When I go to pack my dishwasher, its often (usually) the case that the top rack for mugs and glasses is full, and the bottom rack for plates and bowls is only half full. Why? Because we have used multiple cups, glasses and mugs thorughout the day… which all adds up! If the same happens in your household, here are a few ways to combat this:

1. Coloured or patterned cups. This works especially well with kids. It’s forever stuck in my head that my cup is yellow, my brother’s is blue and my sister’s is green. That’s the way it always was, one cup per day. We also had a backup set that were clear….

2. A small initial. If you have clear set or set of plastic cups that are all the same colour for kids, a small initital in permanent marker under the cup or on the bottom is a great way to distinguish who’s cup belongs to who. It’s very handy as well for mummy’s and daddy’s who find a cup lying around and no child wants to own up to who needs to put it away!

3. Coloured or different coasters. This one is my favourite, and is especially useful for drinking glasses that all match. If you don’t already have some, buy a cheap set of matching coasters that each have a slightly different design/picture and assign a coaster for each person in the house. When they’ve finished their drink they rinse it and return it to their coaster, which easily identifies which glass to grab next time you need a drink.

4. Different Spots. Similar to the coaster method, assign a different spot for each person to return their glass. My hubby often leaves his behind the tap in the kitchen, but I prefer to leave mine on the end of the bench where I can grab it when I walk past. This method can get confusing if people get lazy and leave them in other places, or if you have visitors over and all leave glasses sitting in the one spot!