And yet, there are a few things I wish I had known before registering. So (in fitting with my wedding/anniversary theme), I've put together a short little Do/Don't list for when you are registering--or maybe even for when you are looking for gifts off a registry to purchase!
Do: Register for an extra set of dishes.
Seriously. Darrell and I found a pattern that we just loved, and so we registered for the standard two sets (each set had four place settings). We didn't ever intended to host more than eight people, and just in case that ever happened, we had a few mis-matched place settings left from college. So we figured two would be perfect. Well, less than a month after the wedding, I broke one of our bowls. After calling Darrell in tears (seriously, we loved our new dishes and I was so upset that I broke one), we decided that we'd just go buy another set. That way we'd have replacements in case anything else broke. False. Apparently our dish set was discontinued immediately after we got married and there wasn't a single store (or place online) that had even just a replacement bowl available. We've also realized that only have eight place settings is actually a little inconvenient for hosting dinner parties of eight--we have to coordinate making sure everything else is clean, which doesn't leave us with anything to serve with (or use the night before!). So seriously--get an extra set of dishes.
Don't: Register for low-quality items.
Especially when they are things you are going to be using all the time. I remember us standing in the store with the registry gun trying to decide which measuring cups to get. We knew that we wanted stainless steel, but beyond that didn't really have a preference. The store had three different styles available, ranging in price from $7 to $19, and we decided to just get the cheapest ones (after all, we didn't want our guests to think we were hoity-toity). Well, those cracked in like three months. So we went back and got the next most expensive pair--and we all know what happened to those (see here for a refresher). And guess what? We now have the most expensive set. And they are working great. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to register for something that's a little bit more expensive than you buy if you were buying it for yourself--because you aren't! Someone else is buying it for you! And if no one happens to buy you those more expensive measuring cups (or whatever the item may be), then you can decide for yourself how much you want to spend (although seriously, if it's something that you are going to be using All. The. Time--investing in something of decent quality!)
Do: Register for Rubbermaid Premier food storage containers
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| The fancy pattern is just a bonus! |
Don't: Assume you'll get wall decor and picture frames.
Like I said, one of the advantages we had was that we were already living in the house we were going to be furnishing, so we could determine exactly what we needed/wanted. Well, one of my priorities was getting stuff onto the barren walls in our house. And I already had my eye on a few pieces. Darrell, however, was determined not to register for any decor. His logic was that people were going to buy us cutesy frames and wall pieces whether we registered for them or not, so there was no sense in doubling the madness. And since Darrell's logic tends to be pretty spot on, I agreed (with the exception of one or two must-have pieces). Well, he was partially right--we did get some frames and decor pieces, but probably not ones I would have picked out on my own (except for the awesome one from his sister Kim!). And since most of them didn't come with gift receipts, we either had to use them or re-gift them--and then still buy all of our own pieces for the walls. Granted, I love the way our decor has come together, and we did get some good deals on some of the pieces (yay for Canvas on Demand Groupons!), but it would have been nice to have someone else pick up the tab on a few of the items.
Do: Register for a sewing kit.
Never ever had it crossed my mind to register for something like this. In fact, if we saw it in the store (during one of the multiple trips we took to make and perfect our registry), we probably instantly dismissed it because we thought it was an accessory kit for a sewing machine or something (which I am so not Holly-Homemaker enough to own--or want to own). But my good friend Whit got this for her wedding, and as I looked closer at it, I realized that this thing is genius. Under no circumstances am I ever going to have the desire (or ability) to whip out my own clothing, but sewing on a loose button? Right up my alley. Onto the registry it went--and into our house it came. This kit comes with just the right enough of necessary supplies to make the most basic repairs (loose button, torn seam) possible--and lots of thread colors to boot! It's been a great little kit to have around, and the fabric scissors always come in handy when we have old shirts to turn into rags (or headbands--stay tuned for a post on that!)
Don't: Register for space you don't have.
