I had a brass teapot holder for the hearth inherited from my home.it was engarved "Oor Ain Fireside" a Scottish term and a song we were sung as children.I liked it and I knew it was old.

My husbands niece admired it and eventually I gave it to her willingly.I was 25 at the time.In time I discovered she had given it to her FIL who "liked it better than me" her quote.

I regret more than I can say..it had been my Gt Grandmothers and since doing family history I have recalled the item.

Mostly because these women before me had polished the stand I wish I could do so now

I do have a mirror of the same provinance and although not valuable it is old..and we all looked in this mirror to do our hair check our beauty..he! he! before school..work and family occasions.I wont part with it.A friend embellished it with stained glass fushia over the darkened marks..I have made a treasure of a family item

This niece became an antiques dealer both in US and UK..was remiss of keeping in contact until she needed us..so early on I learned that family treaures are but lent and should remain just that...in the family.
My husband found Wemyss ware local pottery his mother had stored she claimed that ..she sold it.as this had no sentimental value and it had been her Grandmothers it matters not..

every day items when past their use or need I do declutter.

I remember when I was young and foolish, I got rid of an entire
box of "Buffalo China"; many, many times I've regretted doing that. And then there was that pair of cranberry glass lamps I wish I still had. I'm tellin' ya, the dingy stuff we do when we're young. Geese!

This post is redundant; sorry!

My parents collected art glass - mostly paperweights - and antique cameras. After they passed away, we auctioned off over 1600 (that's right, sixteen HUNDRED) cameras. The glass items I am STILL selling, bit by bit, since 2004.

So I tend to steer away from collections per se. I have a few cameras and paperweights (just a few, the ones that had some personal attachment for me), and I have a lot of books, although I think I'll eventually donate them to the library. What I DO have, though, is scrapbooks. Some day my kids are gonna have to figure out what to do with them all. They can take up a lot of space.

Carolyn

I am iving away all my fat clothes, some never even worn. I feel as if they are now just junk to me and I never want to fit into them again.

Chatty,
I've notice lots of people give stuff they don't want to the
AMVETS, here. That is a busy store. And many items are new.
So happy you've gotten to the weight you like!

When we traveled more, I would collect one item each trip of native or local arts or crafts, always looking for the unique. I like supporting other artists. I also have a small collection of masks, but I'm almost out of wall space.

The items I collect are large and leaning towards expensive, so friends/family don't buy them for me. My house is my gallery, so I don't want a lot of clutter.

Divine,
I know what you mean. Clutter! A person collects items, which have to be dusted, etc.; then before long, you want to clear
it out of the house, to have neater surroundings. I've ran out of space to put things, so I've stopped collecting. I enjoy rare stones, such as: pink and blue quarts, and amethyst.

Give away what does not make a memory in your mind, keep the things that make you happy, and what your children are happy to cling to=- they'll appreciate it! And ask them what they would wish for you to hang onto. We have a teapot that was in my in-laws home, it was on the top of their fridge, ugly as hell. We have that now, and my sons delight that it was saved and now it sits in our kitchen.It WILL be passed on for sure. You gotta keep what speaks to you...and just shove the rest. We come into this life sans everything, and it is very easy to keep all the bits and pieces to try to quantify your experiences. Having lost all our parents,and the quandary you go thru there, I can tell you there is a lot of pain there, trying to get thru that stuff, and it was just from a point of generations- they kept everything and wonderful for that. Photos and childhood memories are worth saving. Always photos. Get rid of the other stuff. Keep it in your hearts and minds and share with the other generations to keep it safe.