The only truly irreplaceable item I have is sitting next to me on the couch eating supper. Well, and the fourfooted one shedding on the rug, too. Everything else is just "stuff", to be used or displayed, not hidden away "to keep it safe", at which time it simply becomes closet- or attic-filler. Most of my accessories (antique copperware, some old molded glass birds and fruit my grandmother gave me, etc.) are packed away simply for lack of anywhere to put it out - I am thinking about maybe putting a shelf up about a foot below the ceiling all the way around the living room - but I'll probably get rid of a great deal of it because if it's been out of sight and out of mind for 2.5+ years and I haven't missed it, I don't need it. I have some antique furniture, but it's all used rather than coddled and fussed-over - none of it's valuable, and it's all pretty beaten-up to start with. :-) Maybe I would have a different attitude if I had expensive, rare items that had some kind of historical or monetary value, but I don't and I highly doubt I ever will! My family is mighty short on heirlooms, but to be honest as a general rule we're just not terribly sentimental people. The only things I even wanted to have from my late father was his Masonic regalia, but the stepmonster would not turn any of his possessions over to me after his death even though I was the legal heir per his will. It's not truly heartbreaking that I don't have them, and not worth hiring a lawyer and hunting down the stepmonster (who has moved away to goodness-knows-where), but my DH has expressed interest in joining a Lodge someday and it would have been nice for him to have those things as a legacy since Dad would have sponsored him to his Lodge in a split second. I probably would have made a shadowbox for displaying them until they were needed for use. I have no children to pass anything on to, not that I would burden them with things they would think they had to keep just because I owned something, especially if they didn't like it on its own merits. I'd rather my things went to a charity sale, an estate auction, etc. so that people who actually wanted the things could obtain and enjoy them.

Blum has new full extension/ soft close drawer hardware. Old Runners: Blum 562 series - 75 lbs dynamic/100 lbs static Blum 568 H series - 110lb dynamic/125 lbs static - heavy duty New Runners: Blum 563 series - 90 lbs dynamic/100 lbs static Blum 569 H series - 135 lbs dynamic/150!lbs static My cabinet manufacturer was still carrying the old runners when my cabinets were ordered, Feb., 2013. I had the hardware for four 36" drawers switched to the heavy duty 568H series in March, 2014. The soft close on my dish drawer stopped working & through GW I figured out it was a weight issue. With the 568H runners installed, my drawers feel stable & the soft close works, although I do wish I had upgraded to the even heavier 569H series. My experience with my KD was overall very good but the company she works for didn't know Blum heavy duty drawer runners even existed. She contacted her rep at Woodmode/Brookhaven, who was also clueless. I had to provide them with part numbers. It seems to me that if you are going to sell 36" or wider drawers, you should advise your customer to purchase heavy duty hardware. I've attached a link with all the Blum info about part numbers, weight limits, etc. Here is a link that might be useful: New Blum Tandem Plus Blumotion Drawer Runners

Errant-- You made me laugh. You sound EXACTLY like me when I discover a good toy too late. I can't remember what dimensions you chose in your pantry. But the Sistema bakery series is modular. You can stack them to nearly any height. Might still work. And if you have 8" deep shelves, they will fit perfectly front to back with no waste space. Below is a link to the best helper shelf that I found. I love their look, their expandability, and their sturdiness. I also like the fact that, unlike wood shelves, these are transparent and you can see what is below them. I use a LOT of these in my pantry on the fixed shelves. It is so much more efficient to stack only like items so one never has to unstack bowls and saucers to get to a plate, for instance. Also had them in my upper cabs until I had enough sense to just make some extra shelves myself. Here is a link that might be useful: Best helper shelf I have found. This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 16:27

Well, here's a bit of an update, finally. After being sick, getting distracted, and plain old procrastinating, the photos have finally been dealt with. First of all, thank you all for sharing your ideas and what you would do with them. It's interesting to get the different perspectives and look at our situation through them. It was surprisingly easy to sort the good from the bad after summoning the strength to just face them and whatever emotions they might bring with them. Many were blurry, there were a number where the people who were the most prominent subject of the photo were not even people we knew (like the guy who drove us to the chapel). Some were outright awkward, like I mentioned before, and I hadn't realized how unhappy I looked in many of them- not sure if that was so much the truth, or just poor timing of a photo. Either way, the small 'keep' stack ended up at 15 photos. In going through both stacks again, it felt clear that one stack was photos worth looking at, and one stack was photos without much to offer; I was surprised at how clear the distinction was and that I wasn't waffling about whether to keep more. There were two or three that ended up in the keep pile, that I wasn't real sure about. Maybe we will revisit in a year or two, and ditch them if they still feel wrong. For now they are in an envelope in the back of the file cabinet. It feels good to have finally dealt with them. They were one of those things that would turn up, get stuffed somewhere else, and then turn up again later- an exercise in denial. Now it feels like a tucked away envelope with the acceptable, and maybe even good memories, of the day. Thanks again to everyone who weighed in.