Stuff it: Millennials nix their parents’ treasures

[pstokely]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/boomers-unwanted-inheritance/2015/03/27/0e75ff6e-45c4-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html

"Whether becoming empty nesters, downsizing or just finally embracing the decluttering movement, boomers are taking a good close look at the things they have spent their life collecting. Auction houses, consignment stores and thrift shops are flooded with merchandise, much of it made of brown wood. Downsizing experts and professional organizers are comforting parents whose children appear to have lost any sentimental attachment to their adorable baby shoes and family heirloom quilts.

To make matters worse, young adults don’t seem to want their own college textbooks, sports trophies or T-shirt collections, still entombed in plastic containers at their parents’ homes.

The 20- and 30-somethings don’t appear to be defined by their possessions, other than their latest-generation cellphones."

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. "Thanks, Mom, but I really can’t use that eight-foot dining table or your king-size headboard."

I think they key word in there is 'use'. While I'm glad to see newer generations becoming less materialistic, I think an important distinction is still functionality. When 'downsizing', an important first question is 'Can and will I use this?' If the answer is 'no', or 'extremely rarely', then why have it?

[Butterbean]

25. That's the key to decluttering.

My husband and I decluttered, and one of the big things you have to do is let go of the sentimental reasons for keeping a lot of crap.

My parents are huge packrats, bordering on bona fide hoarders, and that motivates me to keep our "stuff" to a minimum. I don't buy things just because they're on sale or cute or whatever. I don't keep them just because some particular person gave them to me, either.

[hollysmom]

60. Yes, I am having trouble giving away my solid wood very heavy furniture

It was fine when I gave dinner parties for 20 people, but then people stopped coming. SO time to downsize my house, You would think someone would want to buy it. but no. Thomasville when it was made in the US of solid Cherry - i.e. repairable and cheaper in the long run.

[Protalker]

79. I love my Thomasville stuff

I saved, sacrificed, and enjoyed it. My daughter lives in downtown condo. Let her do what I did. Auction and resale is free money to me. I appreciate what I had so let another who wants it enjoy.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

80. We barely have room for a 4 person table.

Putting in the 'fly' that makes it a 6 person table means you have to have people get up so you can move past them out of the room. But we also invested in solid wood (Amish made) furniture that will outlast us. As you said, cheaper in the long run. And far more comfortable to boot.

If individuals don't want it, though, I'd bet public service type places might. Senior centers, community centers and the like. Especially if it's a donation. Might even get a decent tax write-off out of it.

[mercuryblues]

2. oh please

someone tell my kid this. LOL I feel right at home in her apartment. Mainly because she has a lot of our stuff handed down to her. She keeps asking "when you want to get rid of xyz, I want it" I drew the line when she asked for my car. She then laughed...well when you die then?

[bravenak]

36. !

I keep telling my mom that her motorcycle is mine the second her husband dies.

[mercuryblues]

40. yup

Stake out the claim early and often.

[mainer]

3. I find this sad. Millennials don't care about old wood furniture and historical items

because everything they value is in digital form?

I really treasure the old items carved by hand, or battered through use, that have been handed down to me. Not to mention old books with handwritten notations and items that I know my ancestors used. These things that end up in antique stores will some day be worth a lot -- while the millennials hug their precious thumb drives.

[zonkers]

26. Maybe they can just move into cyberspace, too. I hear the rent is cheaper.

[antigone382]

48. How much of it is really old or hand-carved though?

I think you're overexaggerating from what the article says. Not everything that gets handed down is a precious heirloom.

Roewer often finds himself counseling boomers as he helps them clear out. Roewer was born in 1973, which makes him part of Generation X. He says his own parents try to give him items for his 750-square-foot home.

“When my parents downsized from 4,500 square feet to 1,100, they sent me four boxes of stuff. It was things like cards from people I no longer knew, a paper plate with the face of a lion I had glued yarn around and my christening outfit. I appreciate my mom taking care of this stuff, but I really don’t want it.” (He is keeping his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby cars.)

We live in smaller houses and apartments, we have to be more mobile, and the fact is that you can save images on thumb drives. At the same time, we do have a sense of design and quality over quantity, and are striving to incorporate those things into our homes.

