Replacing ‘Something of Use’ after 29 years

In a Past Life, dievca received a set of melamine mixing bowls from Crate and Barrel as a gift.

The bowls have been through multiple moves, lived in Europe, have been dropped, washed, held salads and made cookies numerous times.  Like everything else, 29 years of weekly wear has taken a toll.  The pouring spouts are chipped, the rubber holders on the bottom are deteriorating and, yet, dievca is holding on to them.

Why?  The bowl portion itself has not cracked and Melamine is categorized under Class #7 on the list of Plastic Resin Codes. This means that it is a widely used plastic that does not fit into the more commonly used #1-6 classifications and should not be thrown in your recycling bin. Melamine cannot be melted for recycling like other plastics.

The bowls are a modern classic. Created by Danish designers – Rosti in 1954, the Margrethe bowl was produced and named after then Princess Margrethe, the current queen of Denmark. The easy-care melamine mixing bowls have ergonomic handles, pouring spouts and a non-skid ring at the bottom.

dievca looked up the bowls on the Crate and Barrel website and they are still listed for sale.  In fact, they now come with lids – that wasn’t available the first time around. The price? $39.95

The question is….can dievca throw away the still usable bowls and all the memories attached to them.

We’ll see.