As a daughter of a hoarder, I'm usually in favor of donating items not in use. In your case, I would say that if you have the space, keep them. I wouldn't, however, keep them in hopes that one day they will be valuable. Keep them because you want the opportunity to hand them down to your grandchildren as a special keepsake for their use.

I have my grandmother's "good" set of china. It's not worth any money, nor would I choose that pattern for myself, but my grandmother was extremely special to me. I keep the set, and use it, in honor of her. I think about her every time I open the cabinet and see them. I'd give them up in a heartbeat if it meant I could have her back.

I have the same issue with an extensive collection of Beatrix Potter figurines and collectibles I've accumulated over the years. I'm so over them and looking at the big barrel of them packed up is bugging me. They are all inventoried but the thought of the work of selling them puts me off.

I've seen it happen many times where interest in these things skips a generation. It's not even the value as much as the sentimentality. My son is far more sentimental about his grandparents possessions than my daughter.

Perhaps select and set aside a few of the nicer pieces for the grandchildren (with some spares if more grandchildren could be in the future), but be sure to include some notes about who owned it and any personal recollections you may have. Otherwise it's just "stuff".

When my mom died, going through the house, she had tucked little notes inside things. Or even taped notes to the bottom of things. "This little potato masher was a favorite of Terry's (my deceased sister) when she played house" or "this cereal bowl was Skips (my deceased brother) favorite"

I'm setting aside a few of those figurines for grandkids. The rest.........there are charity sites that take collectibles but I have to do more research on those.

Do you have a local antique shop who may buy outright?

There is also an Antiques and Collectibles forum. I think we should move the discussion over there.

Or visit the organization forum if you need the strength to purge. :)

If you have the space and it's safely stowed, leave it until the next generation has a pass at it.

If the china is at all interesting, you can put it into regular dish rotation at your house. My mother did this with her old china set when she got a new "good" set. The sparks from the gold trim in the microwave didn't seem to bother her as much as it did me...

Ugh. I've been on the other end of this. We had to sell my parents' home last year and move my father out right after his 80th birthday. My mother was a decade younger but died 8 years earlier. It killed me to sort through her things, and to the extent my father understood, it broke his heart that no one was fighting for all the stuff. I took a light carload of things and shipped a few pieces of furniture, my siblings took even less, and we used an estate/moving agency to help us figure out what was worth selling vs. giving away vs. trashing.

I knew that I would never use the china - I barely use my wedding china, so two more sets would only gather dust. Same was true for the silver, which was fairly ornate. At least that was worth something. The Hummels, the Royal Daultons, the mountains of other stuff that my mother and grandmother had accumulated - much of the time probably by saving carefully for it - all of that we were told would not sell beyond a pittance.

A year later, I wish I had kept more. I don't know what precisely and I don't know why, really, other than it's a bit shocking to think my mother's things are all gone. She was the kind of person who would have loved GW, a careful and constant redecorator who sweated the details of renovations in ways that made no sense to me until I just went through one myself. Anyway, that perspective informs my advice - I would offer the things to your children and other loved ones now; but also give them time and space to reconsider. See if they might want one special piece (since as you know, most of this stuff won't sell even if it's a full set.) Then give it a bit more time.

If you do decide to get rid of things, I'd highly recommend finding one of these moving/estate specialists - they were savvy enough to recognize the (few) items of value. In the end the proceeds from the items that were auctioned from my parents' home ran into the thousands, which paid for the move and cleanout and provided a nice bounty for my dad on top of that (and helped him feel better about downsizing!)

My gramma left me these.

Now you know where I got my naughty streak.

Well Treb......I think you must have had one cool Gramma!

I

LOL

Treb, I love those glasses!

SC, What'cha got? I want see some more dish porn, even if they aren't naked!

I have my Grandma's china and silver. Her patterns aren't something I would choose, but I have a ton of it. I would prefer something different, but wouldn't spend the money....I don't think.....

On the other hand, I also got a few pieces of my Grandmother's Heisey Orchid crystal. I love it not only because I think it's really pretty, but I remember feeling really special whe she took it out for us. I have spent some good money adding to this collection off eBay and would love to add plates and cups to my collection.

When I was a kid, I loved tea sets. Things haven't changed much.

Treb, my husband would have a hard time deciding which to drink out of...lol..

He'd love those...

smalloldhouse- I loved your story about your mother. I don't have a lot of things from my mother, but so very appreciate those I do.

scpalmetto-if you have the space to store them, it's so much fun to entertain with a plate setting that you received from someone else. Or perhaps plan the right holiday meal around the place setting. My vote is to keep at least some items, unless you're not able to. Plus, you can tell the kiddos at whatever meal, this is your inheritance from your great-grandmother....

If you have the space, hold on to them. When my Mom left her home to move 350 miles into an assisted living to be near me she insisted all her things come or she would not. So, I ended up with all of her belongings that she did not need in assisted living, including her piano, furniture and all of her artwork and precious belongings. It filled my basement and any other dry storage I had. I'm slowly going through it since she passed and am so glad I have it. I had an offer on the piano last year but turned it down. She bought it when she was nineteen with earnings from her first job and gave me lessons on it. I can't part with it. I feel it's a part of my family history. It is important to keep these links and memories alive.

