I love second-hand stores and I love knick-knacks! I was born and raised in a knick-knacked house. I admit that at times it was overwhelming, especially having to dust all those little things. But now, some of those same knick-knacks are cherished treasures because of their link to my Mom.

But we're careful not to overdo it. We keep a few treasured ones around, the rest we've managed to give to nieces (who also remember them from Granny's house).

I love any gift that anyone gives us. I love that they took the time and care to pick something special out. We keep all of these around for 2-3 years, because we see them as decorating our house with the light and love of our loved ones.

But we do a major clean-out of these little things every so often, keep the ones that we've grown fond of and give the rest away (or take them to Cuba to give to our friends there).

When I was younger, on my own and very poor, I relied on the second hand stores for all of my clothing. I would not have survived without thrift stores and food banks. So I still go back to buy basic clothing and accessories there, then augment my wardrobe with store-bought stuff as needed. I like the idea of recycling and reusing, and repurposing too, instead of always buying "new".

I too have knick knacks that came from my grandmother's homes. Their only value to me is that the remind me of these people who are no longer living on this earth.

One of my grandmothers collected sets of dessert plates plus a cup and saucer. When we would go to her home for dinner, dessert and coffee was an expected part of the meal, and I loved that she would serve on these unmatched plates. While she always set the right cup and saucer together, you had no guarantee that your plate would match your cup. I had such fun appreciating the different colors and designs and trying to pick out my favorite.

These days the collection I have sits in my china hutch, and I never think to use it-- even for special family meals. I guess I ought to start doing that.

We use a lot of my Mom's (grandmother's) old dishes daily. I had them all wrapped up and safely stowed away in boxes, until one day asked myself why. I had always loved those dishes, yet never used them (and Mom rarely used them either). It seemed such a waste to keep them wrapped up - who was going to enjoy them if not me???

So we unwrapped everything, and now we use them daily, and get so much enjoyment out of them. Since I don't have children, and none of my nieces are going to want them (they have enough stuff already from both sides of their families), if the dishes get broken, well then so be it, at least they were well-loved while they survived, lol.

I like this concept of using the "good dishes" Eagle Heart. He always had to hand wash the good stuff in our family, though I confess i haven't always done that.

I recall that my mother worked at a fine jewelry store when she was in college -- they sold fine china and silver. My mother used to tell me that one of the demos she -- and the other store employees -- used to do to show customers that these dishes were not actually fragile, was to put a cup down on the floor and stand on it.

Of course, logic tells me that scientifically, standing on an upturned coffee cup would probably distribute the weight in a safe way. so that was likely a bit of a "trick."

Anyway, I'm all for getting out our good dishes and using -- and enjoying -- them. Bravo for you for doing this.