Things that have a way of disappearing

[monarch64]

Are there certain items in your home that just have a way of disappearing mysteriously? We seem to keep losing forks and spoons. I've supplemented our Oneida stainless flatware once already--last year we hosted Easter dinner and I realized I did not have enough of each piece to set only six places, so I had to run out and buy another set! Now, a year has gone by and again, I have about 40 butter knives and maybe 12 forks and spoons, combined! I've searched the dishwasher, I've even searched DH's recliner just in case he's dropping utensils into it. No dice...I asked him if maybe he's accidentally throwing them away and he says no, so I don't know what is going on. It's like this strange phenomenon--is our house eating flatware? Is it haunted and some silly spirit thinks this is funny? I was glad to find that Target actually sells sets of 6 forks or spoons or knives, so at least I don't have to buy another set and end up with way too many butter knives.

Anyone else experience this? I mean, I don't mind replacing things from time to time, but WHERE are they going?

ETA: I'm thinking of picking up double of what it will take to fill in my existing flatware and hoarding the rest away somewhere in case the pattern ever gets discontinued...but I wonder if it will? It's a pattern I've actually had since I was in college about 7-8 years ago!

 

[diamondfan]

I think it is like the dryer and socks.

There is a mystery house minx that does this when we sleep...just for the fun of it!

 

[monarch64]

Yes, dryers that eat socks--that''s another one of those household mysteries! When I was little, my mother used to read us these books about "The Borrowers," they were these little people that lived in nooks and crannies of houses and "borrowed" all sorts of miscellaneous items to make their own homes, lol! So whenever we lost anything when I was growing up, we''d blame it on the Borrowers.

 

[lumpkin]

Do either of you take lunch to work? I know I used to take forks to work with me because we didn''t have any place there to get plastic ones, and I probably lost 3 or 4 to just not bringing them home and somehow misplacing them at work.

There have been a few items that mysteriously disappeared. Very bizarre. I bought some flexi straws, a package of 150. All of a sudden they were just gone. I got a huge jug of vinegar because we mix it with water to clean with. Put it in the pantry, later on went to use it and it was gone. Nowhere to be found. Now how do you lose a jug of vinegar, and an enormous one at that??? Well, leave it to me and my family, we managed to lose one.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 3/24/2007 11:38:42 PM
Author: lumpkin
Do either of you take lunch to work? I know I used to take forks to work with me because we didn''t have any place there to get plastic ones, and I probably lost 3 or 4 to just not bringing them home and somehow misplacing them at work.

There have been a few items that mysteriously disappeared. Very bizarre. I bought some flexi straws, a package of 150. All of a sudden they were just gone. I got a huge jug of vinegar because we mix it with water to clean with. Put it in the pantry, later on went to use it and it was gone. Nowhere to be found. Now how do you lose a jug of vinegar, and an enormous one at that??? Well, leave it to me and my family, we managed to lose one.

I know when my kids were younger they threw several away... I''ve caught them a couple times so I *know* there are dozens I didn''t LOL But good news (haha) for us! They also spirit them away from school and bring them home so now I also have about a half dozen seriously UGLY forks and spoons here. Yay us!!

 

[monarch64]

good suggestion, but DH never takes lunch to work...he travels frequently and is only in his office away from home maybe once a week on average. Otherwise he is working from home or traveling and eating on the "road." The only other thing I can think of is maybe he has filched some flatware to take to Bears games when he''s the one bringing the food for tailgating that Sunday...I actually have a few pieces of some other wife''s flatware from a couple years ago, as well as some steak knives, but they are all mis-matched and appear to be of not-so-great quality (not that my Oneida is expensive by any means, but for everyday this pattern I have is very substantial in weight and has held up very well through the past decade) so I haven''t taken the time to hunt down the owner. I''m wondering now if maybe some other woman has a few pieces of my flatware, lol! Otherwise, I honestly think it''s just getting thrown away accidentally. DH likes to use paper plates for midnight snacks and such, and I think maybe he just forgets to check his plate underneath a crumpled paper napkin and tosses out pieces here and there.

 

[AmberWaves]

I''m always losing my hairbrush, inhaler and birth control pills.

