I have a secret to share….. I lost 25 pounds.  But that is not the secret.  On Sunday I went to the William Ashley Warehouse Sale in Toronto and finally purchased white dinnerware for my kitchen.  I bought a 12 place setting of white bone china which included round dinner plates, sandwich plates, bowls and mugs.  I have always wanted white dinnerware for my kitchen (which to a designer is the only colour to have) but I already owned a good set of stoneware in a 12 place setting.  Although the stoneware was in a ‘colour and pattern’ that had matched a previous kitchen, I could not justify getting rid of it as it was in excellent condition.  Finally my chance to un-guiltily depart with this dinnerware came along!  My MIL (mother-in-law) needed a larger set of dinnerware for her new Condo.  Yeah.  The 3-R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle – not reading, writing and ‘arithmetic) were on my side.  I quickly packed up the stoneware and out of my kitchen it went, off to MIL.  Now don’t feel sorry for me wondering “my goodness…what will she eat off of now?”  This is where the secret comes in.  After unpacking my new, lovely, white dinnerware and wanting to place them proudly in my kitchen cupboards I removed all the other ‘extra’ dishware which amounted to 30 dinner plates, 20 bowls and 15 mugs!!   And that doesn’t include the stoneware I had already gotten rid of.  For years I have been telling clients/friends/family to get rid of clutter and to not have so much stuff, especially extra stuff in their homes.  Well I was just as guilty.  In compensation for not having white dinnerware I had so many other occasional plates, bowls, mugs that when I removed them I literally lightened my cupboards by 25 pounds.  Hubby was always worried that the cupboards were going to come crashing down off the wall because of the extreme weight.  But not now.  Now I no longer have the need for anything else but my new white set.  And oh, doesn’t my food look better now!