big family get-togethers (once a year) and camping. I would say we buy a stack of paper plates from the Dollar Store about every 6 months or more. I consider that worth my money.
Mari says
I hate them. I never buy them but come across them or their flimsy plastic cousins at BBQ’s or parties. They are so flimsy and absolutely hopeless when trying to cut food (usually with plastic knives) with the plate just balanced on your knee. I’d rather run the dishwasher or have to do the dishes in the sink than eat off plastic or paper. To me its false economy and not at all pleasant to eat off. OK they do have their place, and some people seem to prefer them, but not for me. We have too much un-recyclable plastic and polystyrene in this world that just fill up dump sites.
wendy says
I used paper plates when I had teenagers and all their friends eating constantly. I have been thinking of returning to them however after I read this post I guess I will look for some more plates that I like. I love dishes and am pretty picky of the pattern. Thanks for keeping me from getting lazy. I don’t mean to say anyone else is lazy for using paper players because they are a wonderful product.
Sandra says
I have paper plates (and their siblings, paper bowls and cups) for power outages. When you are in survival mode, washing dishes is stressful. When we first moved to our town, extended power outages were common. After one, in sub-zero weather, with my neighbor’s tree on our roof and my husband with the flu (I was very pregnant and had strep throat and pneumonia…), I vowed to never be without paper plates again. That said, we rarely use them outside of power outages. I’m trying to eliminate plastics as well.
Tifany says
I’m with Kelly. A family of 6 (2 adults and 4 teens) it is all about the energy savings from using the dishwasher more than once a day.
karol says
i keep them for several reasons. We have had recent health struggles. One less plate to wash is a blessing some nights. And sandwich night is always paper plates in cute plastic holders. The struggle is real. One less night of running the dishwasher.
Nancy says
I NEVER use paper plates. It is a huge waste of money as well as really a terrible thing to do to the environment. Think of all the garbage if everyone used paper plates. I remember when my daughter was young all the kids had juice boxes. Not her, she had a reusable square bottle. It looked similar to a juice box but I would fill it daily with juice, milk, water, etc. Do you all realize how long it takes for a juice box to degrade? To this day, and she is a doctor, she takes her water bottle which she fills at home with her….So, no I don’t use paper plates. Geeze wash a dish. No big deal.
Carmen says
I agree. Very wasteful generally. Is anyone really too busy to wash dishes?
They’re not very common in the UK, except for children’s birthday parties. I have never been to any adult social situation with paper plates and plastic cutlery. We don’t even use them when camping.
Kathy says
I often cook a big meal, at least twice a week if not more, and take plates of food to shut-ins. I use disposable plates when I carry meals to them both for my convenience and for theirs. I do have a huge stack of plates in my pattern to use at home though. I’ve picked them up over the years at yard sales and thrift stores. I probably have about 40 plates and almost all of the serving pieces in my china pattern and it all came from yard sales and thrift stores. I’ve had a lot of fun looking for it over the years and I use it often when I entertain.
Sandy says
I’m not fond of paper plates, plastic forks and knives or paper napkins. I use plain white stones are dishes for everyday with cloth napkins, some of which have been in constant use for almost 20 years!
We do have festive dishes that come into use the day after Thanksgiving and get put away the end of January, which I really enjoy using. I completely switch out the dishes in the cabinets and it makes me happy.
During Lent, my husband and I attended several Fish Fries where Corelle dishes were used for those eating in. We were pleasantly surprised by this!
Ronnica, Striving Stewardess says
I’m with you! I do the same with plastic cups, as well.
I do have a partial pack of paper plates in my cabinet from when I moved. I will probably pawn them off on someone who still uses them to get them out of my place.
Pam says
Since I don’t own a dishwasher, having options is always nice. “Paper plates” at my house is a paper towel or paper napkin. It works fine for us for sandwiches, snacks, etc. And it can go in the compost bucket when we’re done. The hubby and I have gotten our household trash down to one kitchen can sized bag every month or so. We compost, recycle, reuse. I never thought we’d get to this point but now, we don’t even think about it. Most of what ends up in the trash bag is plastic that I can’t figure out how to reuse.