Millennials like to stick to their personal design aesthetic. “Millennials are design-conscious, informed consumers. They bring a lot more confidence to how they want their homes to look,” says Newell Turner, 53, editorial director of the Hearst Design Group. “They need to have reasons for why they are doing something. They are not just taking a bed to inherit it. It has to have an important meaning for them or fit in with an aesthetic they are building for themselves.”

I don't want to own stuff. I want to own a few things that meet my needs and create a space I like to be in. I want those things to be durable, and made ethically and sustainably. The fact is the obsession with stuff is playing a large part in killing the planet and keeping billions of people in servitude.

[MADem]

56. I can put my ass down on the very couch my great granny and grandpa sat upon.

I can have breakfast at my great aunt's table.

We pass stuff down in my family. We're like a royal family in that sole regard--we've almost no need to buy furniture!! The leather barcolounger is a rare exception to the rule!!!



If it gets a bit worn, we repair and re-cover. Use it up, wear it out! The stuff that is a hundred years old or more has plenty of life in it, still!

Nothing more "ethical and sustainable" than using the stuff your great-grandparents used....

[antigone382]

57. Yeah, but how many families really have hundred year old quality furniture to pass down?

And how many millenials living in tiny apartments can really manage holding onto stuff that is heavy and bulky?

I make wooden furniture. I know a lot of other kids my age that do too. If an older relative gifted me with a really nice heirloom piece of furniture I would do my best to take it, even though I currently live in an attic. We appreciate stuff that has real value. But we also have lives to live.

[MADem]

99. People should do what they want! Live as they choose!

I simply enjoy the connection down the years.

[hollysmom]

61. Oh I paid through the nose for my furniture, I didn't want to have to buy asgain when damaged

everything is solid wood and repairable. The last was solid wood bedroom and living room tables from Pennsylvania house before it moved to China - all solid cherry, Had an accident and they were already repaired bought it about hmm 13 years ago I think.

[mainer]

98. Hubby inherited a 200 yr old cabinet

And a 16th C Frisian clock. I inherited 18th C Chinese scrolls. I also have a violin made in 1775 in Ireland. If my kids dump these things in Goodwill, I would cry.

[pipoman]

4. All the while rent-a-center

And every other pay-twice-the-value-for-literal-trash stores are booming. It comes from a feeling of entitlement to have only new we have embedded in our kids by buying them whatever they want whenever they feel like it. For those of us who are willing to buy good used furniture and appliances the market is great right now and promises to be for some time...

[RKP5637]

10. Quite true. We've picked up incredible furniture, etc. in thrift shops and auctions for really,

pennies on the dollar. Just absolutely beautiful high quality furniture. Same for some appliances like brand new. And if one goes to a quality used appliance store they have gone over it and checked it out for being OK or repaired it.

[Initech]

24. Rent-A-Center and similar stores are the biggest rip off.

On another message board I (along with several other people) belong to I was trying to talk another member out of paying $4,000 ($39/mo for 104 months) for a computer with a very low level AMD FX-4130, that was as a whole only worth about $550.,I hope they listened but I'm guessing they didn't.

[hifiguy]

31. Oy. I paid $265 cash at Micro Center for the perfectly serviceable laptop

on which I am typing this. Nothin' special, but I have 500 gigs of hard drive and 8 gigs of RAM. Streams video and plays movies in HD like a champ.

Boy people are dumb.

[Initech]

44. $4,000 can buy you a PC with an Intel i7-5960X, and dual Titan X's.

And you'd probably have money left over for a 4K monitor. Spending that kind of money for an FX-4130, you might as well light $3500 on fire.

[pstokely]

71. not dumb, just not educated

you don't see rent-to-own stores in rich neighborhoods, lack of education usually means lower income, they're usually in low income areas

[hifiguy]

84. Taking out your phone and using the calculator to

multiply the monthly payments by the number of months should not be beyond any adult. And the shock of the numbers should be apparent to anyone.

[pstokely]

87. people with little education aren't readers of consumer reports

lower income usually means little financial education, they're also less likely to read forums like this due to lack of internet access

[antigone382]

49. Woah!!! Where do you get anything about entitlement from this article?

We want to live in smaller homes. We don't want a lot of stuff. What is entitled about that? Why does every generational difference have to be something that sucks about "these kids today"? Can we just be making the best choices for our lives and circumstances and the times we live in?

