I’m all for flowers. I buy a colorful bouquet every week at Trader Joe’s, and during the summer, I adorn my desk with a bud vase of roses from our backyard garden. My rule for vases is I can have no more than what will fit on the narrow cabinet above the range hood in the kitchen.
That limits me to a half-dozen vases. I have three bud vases that were a wedding gift. A short square glass vase is ideal for creating centerpieces that our guests can easily see over. Two taller vases hold long-stemmed flowers like gerbera daisies and stargazer lilies.
Technically, we have a lot more possible vases. I’ve used drinking glasses and creamers to hold arrangements. I’ve used Mason jars and tin cans tied with ribbons a la Martha Stewart.
It’s not uncommon for people to hang onto vases when they receive flowers as a gift. After the flowers die, the only thing left of the kind gesture is a cheap glass vase. Recipients sometimes feel ungrateful if they give it away. But keeping the empty vases isn’t practical either. They take up room and gather dust.
So if you’re not using the vases you own, buy yourself some flowers! Enjoy your vases and brighten your home or desk. If you have vases you never use, wash them out and offer them to your local florist. Most will gratefully accept them and may even offer you a few stems of cut flowers as a thank-you gift. You could also fill the vases with flowers and give them to your daycare provider, favorite aunt or best friend. Instead of gathering dust, they’ll be spreading joy. Not a bad way to get organized.
I used extra vases to give teachers a gift at the end of the year!
Great idea … wish I’d thought of it!
Excellent suggestion!