Janet says
Way to go on your garbage!! WOW!! I am so amazed. I recycle and compost but still end up with garbage. It probably helps with what you buy, too.
Nicole says
I have to agree with Mavis on this one. I host several gatherings at my house during the course of a year. In the beginning I used paper plates and plastic-ware with the intent of washing it and reusing it. The latest party was more meal oriented, so I pulled out stacks of vintage thrift store china that I can’t seem to not buy and… oh ho – the guests raved about it. I heard so much positive feedback about being able to eat on actual plates (and cute ones to boot!) that I’ll never go back. Shortly thereafter, I switched to actual restaurant silverware (bulk) and a collection of the thrift store plates. Fun to find, even better to wow your guests with. 🙂
Em says
With 5 kids in the house it is LOVELY to have the option of paper plates, even with a dishwasher! With limited storage space, I have 8 “real” plates, and it can be a pain to make sure every plate is washed between every meal. Life gets in the way sometimes – paper plates to the rescue! 🙂
kerrie williams says
NO paper plates here. I collect white plates and bowls from thrift stores, auctions, family members and just about anywhere. When we have a family gathering its usually around 80 people and I use old fashioned plates and bowls and silverware for everything. I also don’t buy paper towels or paper napkins. I sew up un paper towels for clean ups and I buy cloth napkins the same way I do white plates.
Susan says
Buy the cheap plates when I can get a BOGO, virtually everyone of them is composted. Use em for light meals and snacks and they are a life saver…
Lisa says
We use them for camping and I’ll use them to put leftover pizza in the fridge, since it keeps it from flopping around too much. My daughters tend to use them to make crafts more than we use them to eat off.
One thing that has saved me time, actually, is using salad plates and saucers for our meals. I don’t have any standard size dinner plates. The salad plate is the perfect size for dinner and the saucers are perfect for little kids or a sandwich. They’re easier for the kids to handle when setting or clearing the table, easier and faster to wash, and take up a lot less space. Plus, helps us keep portions down 🙂
I try to find the saucers without the indention for the cup, those may be called bread plates or something. But we’ll even use the standard ones, no one seems to care. I used to use Corelle but they were breaking too much, so I switched to a mix-mash of plates I found at yard sales. Also have some restaurant supply (white) for company since those all match 🙂
sarah says
Amen!! My husband disagrees though and LOVES paper plates. It drives me crazy. So I try to buy very, very sparingly. sigh
Renay says
I have paper plates…I use them when I take treats to the office so they don’t end up on my thighs. LOL!!! When I do use paper plates, I buy from reputable green companies who practice ethical behavior when it comes to using paper/trees. The I compost them.
I would caution everyone about melamine…not good for us and most of it comes from China. Anything from China is verboten on our buy list PERIOD.
Sharon says
Melamine plates are not safe for microwaves.
Laetitia in Australia says
I’m intrigued – are paper plates really more common as ordinary ‘flatware’ (I’d use the term crockery but that seems more appropriate when talking about china and its variants) than washable items in the USA? Proper crockery (china / stoneware / Corelle / other washable flatware) is the norm in Australia. And this is despite the fact that while very common, especially in modern houses, dishwashers are not completely ubiquitous here (particularly if you rent since, you need to hope that there’s a space in the kitchen for one you bring yourself or, it’s another appliance that the landlord needs to maintain so generally only found in higher socio-economic housing).
As for whether I use them – on certain occasions. I was recently part of a 5 woman team that put on a morning tea and lunch for something like 64 women. Due to the time we had to be out of the venue, washing that many plates as well as all the other things was out of the question as there was no automatic dishwasher (domestic or industrial). As it was we were only just out of there on time and even then we had to play ‘who has my saucepan lid’ outside.
Patti Potter says
OK. So, I’m a potter so I’m sure you know I don’t use paper plates (or paper towels). Have you thought about the taste of food on paper and plastic plates or out of styro/paper/plastic cups? I can understand the use of these products in churches, centers, etc for large crowds when “doing the dishes” is overwhelming, but the quality of food is much more desirable on ceramic………..just saying.