Community Chat

[tsavorite]

I would agree with your list pretty much....I did want some photos from my parents home and have those but I am thinking my sons will not want any of them from long ago days.  Just more current and only a few not boxes and boxes of them LOL!

As for nick nac type of things nobody wants most of that stuff...donate to charity and see if someone else does.  

Clothes that is out of the question LOL!  I have seen people save clothing but not my family or myself.  

My coin collection would be the only thing I see them keeping....they have one going from when they were younger and now they appreciate it and we have all looked at them together just recently.  

Jewelry...that's a sell for what you can get for it....my boys won't want it for sure LOL!

Old furniture...doubt it...I did kept and restored a few truly all wood tables from my parents home....came out great and they are octagon shape end tables with cabinets very heavy and beautiful.  Had some scratches...nobody wanted them so I kept them.  

I don't worry about all my "stuff" and think kids will want it....I expect they won't and that's fine.  I enjoyed it while I was here and that's all that matters to me.

[Trailrun23]

It is great to know what your daughter would want of yours. The list I saw included quilts as not being wanted, but when my mother died, one of the first things my nephew, of all people, at age 37, asked for was a quilt that was on the bed when he would spend the night at her house. It is now on his son's bed.

the list I posted was obviously not written in stone.. it I think it is a good wake-up. All so some who are still holding on to things assuming their kids will want it. Much of our stuff will be a burden for them if they don't need or want it.

The worst is the paper. Boxes and boxes of every receipt, invoice, shopping list, letter, etc from the past forty years. Shred it now! 

[AuntG]

No, stuff like china and flatware have no appeal. I'm pretty good about decluttering and don't have a ton of stuff. One thing I've noticed that household auctions and garage sales bring out lots of shoppers, so there are people buying many of the things mentioned on this thread.

[Shepsmom]

So true. We had to pay a company to remove and dispose of a great Aunt's house full of things she collected. I took a few things but in the end it was full of dust collectors for me. I am not into nick nacks. None of my kids wanted anything. 

[Lucky Charm]

We just downsized majorly into a new home that we already had fully furnished, so I had a lot of things to get rid of.

Kids did take rooms of furniture (dining room, bedroom and some Christmas decorations.  

I sold a lot on ebay, and a huge flea market.

I still have more to do, but the most of it is done.

But what cracks me up is the visions that these threads give....like there are rooms full of Ladies Home Journals in boxes and creepy antique dolls (with one eye rolled up and one half closed...lol)

We've stored a lot of our own kid's stuff, too.  Took decades for them to claim it--Ha!

My parents downsized, too, but people would probably faint if they saw my mother's linen closet filled with table linens.  She still washes and irons and changes out her table cloth every couple of days.  And I'll gladly fight over the photos and even the slides they have from their honeymoon on.

So if I have a little bit for our children to do when the last of us is gone, they'll be paid dearly for it.

[mac116]

I've asked my kids what they might want...NOTHING was their answer.  My sons are in their 40s with their own homes and their own stuff.  They purge regularly to avoid our situation.  I'm certainly not offended.  I didn't want any of my MIL's stuff, and had to get rid of the stuff that I took from my Mom's house.  Moral of my story:  TOO MUCH STUFF

[on the bay]

I have found this so interesting reading these replies.

I think it really does depend on the family and the children and grandchildren. So yes, I say ask.

My mother asked us to write things down that we wanted and everytime we or the grandkids came to visit she would also take us/them thru and ask if we wanted things.

I have one daughter who is very sentimental and also a wonderful gourmet cook and entertainer. She has always been a great host. She loved having my mother's dishes, pans, little china tea things, recipes. She also uses most of my Christmas decorations that I had in our house. I love seeing her use and enjoy them.

I  have another daughter who is extremely minimalist.

My son is half and half.

So yes I would say ask your children or friends or neighbors.

All my children like photos and history of the family and have asked me to save it.I gave them many of their albums already.

But I also went though all my parents things and sent them to family I thought would appreciate them-trunks of letters-some 100 years old.

You would be surprised at how some are very interested in family history. I have a cousin and a 2nd cousin(?) who saved all the family history they could-on top of what I sent them.

So you never know.

And some young children do not have the resources or income for good furniture-modern or otherwise and I are grateful to get it if it makes sense to move it (and most often it doesn't unless in same area.)

And really all the "stuff" I have now which one daughter says is not a lot, I still like. 

I also am lucky to have grandkids so it's fun to give them things I find I think they might like now.

We all did have to throw out yes like others have said paperwork, receipts, multiples of supplies, old bedding and towels that  our parents still wanted. Though difficult, as I'm sure most of us know, many of us have had depression era parents and what they saved was a whole different ballgame than what most of us save today. But if it still makes sense to them or would be too confusing for them to throw out while they are alive, than I think that is their right to keep it the way it makes sense to them or is meaningful still.

I think when we ask what they would like, then that is very meaningful to us and them. Especially when we, or our parents are not here. It's like a gift they gave to us especially.

[Trailrun23]

Yes it is good food for thought. I realized what was once important to me prob isn't important to younger generations, they have different tastes and consider so many things to be disposable. Many don't even register for their own good china when they get married now, so why would they want mine? 
I actually put a very nice chest of drawers on the curb two weeks ago and it sat there until the trash man hauled it off...there was a time when pickers would have grabbed it right away. 

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

I have gotten rid of a ton of stuff in the last couple years. As I was going through stuff I asked if they wanted anything I was getting rid of, nope, from both of them.

DD wants a certain cut glass blue and green bowl and a pitcher, period. Oh, she would take the Ninja grill. lol

My son most likely will take the solid cherry dry sink my husband had made for me for my 35th birthday.  It is beautiful and was made from wood on our property.  It weighs a ton.

[Malcontent]

@Trailrun23 

My kids and grandkids only want my money.

I don’t blame them, I only want my money too.