[pipoman]

65. Because I am aware of the rent-a-center demographic

[pnwmom]

89. You have forgotten about the have-to-move demographic.

It costs more to ship old furniture than it's worth. So if the parents' old stuff isn't to their taste, I can see why young people would say no thanks.

I know, because I just went through shipping Mom's furniture to adult children in three states. If it isn't useful or of high sentimental value, it's not worth it to ship.

[antigone382]

95. Yeah no doubt! my coworker moved across country last year.

The moving company took weeks to deliver her stuff (polar vortex delayed things, a weather anomaly typical of the future), and cost thousands of dollars. This was for a $12.50 job with minimal benefits.

We live in an increasingly uncertain world. Material accumulation is a relatively recent development in human history, a luxury for those who live in stable societies and don't have to carry their lives on their backs.

[lumberjack_jeff]

72. Exactly. n/t

[GreatGazoo]

5. While it is nice to have some things from your childhood home and from your parents

1) the stuff doesn't replace your parents when they're gone (but you may feel guilty as hell if you throw it out then), and

2) it is burden to store stuff like a set of silverware (silverplated) that you almost never use and won't go in the dishwasher. Same for crystal and china and other former bridal registry stuff that your parents barely used when they had it.

I cringe when people say something "is a collector's item" that "will be worth something someday." That is usually not true and even if it is, it is not a good reason to have something in your home. The value of any item, including some of the most sought after antiques, is a function of how many people with too much money want one.

Frequently the value of collectibles peaks when the group with most emotional attachment to them head into retirement. The money spent on a mid-life crisis can boost values temporarily. For example, Muscle cars from the 1960s and 70s are hot now but will have little appeal for the future millionaires who didn't grow up wanting one and will perhaps be more inclined to want the early Tesla.

The upside of this trend is that if you want a nice piano, silverware, Haviland china, vinyl records, film cameras or books you can have the nicest of them for almost nothing.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

28. You don't put silverplate in the dishwasher?

I have a service of sterling silver that I found hiding in a drawer that I started using after my parents died. I've had silverplate all my life. And always washed it in a dishwasher to make sure it's sterilized. Nobody was using using the sterling silver flatware because it had belonged to my stepgrandfather's first wife. You weren't supposed to mention previous spouses, even if they died and you weren't divorced, like it was shameful. My parents and grandparents were not Catholic.

I use the sterling silver flatware as my everyday utensils. Are you talking about big pieces of silverplate like teapots or pitchers? Those are obviously too big to go in the dishwasher.

I've washed crystal and china (yes I have some World War I era Art Nouveau Theodore Haviland) in the dishwasher and not had problems.



And I sold a whole lot of very nice solid mahogany furniture. I don't understand why kids don't want solid furniture. I had way too much of it. I understand about cleaning out and getting rid of what you don't need, but why do they love particleboard which will sag and break?

I have an historic old house that my offspring doesn't care about. I feel very lucky to have a house with family history behind it. Offspring doesn't give a damn about the ancestors.

[GreatGazoo]

34. not recommended by manufacturers

Keep sterling and stainless steel flatware in separate baskets in the dishwasher.

If you put sterling in the dishwasher, keep detergent to a minimum, remove the sterling from the dishwasher before the dry cycle, and then dry items completely with a soft towel.

https://www.lifetimebrands.com/How-To-Care-for-Sterling-Silver-Flatware/How-To-Care-For-Sterling,default,pg.html

[PowerToThePeople]

6. you need a stable lifestyle to keep "stuff."

That is not the current American Way. You will struggle just to survive unless you have no value system or are a sellout.

Textbooks? You are mot getting hired because of your knowledge, you are getting hired by who you know. If you don't know anyone, you better interview like you are a Corporate stooge if you want any chance at that job, ie sellout your values again.

[RKP5637]

11. If I were young today I would not have many possessions and I would travel lightly. One never

knows when the job will end, what life will bring next, we don't have the Ozzie and Harriet world today. Possessions today can often be a significant liability especially IMO for most people young.

[pipi_k]

16. That's true!

In my younger days I didn't have a very stable life, so it was important to be sort of a minimalist.


So I don't know about Millennials, but my own kids, born in the 70s, do like and appreciate most of the stuff that they've gotten from their Boomer mom. Especially my son, who has lugged around this huge hand-made (by myself and an ex) picnic table style kitchen table. He also asked for (and got) the tassel from my graduation cap because it's the same year he was born.

