Tonight I took it upon myself to polish our silverware. We use our "nice" silverware every day because I cannot stand the idea of having a set of unused, gorgeous flatware in a closet somewhere. So yes, I do have to hand wash it, but it is totally worth it to open the silverware drawer and find that warm glow shining back at me. (And it is not sterling silver, but is only silver-plated. It is still beautiful!)
The set we have is from my husband's grandmother, and my cursory research dates it to 1953. The pattern is "White Orchid," which is perfect for me because I love orchids.
Daily washing and drying keeps the silver well-polished, so I only need to polish the set once or twice a year (and even then, it's only minimally tarnished--so lightly tarnished that I doubt anyone else would notice but me).
The tip that I have is to use latex medical gloves! I do not like to use my regular kitchen gloves because they are so thick; the thinner medical gloves are perfect for keeping the silver polish off of my hands, but allowing me to do a great job getting the silver well-polished. And then I can just throw them away--which is perfect because they are pretty gross after polishing all the silver.
I find that polishing the silver is like ironing your clothes or shining your shoes. These are jobs no one seems to want to do, and our culture generally regards as a complete waste of time, but to me they are the perfect domestic tasks: they aren't done every day, they provide instant results, and the end result is deeply gratifying!
Your last paragraph includes my two favorite tasks -- ironing and shoe polishing. Ironing is my absolute favorite household task. When I began to iron more than just my aprons and necessary clothing, I knew my life was mostly back to normal after the baby. I always look forward to polishing my shoes. The smell of saddle soap is unique and pleasant, and the task takes me back to my teen years when I'd sit in the floor and polish my Eastland penny loafers. Were Eastland shoes popular back in your day? In the late 80's and early 90's in KY, everyone loved them.
ReplyDeleteI only have silver serving pieces which we use for birthdays, name days, baptismal anniversaries, and holidays, so I do have to polish it at least twice a year, and yes, latex gloves are the best for that.
I also use them for taking off nail polish, polishing silver, and peeling potatoes.
I loved my penny loafers!! I remember my grandmother buying mine at Kassis Brothers Shoes in Charleston--where she took us every summer to purchase our "school shoes" for the year--one of my favorite excursions! I remember that she gave me two shiny pennies to put in them, too. :)
DeleteOf course! And I was so particular, that I'd sometimes put dimes in mine when I wore silver jewelry. Sweet memories!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Charleston -- have you ever read Celia Garth?
No, I have not!!! I tend to love anything related to Charleston, so if she is, I will have to look her up. :)
DeleteIt is novel by Gwen Bristow about a young woman living in Revolutionary War era Charleston. I read it as a girl and still read it from time to time. It's pretty good.
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