Too many mugs. AIBU? DH thinks it would be rude

[MythicalBiologicalFennel]

We have a small kitchen and too much stuff. The work surfaces are covered with spare mugs that don't fit in the cupboards which are full of food (we both love cooking and TBH eating).

I've had enough and chosen 6 mugs for the mug tree. The other 15 mugs (yes, 15) are going into storage to be used as the chosen 6 get broken. I felt a great sense of relief and gained a bit of working surface!

I thought of taking a picture of the 15 mugs and sharing it with friends and family. DH thinks that would be rude as all of those mugs have been presents. I love all the mugs, some of them make great cups of tea but we just don't have the bloody room. DH hinted that another mug might be coming my way for Christmas from his side of the family so they might take offence. TBH every year they ask what I want for my birthday/ Christmas and I ask for nice chocolates or flowers because we have too much stuff and it impacts on our quality of life (messy, cluttered house). Every year I get at least a new mug and a new bloody tea towel. They are lovely and it never ceases to amaze me that people care enough to give me presents. But I don't need them. My family are occasional mug givers but would not take offence at being told to stop.

Would I be unreasonable to share the picture with family and friends explaining we are putting excess mugs into storage? The photo is from above so you cannot see the patterns of the mugs and take offence that yours wasn't Chosen.

I think it would be a playful visual reminder to people that 4 people don't need 20 mugs. I am ready to be told it would be rude.

I think it would be a playful visual reminder to people that 4 people don't need 20 mugs. I am ready to be told it would be rude.

What you’re seeing as ‘playful’ could very easily come across as passive aggressive or downright rude.

When your MIL asks you what you’d like why don’t you say specifically ‘oh, x or y would be lovely, but can I ask a favour and not to have a mug this year? Obviously love them but we’re totally out of storage.’

Not rude, just... weird. Especially now, after this level of overthinking.
DH’s family live abroad. We talk via WhatsApp daily, including pictures. If we were sent a picture of some mugs we’d probably just be a bit bewildered and say ‘haha’ or something. If we knew that level of discussion had gone into the sending of the picture we’d think you’d gone insane.

6 mugs? Paltry amount.

We must have 30. I too have particular mugs dependent on mood, surely most folk do

We have 4 mugs! DH doesn’t drink hot drinks, I only really drink espresso (and have an espresso cup), so I generally only keep mugs in for the DC’s to have the occasional hot chocolate or for visitors to have a cup of tea/coffee. The concept of a favourite mug is completely alien to me... a mug is a mug is a mug

Well, OP, think of this as your test audience. The fact that three out of the first ten comments didn’t understand the photo (OP has been given lots of mugs / she is cleaning her kitchen / she is putting 20 mugs in storage / she is going to take a photo of the 20 mugs she already has to store as a cutesy “we don’t need any more fucking mugs” example for family and share it on social media, or family WhatsApp, in hopes DH’s family will not give her another fucking mug) indicates that this plan won’t work. I really didn’t think it was too hard to follow, but who knows. Your options are either have your husband tell his family not to give you any more mugs or prepare to regift the mugs.

Why not post a picture of all the mugs with the caption Due to lack of work space for all my lovely mugs, I have decided the only option is a rotation system - having a hard time deciding which 6 mugs I want out first.

Send them to a charity shop where they could be of use to somebody that's skint.

Mugs get broken. Just remove them and that's what people will assume has happened to them, shrug their shoulders and get on with their day ordering you another ten for Christmas.

I have no idea why you would want to share the photo. The downside is the risk of causing offence and hurt, and the upside is what exactly?

a mug is a mug is a mug

Nooooo! A mug’s shape and weight makes all the difference when drinking your favourite beverage! I have different cups for different drinks, at least 40 of them and they all get used regularly! But we do also have a 16 place dishwasher for only two adults and a couple of children so we do need to have a lot of mugs, plates etc. I can’t remember the last time I bothered washing something by hand so 6 mugs wouldn’t last the morning in our house.