My kids both have their little newborn ankle and wrist hospital bracelets. Since they were both very small, the bracelets are almost frighteningly tiny, and it's hard to believe they were ever that small.

As for me and Mr Pipi, after his mom died, we got her "bong clock" (for the sound it makes, not because we can smoke weed with it!)...I wanted her old hand-operated egg beater, her cloth plastic bag storage thingy, some of her old knives, and I also have her very old bottle of "Joy" perfume that Mr Pipi sent her when he was in the service in 1956.

I have my mom's beautiful dark wood cabinet she gave us before she moved to Florida.


Hopefully the kids of today can find something...anything...to keep from generation(s) before them.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. plus 1

[tabasco]

41. That's right!

Ol' Dubya AWOL Boosh even said it was "uniquely American" to work three jobs. Kind of makes it sound like a good thing, doesn't it?

[RedCappedBandit]

7. We don't have the stable housing required to keep all that shit

and thus we must be prepared travel light.

[RKP5637]

13. Yes, sadly, that is quite true. I've moved several times and wondered, what am I doing with all

of this shit. I've been slowly downsizing, giving lots to thrift shops, other to auctions and eBay is helpful, also Craig's list. Often, there is also not a market for stuff.

[sandpan]

42. My 40 something daughter does not want "any of my stuff".

For the past two years I've been selling my antiques & collectibles on eBay. I admit the place is a little cluttered and I find it difficult to part with some of the family heirlooms; however, everyday it seems to get easier and everyday I "find" more things to sell. I'm starting to like the no-clutter look and extra space.

[RKP5637]

43. It makes a huge difference. I still have stuff in boxes from a move. I was saying the other day I

haven't needed it, so why in the world am I keeping it. Each day I get rid of a little more. I would be lost without eBay and a local thrift shop and an auction house. I was telling someone the other day, If don't get rid of it it'll eventually end up in a dumpster when I'm gone, so might as well get stuff to people that might want it now. eBay's great for that.

[StevieM]

70. Welcome to DU!!

Can't you get your daughter to accept some genuine heirlooms that are family treasures?

[Initech]

27. We can thank the billionaires and the predatory banking system for this.

[jeff47]

39. +1 (nt)

[gollygee]

8. I'm not reading that they aren't defined by possessions here

I'm reading that they don't want used stuff and would rather buy new. I don't think this is about anti-consumerism, which is what I thought it would be.

[JI7]

35. yes. they will still line up for the latest iphone

[antigone382]

53. Actually a lot of millenials are choosing to go back to flip phones.

I got my first ever smartphone for Christmas from my brother. It's a forty dollar windows phone. I'm still not sure how to use most of it but I do appreciate the GPS and weather capabilities...

[antigone382]

52. Really? I think the article portray a pretty clear reduction placed on the importance of possessions

Key quotes follow:

"Many millennials raised in the ­collect-’em-all culture (think McDonald’s Happy Meal toys and Beanie Babies) now prefer to live simpler lives with less stuff in smaller downtown spaces, far from the suburban homes with fussy window treatments and formal dining rooms that they grew up in."

...

Take Kelly and Josh Phillips, who rent a 700-square-foot apartment in the District’s Shaw neighborhood. The couple frequently sells things on Craigslist and calls an Uber instead of owning a car.[Craigslist is for used stuff. Using Uber=not owning your own vehicle] “My parents are always trying to give us stuff,” says Kelly Phillips, 29, a real estate marketer. “It’s stuff like bunches of old photos and documents, old bowls or cocktail glasses. We hate clutter. We would rather spend money on experiences.”

...

“Baby boomers were collectors,” says Elizabeth Wainstein, 50, owner and president of Potomack Company Auctioneers in Alexandria, where lots of unwanted family treasures end up being sold. “They collected German porcelains or American pottery. It was a passion, and they spent their time on the thrill of the hunt.” She says younger people aren’t really that interested in filling shelves.

[gollygee]

54. They don't have much space because they're living in the city

but instead of taking hand-me-down couches like my generation (GenX) did, they are buying new furniture. That's just a different kind of consumerism. They want stuff that looks different, and new, and is just generally more appealing to them. They aren't filling up their shelves, but it sounds like they're probably buying new shelves rather than taking someone else's old ones.

