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If getting out your family’s nice silverware for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year made you wish you had invested in a new silverware box last year – instead of waiting for it to come out discolored and in need of some serious tender loving care – now is probably the time to consider replacing your old version.

Loads of cooking, cleaning, and planning during the holiday season leaves little time dedicated to locate the old box of your good cutlery. We wait until the last minute, right when we’re feeling inundated with the madness of family and friend gatherings, to take care of the maintenance required to prep your fine silver. That’s why keeping your expensive or heirloom silverware in a high quality cherry or oak silverware box is the most efficient – not to mention the most beautiful – way to store your cutlery.

A silverware box that comes lined in with felt is the best way to deter the tarnishing. This helps maintain each fork, knife, spook, and serving utensil used year after year with just a gentle washing. Also, the inclusion of spacers keeps them separate and organized. Although many people think a normal box does the trick, using an actual silverware chest feels more formal and can then be kept in sight. Many people top off their cabinets or add it as a decoration on top of a buffet or shelving unit in kitchen or dining room areas.

Instead of getting discouraged by the cleaning or storage of your fine silver during the holidays, choose a durable silverware box to replace the older alternative that will create a legacy of its own for years and years to come.

Tags: oak silverware box, Silverware Box, silverware chest

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Tags: Silverware Box

Well, Thanksgiving is only two weeks away; and those who are hosting large get-togethers already have their hands full with preparations for the big day.  Certainly, there are tons of details to be taken care of, from grocery shopping, to house cleaning, to figuring out where to seat everyone.  In order to accommodate all of their guests, people everywhere will be dragging folding tables, folding chairs, picnic table benches, patio chairs, and even outdoor dining tables and kids’ picnic tables, out of their storage sheds.

Of course, these won’t be the only things that will be pulled out of storage in the coming weeks, as decorations will be brought down from attics, and holiday tablecloths will be taken out of cedar chests.

Then, there’s the good silverware, which is essential to elegant holiday table settings, and must be at its brilliant, beaming best.  However, because the services often emerge from their silverware boxes looking less than radiant, many people will have to add “polish the silver” to their to-do lists.  What’s worse is that, sometimes, in trying to make their silverware sparkle, they can, inadvertently, cause damage to it.

That’s why it’s best to know something about silver before you attempt to polish it.  For example, sterling silver is an alloy, comprised of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.  Over time, with use and exposure to air, it can develop a patina, which, in some people’s opinions, makes it more attractive.  Obviously, oxidation also causes the silver to tarnish; and, under very humid conditions, this can happen quickly.

While this is natural, and inevitable, fortunately, the tarnish can be removed, and your silverware can be restored to its original beauty.  That is, as long as you don’t wear rubber gloves while you’re polishing it, as that could cause serious damage.  In fact, rubber can corrode silver badly enough to leave deep etchings, and even wear away intricate, raised designs.  Surely, sometimes, it can scar silver so severely that a skilled silversmith will be its sole salvation.  Never use rubber bands on silver, either, or store it in cabinets or chests that have rubber seals or coverings.

Because acidic foods can also mar silver, be careful about using it to hold, handle, or serve salad dressings, vinegar, olives, eggs, salt, fruit, and fruit juices.  The longer it is exposed to these substances, the more damaged it will become; therefore, if you want to put fruit in a silver bowl, either line it with plastic, or set a glass bowl inside of it.  When you’re not using it, the best place to store your service is in a solid wood silverware box that’s lined with cloth.

So, while the bad news may be that you’ll have to polish the silver in advance of your Thanksgiving dinner, the good news is that it won’t have time to tarnish again before the next special occasion.  Remember, there’s another big celebration just around the corner.  Yep.  This is just a dress rehearsal; or, for those who are going to be cooking another holiday dinner next month, perhaps I should say, dressing rehearsal.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: cedar chests, kids picnic tables, outdoor dining tables, patio chairs, picnic table benches, Silverware Box, silverware boxes, storage sheds

Now is the time to get out the silverware box and polish up the good utensils for Thanksgiving.  That’s another time-consuming task amidst all of the holiday hubbub.  It’s enough to make you ditch the formality and eat in the backyard at the picnic table or outdoor dining set, where you can use paper plates and plastic forks, like the pilgrims did.  (Su-ure, they did!  And afterward, they sat around on their Adirondack chairs and chaise lounges, watching football.)      

