Take These 5 Common Items Off Your Wedding Registry

Any engaged person or newlywed will tell you that the most fun part of getting ready for your big day is going to the store and scanning the aisles to create your wedding registry. When you're surrounded by the possibilities of free kitchen goods, bedding, bathroom accessories, and home goods, it's really easy to get swept up and register for everything in sight.

However, the reality of registering for wedding presents is that you don't really need everything the consultant tells you is essential for a new home. Yes, every household needs bed sheets, dinner plates, and an ironing board, but there are still plenty of outrageous items common on wedding registry lists that are products of a day gone by or special occasions that only happen once in a blue moon.

Planning your wedding and moving into a new home are stressful enough as is. Simplify your life and resist the urge to scan for these five items. You're organized kitchen and home will thank us later.

Specific Cocktail Glasses
Unless you and your future spouse constantly love to sip on martinis, make Manhattans in your spare time, or pop Champagne every time you have a good day, pass on specialty barware. All of those highball glasses, martini glasses, beer mugs, and red wine glasses will take up an incredible amount of space in your kitchen. The average party guest won't mind drinking a margarita out of a juice glass — trust us.

Fine China
When you enter into any department store to register for your wedding gifts, one of the first areas the consultant will lead you to is the fine china section. Precious, expensive dinner plates, tea sets, and soup bowls look so appealing but will clog your cabinets and rarely get used. When was the last time you attended or threw a formal dinner party? If the answer was "within the last three months," then congratulations: You live a very posh life and probably need fine china. Otherwise, these plates will only get whipped out during the holidays. Save your family's money for something more useful.

Knife Sets
A full knife set, complete with a fish knife, slicing knife, six-inch utility knife, and a wooden block may feel essential, it isn't. Any chef will tell you that you really only need three knives: a chef's knife, paring knife, and serrated bread knife. Instead of registering for an overpriced set, focus on these essentials and register for high-quality, individual knives.

Cloth Napkins and Napkin Rings
Like the fine china, cloth napkins and silver napkin rings are meant for incredibly formal table settings and entertaining that the average party host simply never does. While it may be nice to have beautiful cloth napkins for special homemade dinners and holidays, for the most part, these cloth napkins will just sit forgotten in your linen closet until you move into a new house and find them in the corner. And really, who needs napkin rings?

Single-Use Kitchen Gadgets
We're talking about the kind of kitchen gadgets that make your junk drawer refuse to shut. Yes, we're calling out the herb strippers, strawberry knives, avocado slicers, ice pop trays, garlic presses, pasta portioner, corn shredders, cake levelers, and apple slicers. These items may seem like fun little $5 add-ons when you're zipping through Bed Bath & Beyond, but they'll take over your kitchen if you're not too careful. You can perform all of those respective tasks with a little care and a knife (see above on just how many knives you actually need).