I always get another brush, but last month I had to get a "loaner" inhaler from my dad- at 2am!

Ya know, we always lose forks, too! I have way too many spoons. I wonder where the freakin'' forks are?!?

 

[diamondfan]

There is a fork way station somewhere where they are all congregating and laughing right now...

my mom told me if I ever had a nice dinner party and I used my sterling to count the settings at the end of the night because pieces end up down the drain or in the trash...and I did indeed find one in the trash one time...

 

[monarch64]

Amber, yes, let me know if you ever figure out where those forks go!

DF, we''re not in possession of any silver, but I do keep out c hina and flatware we received from wedding gifts boxed up tight in times we aren''t using them, thank god. Other than that, our everyday stuff is suffering! I don''t think our guests are making off with anything, at least, although that would be pretty humorous! ("OMG there''s an Oneida thief on the loose!!!) LOL!

I think I obviously have to replace and rebuild what''s missing, and then some, and then I''m going to hide the majority of pieces we will not need on an everyday basis like the salad forks and tablespoons! Sad...but true. Thanks everyone for weighing in!

 

[fire&ice]

Oddly enough - duct tape & measuring tape ?? Maybe we just leave them where we finished using them.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hmmm, where have all those forks gone? I have a bad habit of taking lunch to work in tupperware and then forgetting to bring the utensils and/or the tupperware back home later. I''ve replaced all the tupperware in our house more than once for doing this. I also have a bad habit of picking something up (at work, for example), carrying it around, and placing it somewhere else. I''m horrible for losing, no, misplacing things. I''m always asking others, "have you seen my...?" It''s so annoying! In my head I''m a much more organized person.

 

[Fancy605]

The nail clippers had a tendancy to go missing in my house, but we discovered the reason for that. One of our cats must have a bit of magpie in her because we caught her carrying off a set in her mouth and stashing it in a little horde with a bunch of other various shiney objects (A pretty ink pen, metal hair clips, etc). What a crazy cat.

 

[Skippy123]

I have missing socks. Do you have dinner parties? Sometimes guest throw away flatware or little kids do that too. Just a thought.

Hope you find them

 

[justjulia]

Scissors, and steak knives.

 

[mingagreen]

I have been battling the sock thief for months now! I don''t understand where my kids socks go. I buy then a 9 pack of socks everytime we go to Costco and they litterally dissappear....very frustrating!

 

[Kaleigh]

It''s spoons for us. Drives me batty.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

A great big cast iron saute pan. How did that go missing??? I mean, it was huge and heavy (and the only one we had). I went to use it one evening and it just plain wasn''t there. Never been seen since. No one other than DH and I has keys to our house and I don''t think the dog took it (although I''mprepared to consider that as an option in the absence of any other theory!).

Jen

 

[pearcrazy]

Date: 3/25/2007 11:05:47 AM
Author: Kaleigh
It''s spoons for us. Drives me batty.

Kaleigh, I had the same mystery until I discovered the culprit red-handed throwing a spoon in the trash. My youngest son Liam (age 6) is a yogurt fanatic. I used to nag him all the time about throwing away his empty yogurt container instead of leaving it on the kitchen table. Well, he threw away the container all right-- spoon and all. My stainless pattern that I registered for when I got married has been discontinued, so I had to order more spoons from Replacements Inc. I ordered another 6 spoons a couple of years ago-- they are slowly disappearing again. My son claims he is innocent but I have started taping plastic spoons to the yogurt containers for good measure.

 

[sumbride]

Oneida lets you buy individual pieces on their website. I bought extra spoons because it always seems that I run out of spoons between dishwasher loads.

Our missing item is a common one... tupperware lids. FI does all the dishes (YAY!) but I do most of the cooking, so when it''s time to put the leftovers away, I have to figure out where he put the tupperware when he emptied the dishwasher. It''s never the same place twice. He doesn''t have much of a routine with tupperware. But I guess I can deal with it since it means I NEVER have to do the dishes!

Socks is also a big one... I take my socks off as soon as I get home so we end up with a pile in the living room and eventually they get tossed down the basement stairs and I think that has a lot to do with why a pair never ends up in the same wash load. I had a small hamper in the living room for my socks but FI moved it somewhere because he thought it was clutter and he can''t find it now.

