Using Inherited Silver Every Day (Tarnish and All)
I have a few really beautiful inherited pieces of silver, and for a long time I was honestly scared to use them. I knew they'd be passed on to me one day, but it wasn't until the last couple years that I actually started bringing them into my home.
Before that, they weren't collecting dust exactly; they stayed beautifully shiny in a box. They just weren't getting used, and they weren't getting enjoyed.
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The Permission to Actually Use It
My dad was the one who encouraged me to start using these pieces regularly, and it changed everything. I have a set of S. Kirk & Son sterling flatware, passed down from my grandparents' wedding in the early 1900s. It's wild to think a fork on my table is over a hundred years old.
Yes, it tarnishes. That's okay. Beautiful things are meant to be used, not preserved for a someday that may never come. I'd rather have it out and a little imperfect than perfect and hidden in a chest.
The Easy System
The trick is little and often. Polish a few pieces a week instead of letting it all pile up. If you wait and try to do it all at once, it feels overwhelming - so you dread it, you put it off, and it just never gets done. It's honestly the same philosophy behind my cleaning system.
I've tried a lot of the "hacks" for polishing silver quickly, and nothing beats just using a real silver cream polish. It's a paste that comes with its own sponge, genuinely the top-rated one on Amazon. Plus, it's easy. For anything you're going to eat off of: polish it, then wash it with soap and water afterward. I like reusable rubber gloves with a nice cuff so water doesn't run everywhere. For pieces you're tucking away for a bit, anti-tarnish strips help buy you some time between polishes.
Actually Using It, Every Day
My dad's suggestion that felt the craziest: run the flatware through the dishwasher. It does tarnish a little faster that way, but not nearly as fast as you'd think. Using these pieces regularly, instead of being scared of them, is so much better than letting them sit untouched in a chest.
If you're worried about a piece going down the disposal, I get it; it's happened to me more than once. A jeweler can usually fix it. And if you ever need to replace a piece entirely, you can buy a single piece instead of a whole set - there are sites built just for matching flatware patterns like this.
The Note Inside Each Piece
One of my favorite things my family does: they write a little note to go with each piece, who it was given to, and when. Every time it passes to someone new, another note gets added. It gives so much more meaning to the piece, and it keeps those stories alive long after the people who owned them are gone.
I'd recommend starting this with anything you have: a little slip of paper tucked with the item, so the story travels with it for generations.
Get Creative With It
Get creative with the pieces you have - use different items for different purposes. I use a little silver salt dish to hold small jewelry in my bathroom. A silver hot plate - meant for setting a hot casserole dish on at the table - lives in my bathroom too, holding my perfume and a little Q-tip container. Look at what you have and ask where it could actually live in your day-to-day life.
Use the good stuff! Don't save your beautiful things, or your good life, for later. We'll talk crystal and china another time; those have their own set of rules. But for now: use what you have, enjoy it, and tell the people you love the stories behind it.
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xo, Kate
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