Taming Counter Clutter

I can't stand having clutter on my kitchen counters. Especially dirty dishes.  The kids will get a drink and put the dirty cup on the counter or in the sink.  When they get thirsty again they can't remember which cup they used before so they grab a clean one out of the cupboard.  This process is repeated several times a day.  Multiply that by 6 kids, and you get the picture.  The counter and sink were always full of dirty cups.  Then I walked into Anthropologie and found this:

Could this be the solution to my dirty cup problem?  Then I looked at the price tag.  At eight dollars a pop I knew this was not my solution.

I started thinking.  Why don't I make my own monogram mugs?  So I did.

I went to a thrift store and found eight matching mugs for 25 cents each.  Took them home and gave them a nice bleach bath.  Then I had the kiddos initials cut from vinyl with a Cricut and slapped them on the mugs.  (I didn't really slap them on.  More like I carefully lined them up to make sure they were straight). 

The vinyl has held up great to washings in the dishwasher and by hand.  They look so cute all lined up on the counter, and everyone always knows which cup is theirs.