[antigone382]

59. I live in the country. In an attic. Because that's what I can afford.

Where do you see anywhere in the article that they're buying new furniture? The first couple quoted in the article mentions using Craigslist. That isn't for new stuff. Honestly most of the furniture I have had in my life (when I have lived in apartments/houses that weren't fully furnished) I got for free or dirt cheap at a used furniture store.

Reality check: most millenials don't have the money to buy new stuff.

[gollygee]

64. I thought it said the sold stuff on Craigslist, not that they bought it

The article said that htey were chosing to live in the city. Obviously that doesn't mean everyone of that age group, but that trend was mentioned in the article. I didn't make it up.

This sounds to me like they're consumers who are wanting to buy the stuff they want rather than using hand-me-downs.

Millennials like to stick to their personal design aesthetic. “Millennials are design-conscious, informed consumers. They bring a lot more confidence to how they want their homes to look,”

[antigone382]

96. The choice to live in a city is obviously colored by economics.

All I can tell you is I don't know anyone in my generation who prioritizes "new." Thrift stores, repurposing, and DIY are where it's at. The design of our lives and spaces is important, but driven by practicality, functionality, and efficiency.

[Angel Martin]

67. i think this is kind of sad

“My parents are always trying to give us stuff,” says Kelly Phillips, 29, a real estate marketer. “It’s stuff like bunches of old photos and documents..."

i understand about limited storage, but documents and photo's don't take much space

if they throw all that stuff out, 20 years from now when they want to show someone a picture of their grandparents, they won't be able to

[DonCoquixote]

94. have them go to a pjthographer or an office depot

and oput the photos on disk.. That is actually quite popular, as the disks will not decay and the orginal source can be saved safely

[Skittles]

101. I cannot imagine passing on such junk to anyone

WTF is wrong with these folk?

[pnwmom]

91. If they don't live nearby, shipping is expensive. It can cost more to ship old stuff

than to buy new. Or if they like old things, they can spend less on local used furniture.

I've had to adjust to my daughter buying used furniture in her distant state, because she doesn't think she needs any of ours (or our mothers' antiques.)

[Prism]

9. Hard to collect in a one bedroom apartment

My experience is a bit biased given I'm in the Bay Area, where housing is at a premium. But home ownership just isn't as accessible to this generation because of economics, the various housing bubbles, and the later start Milennials seem to be getting as they stay in school longer and have a harder time launching a stable career with a middle class paycheck.

Even my tech friends with money tend to spend it on travel, restaurants, and interesting experiences over material goods. The mister and I are gay DINCs, and the only material goods we spend money on are video games. We've been having a long debate about getting furniture and a grill for the patio, but the question of what we would *do* with that stuff should we move keeps us from bothering.

Less is more. And as the article notes, a lot of Millenials' prized possessions are in digital form. Social media, pictures, books, games, movies, etc. are all winnowed down into a tablet.

Even if we and many of my friends wanted stuff, we'd have nowhere to put it.

[RKP5637]

14. That statement is so true, "Less is more," especially in the Bay Area, and many other places too.

We don't live there now, and over the years have acquired a lot of stuff. Now, we are working hard to get rid of it all as reasonable. It just gets in the way and dragging it around is expensive. As one of my friends has always said, own several good things, but don't acquire the clutter!

[PasadenaTrudy]

85. I live in L.A.

in a one bedroom apt. I'm 51 and have hardly anything from my parents. My dad's WWII uniform is it basically. I'd rather spend the money on experiences, not clutter.

[dixiegrrrrl]

86. What I noticed in the Bay area when I lived there

was everyone's cars parked on the street because the garages were crammed full of stuff.
A rule, not an exception.
Hell of a nice place for garage sales, tho, when people had move and suddenly packing all that precious saved stuff was too daunting.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. 20-year-olds aren't typically the offspring of boomers. They are the offspring of Xers.

As a Gen Xer, I have nothing of value that I could see my kids wanting to keep. Good to know we've skipped forward to 2020 and beyond already.

[RadiationTherapy]

38. I agree. As is often the case, GenX is totally overlooked. I have nothing to hand down.

I and my friends who are peers are mostly in the same boat - all have economically regressed compared to their parents.