This tip is probably somewhat limited in scope. I know a lot of couples that moved (some multiple times) during their first year of marriage, so a lot of their registry items were just token "I think we'll need this" items. Darrell and I knew exactly how many and what size lamps we need--but we still feel into the "I think we'll need this" trap of getting stuff that you never really end up using. Our biggest pitfall was that we registered for stuff that we'd use "once we finished the basement" or "once we finished our patio". Well--it's been over a year, and neither of those have happened (in fact, we've never planned to finish the basement any time soon, so I have no idea why we were registering for stuff down there). And now what's happened is we have an entire bathroom full of coordinated rugs and accessories that we may not even want to use once we actually get around to finishing the basement. And we have a fire pit that's still in it's box in the garage because we didn't get any landscaping done last summer. Truthfully, it's not the worst problem in the world to have, but the other day I saw some fire pits in an ad somewhere and thought "those look nice", and I realized that I honestly have no idea what the fire pit we actually own looks like. And as we cruise into our second year of marriage, we're still not any closer to having our patio finished. I know we'll use and appreciate the pit once we actually get around to using it, but I'm realizing that registering for stuff that "we'll need someday" isn't exactly the best logic.
Do: Register for a mandoline.
See that guy? Total awesomeness. Slicing potatoes and zucchini and everything else has never been easier. This (along with a vegetable peeler) was an item that Darrell originally thought we didn't need to purchase after no one bought it for us off the registry. But after our first time frying fish and chips, I insisted that we go back to the store for this. I'm all for helping out in the kitchen, and I'm getting better at handling knives, but sometimes I don't see the point of laboring over something when there is a tool out there that does it so. much. quicker. And so much more precise. And thin. And wonderfully. It's not exactly the easiest to store, but we love it anyway.
Don't: Throw away all your old towels.
This isn't so much a registry tip as a "what not do to after the wedding" tip. Darrell and I worked an extra vacation day into our honeymoon so that we'd have a day at the house to blitz clean and organize (also a great idea). As we were replacing items with the new ones off our registry, we threw all of our old towels into a bag for Y's Buys (like a Goodwill, but affiliated with the YMCA in town). Well, about a month ago we accidentally left the grill over off overnight, and it was super dewy in the morning. Normally that wouldn't be a huge issue, but it was forecasting rain for the next two days, which we certainly didn't want to leave it uncovered for. Nor did we want to cover it while it was significantly wet. So, we decided to wipe it off. And realized that our only options were to use our good bath towels or dish towels--or use like a million paper towels. Thankfully,
Do: Cater to your personal tastes when you register.
I love to bake and Darrell loves to cook, so a lot of our registry items were kitchen items (plus lots of outdoorsy items--another of our favorite pastimes). However, I went about the registering for baking things pretty stupidly. Register for an 8-inch square pan? Nah, I'll just register for two 9-inch pans; they'll work the same (if the sarcasm isn't clear enough--they don't). Register for a min-muffin tin? Why bother? I like my muffins big (never again will I underestimate the usefulness of a mini-muffin pan--how else would I make these guys?) One baking item I was smart enough to register for?
These guys. Stackable cooling racks are awesome. Even if you aren't someone who likes to bake on a regular basis, these are a must. They'll prove their usefulness (and space saving abilities) in just one batch of cookies. And the great thing is that they fit together really nice to store, so you don't have to give up that much extra space to have three cooling racks. Seriously awesome.
Whelp. How's that for a novel on your Friday? Props to you for sticking through that--especially if you've already "been there, done that" with the whole registry thing. But if you haven't? Seriously consider these tips. And even if you have? Share these tips with your engaged friends (don't worry, you don't have to give me credit or anything. You can trick your friends into thinking that you're intelligent--but just this once). If these tips help even one couple weed their way through the maze that registering can cause, then I'll consider it time well spent (or maybe more accurately, time well wasted. My house isn't cleaning itself while I do this, you know).
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Here's to three days (four for me!) without work, but filled with plenty of sun, friends, grilling, and beer (hopefully!)
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