Posted on 07/26/2017 7:30:41 AM PDT by Jagermonster
BOSTON—Two hundred stuffed animals, two violins, and a 7-1/2 foot-tall Christmas tree: That was just a corner of the possessions Rosalie and Bill Kelleher accumulated over their 47-year marriage. And, they realized, it was about 199 stuffed animals more than their two grown children wanted.
Going from a four-bedroom house in New Bedford, Mass. – with an attic stuffed full of paper stacked four-feet tall – to a 1,300-square-foot apartment took six years of winnowing, sorting, shredding, and shlepping stuff to donation centers.
Among the possessions the Kellehers are keeping are three hutches – one that belonged to his mother, one that belonged to her mother, and one that they purchased together 35 years ago. One shelf is carefully lined with teacups Rosalie collected during her world travels. Another houses a delicate tea set from Japan, a gift her mother received on her wedding day.
“We really don’t need them,” she admits.
That refrain is becoming a common one as baby boomers begin to downsize and discover (as many generations before them have) that their children do not want their stuff. In fact, they recoil in something close to horror at the thought of trying to find room for the collections of Hummels; the Thomas Kinkade paintings; the complete sets of fine china and crystal, carefully preserved and brought out at holiday meals.
For their parents, to have a lifetime of carefully chosen treasures dismissed as garage-sale fodder can be downright painful.
“When [people] try to throw something away, they feel like they are losing ... personal history, losing a bit of themselves, losing a little of their identity, and they fear if they get rid of it they’ll never have that same experience again,” says Randy Frost, a psychology professor at Smith College . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
I can’t imagine my children wanting it, but this is frankly, for me.
Only way I could do it in a day would be with a D-9 Cat.
Yeah, that kind of stuff is hard to unload. I know, I have pewter things, too!
I have tag sales but people want things for free. It’s amazing how cheap people are!
so sorry Mercat for the loss of your son....
Let me just put something out there.
Ex’s family had a family member die. The family members were cleaning out the house and had to deal with a large porn collection and various ...er...equipment.
It really took the family members aback, grossed them out, and made everything just a bit more difficult.
So clean it up before you go, or give your best friend a key to clean it up for you so the family doesn’t have to.
Mine are Japanese, sea pearls, and heavy and gorgeous, though not mikimoto. I wear them every time I have a collar (my skin does something to pearls). I love them. I wear them to the landfill. I also wear my good gold chain, and maybe even more jewelry because I just enjoy it and I’ll be eccentric if i please!! Maybe have your jewelry reset to be able to enjoy it more.
So sorry to hear this. My condolences.
For someone whose parents died when he was a kid and subsequently lost 95% of their possessions and history, I have to say “Boo, Hoo, Snowflake!” to this.
sigh*
Enjoy your time finding treasures.
Things are nice to have.
They don’t let you down. LOL
I think their business model is buy really low and sell reasonably.
I have a set of Jadite salt and pepper shakers in my kitchen. From my grandmother’s house. love them.
I’ve been to a few auctions, and witnessed people buying crates of junk...always wondered if an estate auction was in their family’s future.
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No when I used to auction when I was in my late teens and twenties and trying to put together our house, I would buy the Dollar and 50 cent boxes, pull out the one thing and toss the rest to the dump
please post or freep mail some info on the companies you described.
Estate sales are for dead folks that never move. In our case, we want a smaller space with less chores. the problem is what to do with the surplus.
It is a real problem.
I have a heavy poplar cupboard made by my great-great grandfather, joined with pegs instead of nails. I have a nightstand made by grandfather, when he was twelve—and he made his own nails in his blacksmith shop, and selected the wood from a woodpile. I am committed to enjoy it as long as I have it—but these things are a history that will disappear.
Don’t destroy them - set up a free account with FamilySearch.org and upload them to their website. That would allow other people and other relatives to enjoy them.
Lol. Urban Industrial has about 5 years left of its shelf life until it, too, is rendered “junk,” as has every other designer fad since time immemorial.
I mean seriously how can someone bash one thing as junk when their own style is wall-to-wall Hobby Lobby?
It depends on your family.
May I suggest creating a data base of scanned photographs. My wife volunteered to sort through the stuff at our church to create reference material for a book describing the 100 years of existence.
In the process she became adept at sorting and categorizing and scanning and photoshop cleaning up old photos and documents . She has all four of our parents families photos organized and available to view on screen.
The big file was stored on CD and given to brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and grand kids.
Well I’ve been going to the wrong auctions. The typical attendee at local auctions is in their mid-fifties, usually accompanied by a more sane spouse who just shakes their head and packs up the loot.
There is a tradition in my family take care of your kids and let them watch out for theirs,
Yes, that’s also something I’ve thought about. The funeral director (for my mother) put up a very nice dvd of photos. Not a dry eye in the house, lol!
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