I used to think I lost my pony tail holders, but I found the culprit! My cat STEALS them from me. He actively hunts for them and then loses them under the appliances and sofa. And then once I find them I don''t want to use them again!

 

[ladykemma]

in december i spent 500 bucks replenishing most of the kitchen stuff, after all where does a manual can opener go? big cooking spoons as well. steak knives, spatulas, bowl scrapers, ...

we have gorham ribbon edge, which is one of the stainless you have to buy by the place setting. i seem to buy one or two place settings a year.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 3/25/2007 2:20:10 AM
Author: diamondfan
There is a fork way station somewhere where they are all congregating and laughing right now...

my mom told me if I ever had a nice dinner party and I used my sterling to count the settings at the end of the night because pieces end up down the drain or in the trash...and I did indeed find one in the trash one time...

...especually if the party is a buffet service, check the trash!

 

[divergrrl]

Monarch: OMG! You have MY problem!!! I love my wedding flatware, I recieved service for 8, and then that dang Pottery Barn freakin'' DISCONTINUED it. I have only been married 5 years, and last year I realized I only had 3 dinner forks & 5 salad forks....WHAT THE? Why just the forks? I think someone, perhaps my husband has cleared them into the garbage when clearing plates.

Who knows. All I know is that I can''t replace them & I am sad. At $40 a place setting, they weren''t cheap either. I found a set at Crate & Barrel that is similar, but the forks have 4 tines instead of 3 like mine have. And it is a lot cheaper. For a little more than the cost of ONE place setting at PB, I can get service for 5 at C&B. I NEED service for 10. I may take your advice and buy a third set & hoard it.

Do you know of a set that is truly open (like I can buy just forks if I need to?). Funny you bring this up, I was pondering fixing this issue the other day.

Thanks!

Jeannine

 

[pricescope]

Money...

 

[Harriet]

My pearl studs, which I haven''t even worn.

 

[firebirdgold]

Our washer and dryer are some sort of weird alchemy devices, they transmute my underwear into his. I know I put my underwear into the washing machine but it never comes out of the dryer, his does! It doesn''t even matter what color the load is, I put in pink women''s underwear and get out white men''s underwear! HOW???

 

[Independent Gal]

Tools! I''m big into doing my own repairs in my condo and I can NEVER find the tool I need. Today it was my screwdriver (and this is my THIRD one, mind you). Last month it was my pliers. Weird thing? Today when I went to get the screwdriver from its customary spot, the pliers had somehow returned...

Do you think those ''minxes'' Diamondfan mentioned are building me something? That would be nice.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 3/25/2007 4:29:51 PM
Author: Pricescope
Money...

LOL! I so agree; me too!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 3/25/2007 7:19:02 PM
Author: IndieJones
Our washer and dryer are some sort of weird alchemy devices, they transmute my underwear into his. I know I put my underwear into the washing machine but it never comes out of the dryer, his does! It doesn''t even matter what color the load is, I put in pink women''s underwear and get out white men''s underwear! HOW???

Ooo, you need lingerie bags, IndieJones! I started using them after I took over the laundry (DH likes to help but inevitably ends up ruining some article of my clothing) a few years ago...it seemed I was losing undies left and right, but his were always accounted for. Weird!

 

[swingirl]

I noticed several things happening to my silverware too.

1. They''d get left in a carry-out styofoam box and thrown away box and all.

2. Knife used to cut donuts, pies and cake would get left in the box and pitched.

3. They''d fall off the counter into the garbage can and wouldn''t make a sound.

I seem to loose a lot more knives than spoons or forks. On a good note, I now have a really nice serving spoon the appeared out of nowhere! Someone must have brought it to my house and never taken it home. I have asked everyone I know and no one is claiming it. I know that SOMEONE out there is wondering where the heck could that spoon have disappeared to!!

 

[KristyDarling]

Socks in the laundry

Bed sheets -- we now own 4 sets of bed linens, not a single one of them is complete!!! It''s so embarrassing when guests come over and they sleep in a bed with a green fitted sheet, a yellow flat sheet, and two different colored pillow cases!