# Glasses in the cupboard, upside down, or upright? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067 "2004-03-02T06:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/21 "2004-03-02T21:48:17Z")
I always put them right side up, I never trust the surface of the cupboard to be clean enough. I mean in all honesty how many people clean their cupboards surfaces regularly. If they are glasses which don’t get used often I would always wash them before use anyway. > [@twickster](#): > > And I put the TP on the roller with the paper coming down over the top. It never rolls easily that way. I have it coming from underneath. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/22 "2004-03-02T21:57:13Z")
Upright. We’ve got no bugs in our kitchen and we use the glasses often enough that there’s little chance of dust collecting. Besides, we’ll just inspect and rinse the glasses we don’t use as often (pilsners, tulips, flutes, etc.) if need be. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/23 "2004-03-02T22:00:07Z")
I store mine with the opening up, usually. But I do not mean to imply any criticizm of those who store them face down… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/24 "2004-03-02T23:27:59Z")
Mine are mostly upside down, but my plates and bowls are all right side up. Some coffee mugs are inverted, some aren’t. Doesn’t matter - I always inspect my dishes and glasses before use. The kid unloads the dishwasher without paying a lot of attention to whether the stuff is, in fact, clean. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/25 "2004-03-02T23:38:25Z")
Right side up: if there’s still some moisture inside, it will evaporate instead of festering; the rim is the most fragile part of the glass; and dust doesn’t accumulate much in a closed cupboard. If we haven’t used a glass in a long time, then we rinse them out first anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/26 "2004-03-03T01:11:39Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Probably more of an IMHO thread, but I put mine upside-down because of the dust thing. That, and dead bugs tend to accumulate in right side up ones; especially if you don’t use them frequently. **BIN-GO!** Living in FL, you never know what creepy-crawlies may be lurking in the cupboards, walls, floors, etc. I’d swear bugs used to run this state; in their minds, they still do. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/27 "2004-03-03T02:41:18Z")
Once I was told that crystal glasses should never be stored on their rims because the rims aren’t made to hold the weight of the glass. I store my everyday glasses in alternate rows to save space and my wine glasses on their stems. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/28 "2004-03-03T07:46:32Z")
“Crystal” is just glass with a load of lead added. I am not sure you want to use that stuff to hold liquid. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/29 "2004-03-03T08:36:18Z")
Mugs go upside down. I have so many that I need to stack them on top of one another. Seems easier that way. Glasses go the right way up. They seem to be more stable that way. Of course the best system for stemmed glasses is upside down and hanging from their bases, but my place is not a bar. TP unrolls from underneath. One flick of the finger and the correct amount is dispensed ready for tearing. Sure this isn’t MPISMS? ---
**Author:** ![cookeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@cookeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cookeze)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/30 "2004-03-03T09:02:56Z")
I used to store my cups and glasses with the rims down. Not any more. When you find dead critters in your upright glasses, how do you think they ended up dead? Being a guy, I never paid any attention to the paper that was used to line the shelf. It’s mostly a female thing, I think. And they hate bugs. And the lining paper could have insecticide impregnated into it. The instructions that come with the paper say it’s not for kitchen use, but no one seems to care about that. So when your glasses are rim down, you’re getting a dose. So if you are a renter, even if there is no paper at this time, you don’t know if any used to be there. Tops up! And when you find a dead one in a glass—break out the tequila! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/31 "2004-03-03T13:01:00Z")
Upside down, when possible (some don’t fit that way). The main reason is probably that is way my mom did it, so that’s the way I do it, force of habit. Maybe I’m in denial, but I like to think my cupboard shelves are kept fairly clean. They’re lined, and I clean them fairly often. For the glasses we use the most, I will sometimes put a paper towel over the liner, so that I can toss it and replace with a fresh paper towel once we run through the cycle of glasses. We don’t have a dishwasher (I mean, other than me), so our glasses dry out there in the air, and I don’t put them away under they are bone dry. They probably get more dust sitting in the rack then in the cupboard anyway. ---
**Author:** ![spudzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@spudzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spudzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/32 "2004-03-03T13:23:26Z")
Right side up. If they’re slightly wet they’ll dry better this way. Plus, my glasses are quite bottom-heavy, so putting them in upside down will make them top-heavy and more likely to fall over if bumped. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067/33 "2004-03-03T18:37:30Z")
I buy bags of party cups. Lousy for the environment, but saves the upside down/upright debate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glasses-in-the-cupboard-upside-down-or-upright/232067.md?page=1)