Anyway, as is the case in many families, your setting may be a cherished heirloom that you save for special occasions.  But, while you’re trying to make it sparkle, be careful not to do anything that will accidentally harm it; that’s another thing that happens frequently. 

Sterling silver, an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, develops a patina over time, with use and exposure to air.  While some people find this attractive, oxidation can also cause unsightly tarnish; but, luckily, it can be polished away – which is what you’re probably doing this week.  If so, do not wear rubber gloves while you’re at it, as that could cause serious damage. 

Indeed, rubber can corrode silver severely enough to leave deep etchings that can be repaired only by a silversmith, and can even wear away raised designs.  So, if you’re gonna wear gloves, make ‘em cotton or plastic; and never use rubber bands on silver utensils, or store them in chests with rubber seals or coverings.  Use solid wood boxes that are lined with cloth. 

At CedarStore.com, we have magnificent silverware boxes, worthy of your finest silver, that are hand-crafted from cherry and oak, finished in one of six resplendent wood tones, and lined with green or burgundy felt.  They also make great gifts, as do any of the jewelry boxes, armoires, jewelry chests, steamer trunks, cedar chests, toy chests, and quilt racks, which you’ll find in our ‘Home Accents’ section. 

Now, when it comes to cleaning the silverware after dinner, the best method can depend upon different factors, including the age and type of the silver.  However, it seems that most people prefer to do their antique pieces by hand, even when it is perfectly safe to put them into the dishwasher (you know – like the pilgrims did!).

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: Silverware Box, silverware boxes

Well, the first big holiday of the season is breathing down our necks.  Next week, most of us will be sitting down with loved ones (and, perhaps, a few people that we can barely stand!), to our turkey dinners.  For those who are feeding large crowds, preparation for the feasts may include trying to figure out where everyone is going to sit, which means pulling a lot of folding tables, folding chairs, picnic table benches, patio chairs, and even outdoor dining tables and kids’ picnic tables, out of storage.

Of course, this is just the beginning; after Thanksgiving, it’ll be one big, mad rush to get ready for Christmas.  Besides shopping for the perfect gifts for everyone, from now until the end of the year, there will be decorating, making travel arrangements, baking, cooking, and trying to decide who’s spending what day, where.         

Another huge part of it is entertaining, which adds the stress of trying to keep our houses clean in showcase condition at all times.  So, we obsess over every little detail, including things that we rarely even think about for most of the year, such as the good silverware.  Because, in many homes, it’s used only on holidays, a lot of people will now be polishing it, to make it radiant for company. 

Naturally, it’s equally important for the silverware boxes to be gleaming as well.  Sometimes, however, they’re in poor condition, because they’ve been handed down with the silverware, and have suffered many scratches and chips while protecting it over the years.  If this is the case, it may be time for a new case – or, rather, box – for your silverware.      

At CedarStore.com, we have gorgeous, hand-crafted oak and cherry silverware chests that are available in six lustrous shades of wood stain, and lined with green or burgundy felt.  Even if you don’t need one, it will make a spectacular gift for someone on your list.  In fact, you can do a lot of your holiday shopping in our ‘Home Accents’ section, where you’ll also find stunning jewelry boxes, jewelry chests, armoires, steamer trunks, cedar chests, toy chests, quilt racks, and more.

And don’t feel guilty about replacing your original silverware box, because you can still keep it in the family.  Just give it to the sister-in-law who gave you socks last Christmas!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: Silverware Box, silverware boxes