If you have DC, pack 4 away for each of them for when they go to uni.

Got a bit distracted from the original point of the post, sorry.

YABU, because the photo thing is weird. Just put them in storage and send any future mug gifts to your local charity shop.

Won't you have to keep getting mugs out of storage when you have guests?

Don’t share it if they were gifts especially knowing gifts may have already been bought for this year

Who really cares? Mugs break all the time.
You’re just not clumsy enough

What if you have people over
True oh bugger

To answer some questions...

Yes I have told all and sundry that we have too much stuff and specifically too many mugs. The worst mug-givers thought it was hilarious ("hahaha how can you have so many?" )

The hoarding by proxy is an interesting idea. I had never heard of it. Off the top of my head DC1 has 10 pyjamas; only one set was bought by me, for Christmas. DC2 has 23 notebooks and 5 pencil cases - most of that given by family ("it was discounted", "I saw it and thought of DC2", "I bought it for auntie Bettie but she doesn't want it" , "I know you said not to but", "I know you have too much of this but" etc etc).

We are not very good at washing up- the dishwasher works very hard

I think I might be able to give a couple of the mugs to charity at most - most of them are slightly chipped, faded or have ingrained tea stains because they do get used.

6 mugs??! We use that many an hour..... we've got at least 50 in 2 cupboards and on the shelves Youngest DD came home with 2 more Emma Bridgewaters today for Christmas hot chocolates

I love being given mugs as a gift. I think you risk offending people by saying something. Just keep the new one and take an old one to work/donate to charity shop.

Just had a quick look on the dresser and we have eight smallish mugs, four coffee cups, nine tea cups, four espresso cups, four large mugs and about half a dozen random mugs that have been bought as gifts over a few years, I would happily throw these out, DH thinks crockery doesn't need to co-ordinate so these invariably make their way to work, and get lost, stolen or broken after a few months and this is after I took some to the charity shop in the summer. You do need different cups for different drinks.

We have lots of mugs, over time they get damaged and when there is just the 2 of us we still go through quite a few if dishwasher not on daily ( rare) . Most of our mugs have a story and we like them and make room for them.
I would accept and be thankful.
Can't say the same about tea towels though.

Even the old ones that are well used might be of use at a homeless shelter or somewhere like that. I wouldn’t throw them in the bin.

When we dug up part of our lawn (new build house) we found quite a few mugs, most of which were unbroken. Our house was the last to be finished at the end of the row, so we think the builders just lobbed all their rubbish onto our garden and covered it with some topsoil and turf. Found a load of coke cans and crisp packets hidden behind the bath panel too.

6 😱😱😱

Wow. There’s three in our house. With kids cups not included we must have 20 minimum. And right now I’m looking in my cupboard cursing because the kids have stashed most of them in their room and I’ll have to go retrieve them all to wash up.
I keep saying I’ve got too many, but occasionally one breaks (like half hour ago) and natural order is restored.

Just hoping my secret Santa this year is more imaginative than me, a mug is on my list to buy 😂😂

Hugo I thought this thread would be full of Kondo fans telling me how excessive 6 mugs is

Liking the idea of putting some away for when the kids go to uni. BTW when I said storage I meant a flat box under the bed so no cost involved.

Off to put the kettle on. Brew anyone?

I've got a bit of a mug fetish, must have about 50 odd of them , they're just so beautiful....

For goodness sake get rid of any chipped, stained or faded ones. 6 is too few, we couldn't function with less than 12.

Chuck them. When, in however many years it takes to break the six you’re going to keep, you go into the storage to find you’ve been paying to keep slightly chipped stained mugs which weren’t good enough for the charity shop, you’ll be disappointed...

(No one in this house uses mugs. We don’t drink hot drinks. In particular I have never drank anything out of a mug. I have a set of six matching ones and a couple of ransoms for the rare days we have eight hot drink drinking visitors. people still buy us mugs)

Just put the mugs into storage. I doubt anyone will notice - if they do they'll assume you dropped it.