Did you notice my lovely new red dutch oven in this post?
My mother gave that to me for Christmas after I noticed its lovely redness while we shopped together.
It sat in my garage for a month or so until I remembered it when I was making four meals of pot roast for the freezer.
It worked beautifully. Just like the orange dutch oven that my mother used to use.
Ahhhh. Memories.
Except the orange dutch oven wasn’t a memory.
It was shoved in the back of my kitchen cabinet, taking up the room I needed to store my pretty new red one.
Years ago, I sold the rest of that orange Descoware on eBay. I had realized that even though it’s good stuff, I was gravitating toward my newer stuff and it was just taking up space. I kept the Dutch Oven, though, because of its unusual size.
And . . . keeping one piece makes it easier to get rid of sentimental stuff like the set of pots and pans with which you learned to cook.
But in the more-than-10-years since I decided this item was worth keeping, I hadn’t used it.
Not even once.
For some reason, the oval shape kept me from using it on the stove top, and I just never thought about it for things in the oven.
The red one is pretty. And sturdy and large enough to use for all the things I imagined I’d do with the orange one (but never did). And it’s round, so I’ve already used it for more than just roasts.
I don’t need both.
I can’t possibly justify keeping both.
So the orange one now sits in the Donate Box. I’m counting this as a One In One Out.
It still counts, right? Even though I’m replacing an item I never actually use? At least I’m not shoving or stacking building a new cabinet.
Which is totally what I would have done pre-blog.
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--Nony
Good for you! Now, I need to get a pretty one like that….but I just recently inherited an old black one, so I’ll have to see if I use that before I can justify the expense….
Yay Nony!
I want the orange one please! What brand is it? It would match our cookware perfectly 🙂
I have a pretty red one similar to yours that just sits in the back of my cabinet. What can I use it for? I would love ideas.
It was perfect for roasts, and I’ve used it on the stove top for large amounts of soup!
FYI: Fry the roast in the pot and transfer everything to the oven. The roast will have much more flavor.
Can i buy the vintage one!! Lol
Dear Dana,
Well… I’ve caught up to the present as of reading this post! I started reading around October last year, and I have enjoyed and learned so much as I have followed your journey.
I did save up the Podcasts, so I have more material to go through until I am truly caught up!
Thanks for all you do,
Eugenia
Love the one in/one out approach! I recently inherited some really nice cookware from my mother – Emeril ware, Le Creuset, and the like. So I brought it home. To make it fit, I had to donate the trusty old Revere ware that was a wedding present and that I have cooked every meal with for the last 40 years. It was heart-wrenching to see it in the Donate box. But really – what is the purpose in getting nice new stuff if you hang onto the old?
Good for you! I know how hard it is to get rid of something you still like, no matter how silly it is to keep it.
We are still in the working on the daily stuff and slowly but surely making our way through the decluttering and organizing phase, but we really have hope. And it really is just the little things – who knew! I can’t even tell you how {embarassed and} proud of myself I was when I decided I needed a late night snack and made myself some dip and cleaned the entire food processor and wiped down the counters for the 2nd or 3rd time of the day. The old me would have totally gone off to enjoy the dip and left most of the mess for tomorrow when it wasn’t so late, and I wasn’t so exhausted. Even though doing it today meant 5 minutes of work, and it would have been 10 tomorrow to get the caked on stuff off. Hurray for small victories and progress! 🙂
But what really got me commenting today was the how much of a lifesaver the one-in-one-out rule has been. I just recently even got the kids on board. And I have tell you it was funny – we were on spring break and the kids were eyeing a new stuffed animal that I fully expected to buy as the souvenir from our trip when one of the boys said he really wanted the new stingray, but he didn’t have any babies he wanted to get rid of, so he passed on the new one. Seriously. WOW.
Oh my word, that’s HUGE!! Awesome that he’s really thinking that way!
This rule has made a huge difference in my home! It just makes so much sense.
One in – one out rule is great. My first thought was, “I want that old one you are getting rid of!” It is much prettier than what I have. But wait, I have my mother’s antique heavy enameled, large, round, black with red lid, dutch oven. Mom used it a lot. I have used it a lot. I love that old, ugly dutch oven. And I also do not have room for another one, as pretty as it is. So I will say, give it to someone who has none.
I also use mine for roasts – mostly pot roasts with potatoes and carrots thrown in with it, and the large batches of soup before I got my larger crockpot where I make soups now. A dutch oven can be used for many things. I have made scalloped potato & ham or baked beans for a large crowd.
I have an almost similar blue colored one
The sentimental stuff is rough, isn’t it? I have the roaster pan my mother cooked many Sunday suppers in. It’s a little dented, and a little discolored in places, but I love it and so I won’t even try to buy something to replace it. At least not yet. Fortunately, I do use it regularly, so that helps justify keeping it. But there are other things I know I have to deal with. And I will. Someday. 😀
Oops. Too many distractions tonight. I LOVE your new red pan! That is absolutely the prettiest shade of red on the planet. 🙂
Thank you! I love it too!
My mom gave me her Descoware Dutch oven just like yours! I like it so much that I got 3 matching smaller pieces from thrift stores. Someone is going to be so happy to find your pot. It will make their whole week! But your new one is so pretty. It’s a good trade.