LJ Idol 11 Week 17

[sunouttomorrow]

“Are you sure you don’t want it? It’s an antique. Been in the family for a long time, handed down for generations.”

We’re downsizing - or attempting to anyway. Through the years, we’ve collected a ton of shit. I say shit, because when you get right down to it, it really is. Useless stuff that takes up a lot of space and is just meant to look pretty

Comments

[bleodswean]

I am having such a similar experience. You did a great job here and I love the picture of the cradle. I have the same type of hooded cradle at the foot of my bed - my grandfather made it for one of my sisters and no one but me wanted it.

[sunouttomorrow]

A few months ago I was talking to an antiques dealer and he said the entire industry is suffering because the younger generations just don't want the old stuff. They'd rather have experiences. I "claimed" the cradle years ago. I think I was a teenager. It's just got a great bit of history behind it.

[halfshellvenus]

I would totally want to keep the cherry armoire! It sounds beautiful as well as practical.

I understand the anguish over just letting these things fall away to no one in particular. Perhaps some of them could be sold? That would make it more likely that they'd be appreciated!

[sunouttomorrow]

I love the armoire, but it's HUGE and just won't fit into the smaller house we're moving into. A lot of these pieces were created when closets weren't a "thing". We'll try to sell them - we've tried in the past - but there's really not a lot of interest in antiques much anymore. It's heartbreaking to me.

[adoptedwriter]

One day we will have to face this dilemma. Half of our stuff came from grandmas and crazy spinster aunties who had cool old items in mint condition.

[sunouttomorrow]

I think our generation is running into this issue more than any other has had to. Our parents took it because that's what you did. We took it because it was cool to have antiques and they tied us to ancestors, but the younger generations just don't want it.

[pixiebelle]

That cradle is very cool. I love antiques and heirlooms, they just have so much personality.

[sunouttomorrow]

It has always been my favorite. It's not even that intricate or ornate, but I love that my great-grandfather built it. There's connection there. There are also repairs that I know my grandfather and father made to it, which makes that connection even deeper.

[tonithegreat]

Stuff is so hard! My parents lost their parents in kind of a tight grouping time-wise and no one was prepared to deal with the precious things. I suppose no one ever is. Things my grandmothers made are the hardest for me. I have boxes of afghans that no one else wanted.

[sunouttomorrow]

My mom passed almost 20 years before my dad, and when he started getting rid of stuff, we all panicked a bit. But, he was really doing us a favor by keeping only a few pieces that he really enjoyed. I wish my kids had more interest in some of the stuff and realized the connectivity of it.