[LeftinOH]

15. I'm a Gen-Xer, not a millenial. My house is full of hand-me-down

furniture ...and it's a real eclectic mix. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[BeyondGeography]

17. This will continue

My post-Millenial kids just want wifi and a place to sit. If it's not on their phone or computing device they're not interested. Technology is defining stuff down. Square footage needs as well. It all fits perfectly with the shite job market. I see growing cities and emptying suburbs.

[snooper2]

22. while you may see that in fact people are moving away from big cities and into burbs

more and more-

there was a thread about it just the other day...except didn't get a lot of traction because that defies the "hip" meme

[BeyondGeography]

29. The biggest cities are too pricey

But so are the nicest suburbs. I don't really care what's up or down, but it is good to see younger people help places like downtown Detroit rebound. Cities are fun when you're under 30 or 35; after that, peace and quiet and a patch of land gain in appeal for most people.

As for the burbs, you need a lot of high-income stability to make the leap into the wealthiest of them, not to mention to fill those houses with kids. We'll see what happens.

[MisterP]

18. "new Millennial 'coppering' fad leaves buildings without wiring" "Millennials using trash-can fires

for heat ironically? tune in at 7" "Ozark Millennials flee to California for 'fruit-picking' festival"

[fizzgig]

19. i'm gen x/millenial cusp

depending on who you talk to, and i just don't have room for more stuff. both my folks have some nice family pieces, but i would have no where outside a storage unit to put it if they were to keel over tomorrow. my mom keeps trying to get me to take a china set, but i have no room for a china cabinet and have no use for china.

beyond that, we never know if we're going to have to move in a given year (we're settled three years in our place now, i'm hoping to resign the lease this summer), and moving is a big enough pain in the ass when you're not dealing with nice things.

[GliderGuider]

20. Thank god I have neither children nor possessions to force on them.

People need to get a grip. There is big shit looming in the world. Whether little Johnny wants the stuff in your basement doesn't even move the needle.

[Zorra]

23. Meh. My milennial kids will be delighted and eternally grateful to inherit my possessions.

Both are musicians, and basically all I really own, or ever cared to own, of any real value, is musical instruments and equipment.

They especially like the old brown wood stuff and the antique electronics.

[icymist]

69. My goodness that's a lot of cords you have on the floor there.

Give a whole new meaning to 'tripping' eh? Nice Strat.

[jwirr]

30. Good. I am reading the Fall 2013 issue of YES!. It is all about changing our materialistic ways. One

of the articles is "The Human Cost of Stuff: How to Be More Than a Mindful Consumer" by Annie Leonard. Very good issue. She quotes William Morris: Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

[shedevil69taz]

32. I'll probably keep

my Dad's gun safe and the guns (mostly only has sentimental ones left anyway), and his coin collection

[JI7]

33. It's a change in times also. these days there are more pics and videos

Of just about any moment to Look back on.

Even those who are comfortable financially may prefer to go out more and travel so less need to have a home filled with useless things.

[raouldukelives]

45. Once they start abandoning hand me down money I'll pay attn. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

74. I wouldn't count on it. n/t

[hunter]

46. One of my brothers is the official repository for our bulkier family heirlooms.

He's got acreage, metal out-buildings, and cats and dogs who eagerly remove nest-building-chewing rodents.

Once the stuff gets dusty enough and nobody remembers it, he gives it away or sells it.

The next generation in our family will probably be about much of this stuff because they don't have the stories.

Without a story the stuff is just stuff. Give it to someone who can use it. Even with a story it's usually best to give it to someone who appreciates it.

One of my great aunts, who lived past a hundred years, was like that in her last decades.

"You like that? Take it, it's yours."

I have many silly things of hers like the meat grinder she made sausage with. I have yet to make sausage with it. (Maybe it'll have to wait until some unfortunate deer jumps in front of my car or a hunter in my family "gifts" me with some other carcass. In spite of my name, I am not a hunter.)

But the truest treasures I have from my great aunt is her flotsam -- her photographs, writing, and art.

[TBF]

50. "Her Photographs, Writing, and Art"

As a Gen-Ex'er I can tell you I'm annoyed with the china, grandfather clock, etc that have been handed down ... I have a decent amount of space here in the suburbs (which I hate) but I am constantly down-sizing as the kids get older & will be in a condo one way or another by the time I'm retired.

I've extremely interested in geneaology and learning more about our ancestors, but I just don't have a need for the possessions. I'd rather have any photos or writing that might have survived rather than the big clunky furniture.

