Baby boomers are downsizing — and the kids won’t take the family heirlooms

Boston Globe ^ | 04 June 2017 | Beth Teitell

[Mamzelle]

It's an eye-opener, isn't it? Thanks for the thread. I am ready to find a drawer, shelf and to start purging. I am attached to too much stuff. A lot of what I'm attached contains a family history that no one cares about but me.

Old folks want to deliver their memories into the minds of their kids -- and it's truly a kind of vanity and certainly a kind of idolatry. Know someone obsessed with genealogy and watched how much more fascinating he found dead people more interesting than his own children. And he seemed to be offended when his kids wouldn't care about dead people, either.

[G Larry]

Excellent!

[wbill]

I understand, as I'm sitting right where your kids are now with regards to your decluttering. Mom and Dad know that - other than the real heirlooms, photos and family history, things that have been in the family for generations, and so on - I'm not interested in "stuff". I have my own stuff, and frankly, too much of it.

In laws, though? Not so much. Hoarders, all, and they don't understand why Mrs WBill and I don't value their "stuff". Not heirlooms, not family history...just "stuff". For instance, there might be a - one, specific - piece of Tupperware that we can use, and have a place for. It would be appreciated, and put to immediate use. However, we don't need 5 big garbage bags of Tupperware that have been stored in someone's shed for 20-odd years, as well.

Mrs. WBill's New Year's resolution this year was to get rid of one thing a day (mostly clothes, so far...), and mine was to declutter one thing a week (desk, dresser, closet, etc). So far, we've pretty well stayed on track. I'm sure that our garbageman isn't all too pleased with us, though. :-)