Taming The China Cabinet

Ever since I got my cochlear implants, I've been more aware of sounds I haven't heard before. Others CI friends have had to oil squeaky hinges on doors or turn down the volume on the TV and other electronic items. In our house, we have a noisy china cabinet in the dining room! Our dining room sits in the middle of the house and is a major walk-through area from the hallway to the kitchen. The china in the cabinet rattled every time someone walked past it. No matter how I divided or arranged the dishes and glasses, they still made noise.

We recently replaced the carpet in our dining room because one of the dogs chewed a hole in it all the way to the sub-floor. (We needed to replace the carpet anyway because it was so dirty and I couldn't clean it anymore.) I had to unload ALL the dishes in the china cabinet and serving cabinet in order to move the furniture out of the room. I have two sets of china, mine and my mother's. And can't part with either set (but will gladly hand them down someday). I also have a few pieces from my Grandma Royer.

Anyway, when we moved the china cabinet back into the dining room, I decided that I had to find a way to eliminate the "rattling" noise. I also wanted to get rid of some items that we didn't need anymore and organize the china a little better. After doing some research on the Internet on how to organize china cabinets, I also found a very helpful hint. And will share it with you.

I put a plain coffee filter between each plate, bowl, and saucer! (And had to run out to the grocery to get more!) They come in different sizes and are supposed to protect the dishes from scratches and breakage. But, the coffee filters also cut down on the rattling noise because the dishes can't "wiggle" as much.

Here is the final result!