<p>I’m trying to find lightweight non-breakable dish washer safe dishes for dorm use. No luck so far. Suggestions?</p>
<p>IKEA has some really cute, very colorful plates, plastic glasses & bowls, all of which are diswasher safe & microwaveable. They’re about $1 each, all lightweight and nonbreakable. Unfortunately, they’re not available on line.</p>
<p>Corelle is a little more breakable than you might want, but it’s dishwasher safe & microwaveable. Available at Target & Walmart.</p>
<p>You might actually want to check your local dollar store. I got two dishwasher & microwave safe containers for $1. I tried putting one in both and it came out looking just as good as it did going in. There were also forks/spoons & cups that I got. And well if they ever do break it was only $1.</p>
<p>In case that got lost…Corning Ware,which includes Corelle, is micowave and dishwasher safe. You should be able to order it on-line at Target or Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>I’m staying away from Dollar Store type merchandise for a while. Nearly everything there is made in China and I don’t want my purchase to be the next one recalled for lead.</p>
<p>That being said, Target has nice deep plastic bowls, as well as shallow ones.</p>
<p>I just bought a 3-pack of microwave safe plates at Target. They are basic white and a material similar to Corelle.</p>
<p>I love my plain white Corelle, <em>but</em> when they hit a hard surface they don’t chip, or crack in two. They explode into hundreds of daggerlike shards that are very hard to clean up. Is the dorm carpeted? If so it might be fine. Corelle + ceramic tile floor = puncture wounds to bare feet.</p>
<p>I got plastic plates and mugs from Walmart when the kids were small so they could set the table themselves without me worrying about breakage. They were among the summer picnic items (so you might find them on sale by now). We still have them – we throw them in the dishwasher, nuke them, use them for crafts – and it’s been 15+ years now.</p>
<p>I’ve seen equivalent stuff at Target. I got two sets of stoneware when I went to college, which served me just fine. I wouldn’t get anything fancy – odds are those dishes won’t make it past college.</p>
<p>I would have suggested dollar stores, too, but the point about potential lead contamination is a good one.</p>
<p>I like corelle plates, and corning wear bowls I think would be nice for college.</p>
<p>Watch out for melamine plastic ware, though. If the product is packaged properly, it should have a warning label that it’s NOT OK to microwave.
(Too bad since there are lots of cute patterns with the resurgence of melamine.)</p>
<p>Corelle can be found at WalMart also, with a decent selection. Just bought S the white/blue striped pattern (but not the heavier “earthenware” type).
Luckily, his dorm is carpeted :)</p>
<p>Dorm room is not carpeted. I’ve checked 2 Target stores and nothing plastic was microwave safe. Good point about stuff from China. I’m not near any IKEA stores. Will hunt more today. Thanks for suggestions. I try to avoid Wal-Marts because they under-pay their employees and force their way into places.</p>
<p>We also found microwave-safe plastic plates at Target last week. They were $5.99 for a 4-pack and came in red, white, or blue.</p>
<p>Here is an interesting site. It may be difficult to find dinnerware that is not imported. Even though Corelle is generally made in the USA - the mugs and saucers are imported I believe. Much of what you find at Ikea may be made in China too. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Dinnerware/CollegeDinnerware.html[/url]”>http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Dinnerware/CollegeDinnerware.html</a></p>
<p>IKEA says that its stuff is made in Sweden (at least the ones that we bought).</p>
<p>Tupperware is a bit more expensive but the stuff lasts forever. BB and B also has microwave safe vessels.</p>
<p>Very little of what Ikea has is made in Sweden - it is made all over the place with China being the number one supplier at about 20% of merchandise. I think less than 10% is still made in Sweden. At one point, the labels were vague - something like “made in Sweden quality” - meaning it was designed in Sweden. Ikea supposedly has cleaned up its act some but at one time, they were in hot water for child labor problems in Romania, the Phillipines and Vietnam. Anytime products are offered on the cheap, there is usually manufacturing in developing and Asian countries.</p>
<p>The microwave safe plates in Target were in the microwave aisle, not the aisle with all the other dishes. But they are made in China. I stood there today and debated about the possibility of lead paint and decided to pass.</p>
<p>wow, I don’t even think about things like that when buying stuff. I guess i’m strange. Either that or young!</p>
<p>I went through this same process/dilemma last year and only had luck at Target. After all my hours of searching,I don’t think S1 ever used them, though!</p>
<p>Just checked the dishes I bought at IKEA - they weren’t made in Sweden, but they weren’t made in China either; they were made in the US. So no worries.</p>