Clutter or culture? (Erin)

Think carefully, young folk, before you toss. I live in a west coast city in which almost anything from the early 1900's let alone the late 1800's carries a big price tag in the antique shops and by "anything" I mean even stuff poorish people had in their homes over a hundred years ago. I'm 70 and still enjoy and even use stuff from my grandmother who died in 1934. And I'm not talking about valuable antiques. Just plain folk dishes and furniture and the like of the early 1900's and late 1800's. Sometimes and just for the fun of it I visit the antique shops and look at things and look at prices. I don't buy anything but I humbly thank the shopkeepers for the pleasure of looking with an added remark that they probably don't like to hear. "I will go home to greater appreciate the old junque I have. "

Now, after one of these rambles, I leave tags on things informing my heirs that on such and such a day I saw the same identical thing at such and such a price at such and such an antique store in our fair city. If you don't want the cut glass, not pressed glass, flower bowl which rings when you hit it, at least sell it on line to pay tuition for the kids. But forget about ever buying the like back again.

In short--research the value of what you are going to toss before you toss--or make someone else's day by just giving it away to someone who lusts for that old thing, which isn't bad either. I love whoever lusted for the 1920's wicker furniture of my father, at least five pieces, which I had to leave in what became my niece's house and to whom she finally gave it with my blessing and I bless another mover who gave her and her children a l920's baby-grand piano just a few weeks later. Karma.

My mother loved her stuff. My mother died. My father died. Four years later my sister and I are still dicussing what to do with the stuff. I am the problem = I look at the ugly little china dog and I don't see the ugly little china dog. I see the day I came home from yet another miserable day at school and there was my mother, holding the little china dog as she carefully dusted and polished the shelf it sat on. There was a warm spring breeze blowing through the open window, a vase of peonies on the table and I knew that soon my trials in the first grade would be over with and I'd be home with my mother for the summer, safe and cherished.

My sister sees an ugly little china dog.

my best friend has a clutter problem I tried to helped her but its seems she dont get it, and everytime I tell her to throw this and that away I feel like she wants to tell me off, I love her like a sister and I would not want to hurt her feelings, but it just drives me crazy! it seems that she is changing little by little but still she needs to get rid off alot of things that look taky, like for example the two ugly dusty fake christmas plants she has on top of another clutter cabinet full of stuff from back in the 80's, and early 90's she holds on to things like she was an old lady. to bad she has a nice home but the clutter is not atractive she needs to let go! I would put up a yard sale and sell everything for $1.00! its just THERE collecting dust! I hope little by little she changes or i'll give up on her decorations.

We have recently inherited so many things from my deceased mother-in-law. I feel blessed but overwhelmed at the same time. There are many usable things still, and I plan to use them- but some things are just things that meant something to her as a child that she carried into her marriage, etc...So now I have to wonder: will I leave my children lots of stuff to have to deal with? Some family members have feelings of guilt for wanting to be rid of little scraps of grocery lists- others don't even want to go through the things. I'm one who believes that the real waste would be to create a shrine to her, complete with closets full of clothes that people could be wearing, etc...