Years ago, my Mom gave me the china she inherited from an aunt. I've had it for 20 plus years & never used or displayed it. Not my style. I recently repainted & made a few other changes in my dining room. With the changes, "my china" in the china cabinet didn't look right. My Mom's old china ended up looking perfect. Such a surprise, to me. Tastes change. If you have the space, hang on to it.

I can certainly relate to this thread. When my mom moved to assisted living about 6 years ago, I helped to sort, pack and label a lifetime of antiques, collections and possessions. She sorted out what she planned to take, I packed some things for myself and my sister and the rest went to sale. We had a good antiques dealer come in and he sold everything, old and new for us.

When my mom passed away 3 years ago, the same dealer came in and took care of everything that was left. Sorting and packing was harder, and I couldn't keep everything. But I kept some of the most valuable antiques, her jewelry, some favorite Christmas dishes and some of things that I grew up with. I may not use everything, but I find a certain comfort in having the items. Now that we have the addition going up, I will have storage for everything and areas to display some of the nice china and crystal. It is just as well I didn't know we'd add to the house as I would probably have kept more. But eventually I will have to decide what to do with my own collections as I'm not getting any younger either.

Add me to the list that wants to see pictures!

In my family my mom was the youngest of 4 so there is nearly nothing that has been passed down, especially to grandkids (me). I have my grandparent's everyday dishes in a box with no plans to get rid of them, even though they're cheap stuff from the '50s and in poor condition from use and trips through the dishwasher. It's what I remember using on rare occasions when we went to visit.

I also have my grandmothers good China stored. Never use it, don't really like the pattern (a lot of tiny pink flowers). But I can't get rid of it either. It's probably only about 2-3 boxes, not a whole attic full though.

From someone who still has their Disco clothes in the closet upstairs ready to go if I ever get into a size 2 again, I say keep it!!! Those tiny disco clothes are in pristine condition if anybody's grandkids are having a retro moment. Last chance,,last dance toooniiighttt. OOOOh.

I do have the room to store it all now but frankly, I don't want to pass on the responsibility of having to go through it to the kids when that time comes.

It's all packed carefully and stored away in a cedar closet in the attic which is about 150 degrees. No pics until the weather cools in October. LOL

It is nothing that Antiques Roadshow would consider of value but mostly things like the Shelley cups and saucers that my mother collected. I used to use them for things like garden club meetings but I don't bother with that anymore.

I guess I have reached the point where keeping things that are not being used makes no sense. I do have a few pieces from the family that I love and use every day but keeping things in boxes makes no sense to me - unless the tide turns and the grandkids might want the stuff.

This past weekend the kids were visiting from out of town and I had the children go through all 50 years of Christmas decorations and ornaments. I let them choose what they wanted and packed it in designated boxes for when they get older. Christmas makes sense to them, I am afraid china and crystal are not on their radar at this point.

If it's packed away, out of sight, and isn't hampering your lifestyle, I might say just leave it alone. The kids that relate to Christmas now MIGHT grow up to have an interest in china and crystal. A long shot maybe, but stranger things have happened. You can always reassess in a few years.

I am continually weeding out the house and having Big Brothers Big Sisters take it away. I figure if my financials are in order and my kids don't have to struggle with that, if they get stuck going through some baubles behind, so be it. Consider it full circle for all the years I picked up after them!

I love the story about the notes with things. I think it's important to let people know, just in case something happens to us, if something has a history beyond what they know. Also if one thinks it has value beyond what one might think.

re: the original question, I'm with those who say if they're not taking up space you need, might as well keep them. BUT (BIG BUT) make sure that your kids etc. know that they will not hurt your feelings if they choose to not hold on to them beyond your time. That you were keeping them for the future generations.

There can be a lot of guilt associated with getting rid of things that were important to the generations that preceded us. I love that my mom told me constantly 'It's just stuff'. She instilled that if I liked something, keep it. If I didn't, don't. Furniture-wise, I'm down to a table and chairs. I was THIS close to getting rid of them a couple months ago, but decided the chairs need to be recovered and they're still helpful/useful and I still want them around.

I started packing up my kitchen today. I have a few stacks of stuff on my dining room table to get rid of one way or another. There are some serving pieces and the like that I haven't kept because I have fond memories of using them, but because I have memories of them always being 'around'. They were always in the upper cabinets. I've decided they don't need to be in my new cabinets.

I have a swell ashtray, lighter, and cigarette box that I've kept because I remember them being on the coffee table and I think the design is pretty. I will never, ever use either the ashtray (it's about 10" wide and about 20" long) or the lighter. The box...I may keep. I figure I'll set DH on a quest to see if they're worth something on ebay. If so, I'll take a pic and sell them. If not, I'll Goodwill the ashtray and lighter and keep the box. I'm all about the practicality now. I've taken pictures of lots of things that were hard to part with. I've decided that's better than shelf space.

As a daughter who had only my grandmother's encyclopedia from 1909, my mother's "paste" dishes, my dad's big tube radio and a coffee table, I vote keep everything. When I was young, that junk was just old stuff. Now that I'm old, I wish I had more of their junk. Buying it back on eBay and second hand stores is expensive!!

I've already told my daughter that the 25 hay racks of my junk will be her inheritance. At $5 a box, she'll be rich!