[hunter]

66. Stuff they bought as opposed to stuff they made. That's my measure.

My engineer grandfather once made a few bits of titanium stuff.

Some of those titanium bits now reside in the Smithsonian Aerospace museum.

The furniture he and my grandmother bought is much less important, although family still has some.

I think stories, good or bad, are the best thing we can pass on to our own children and communities.

This story stuff doesn't take up much room, except in our heads, and it's highly portable.

[Marr]

47. If I don't use something in a year, I get rid of it.

I don't care if it was a gift or not. Occasionally, some piece of detritus manages to avoid my attention for a long time, and when I do notice it, it's almost depressing. Found a shirt a few weeks ago that was so out of style it's almost stylish again, if that makes any sense.

[Arugula Latte]

51. I'm trying to teach my teen kids to purge-as-you-go

My son is happy to chuck stuff -- he's a minimalist who prefers clean lines and no clutter. My daughter is a little more torn.

I've put way too much stuff up in our attic. It's hard to get rid of cute things from when your kids were babies/little kids.

[Arugula Latte]

55. There is definitely an aesthetic gap in the generations.

I'm an old Gen Xer, and the things my Silent Generation parents valued -- like large bulky heavy furniture (such as "room dividers and overly fussy dining room sets) don't appeal to me. I would never think of going out and buying a grandfather clock, as my dad did in the 70s (clocks are another thing I'm not that interested in -- and we all have our electronic gizmos to tell us the time, anyway).

The older I get, the more I like clean lines and a semi-minimalist style.

[a la izquierda]

58. Not this 30-something.

I'm on the cusp (thankfully not a millennial). I have my grandparents bedroom furniture and dining room set. I love it. My grandmother just passed and I have no grandparents left. I will cherish this furniture. Even if I refinish it to a color more my style, the bones of the furniture are amazing, mid-20th century, and a reminder of what my grandparents struggled to buy.

But I'm a historian, so I guess it makes sense.

[pansypoo53219]

62. i do estate sales. i so so miss the depression generation. baby boomers have CRAP! good stuff in the

basement. i don't do those sales. i like the odd stuff. old silver-plate flatware. treen. BEESWAX candles. tho, i do glen what i can. ebay pays for chiro. and boy do i have the heirlooms now. no more antique shops or flew markets. i go to the source. no 401k. i invest in ebayables.

[leveymg]

63. They are no less materialistic. This group buys urban real estate, imported cars,and lots of travel.

Last edited Mon Mar 30, 2015, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Heavy furniture and appliances, not so much. These people really know how to pack light.

[REP]

68. Yup. I heard repeatedly that people just want crap these days

When my mother died, I tried to sell some of her antique furniture: a Duncan Phyfe sofa (made by Duncan Phyfe); a walnut pie safe with the original punched tin; a French Victorian set with fruitwood and shell inlay; a brass bed ... I showed them to some of the best antique dealers in the region, who agreed they were exceptionally fine - and no one was willing to buy them for more than a pittance, if that. So now my cats have a Duncan Phyfe to lounge on and the pie safe works well as storage for glassware.

[upaloopa]

77. I think the last recession taught people to

live more within their means and not to live on debt financing for everyday things.
If crap fits their budget good for them buying crap.

[REP]

100. They're putting crap in their mini mansions

Buying new silver settings even though the antique ones have more silver content and are heavier; paying large dollars for crap furniture to put in their shoddily constructed mini mansions.

[HuckleB]

73. A great example of lazy journalism.

Find a few anecdotes, make grand proclamation, and go with it as if it were a definitive truth.

Ugh.

[lumberjack_jeff]

75. My kids only want my car.

But it is a nice one.

[Warpy]

76. Good for them. We Boomers were raised by materialistic, acquisitive Depression kids

and, while they didn't have electronics, their houses were stuffed to the rafters with every creature comfort they could find and extended outward to the summer house and country club, if they'd made it.

We're now finding ourselves surrounded by stuff that was deemed good enough when we were younger and is now "too good" to throw out. We'd love to get rid of it but our Depression parents instilled a repugnance for waste into us.

So there it sits, barking our shins in the dark, and daring us to send it all to the dump.

Millennials have it easier, the old phones and tablets can now be turned in for new, to be recycled into rural schools or the third world. However, they, too, will find their downsized houses full of stuff they don't want by the time they're 50. And they won't want to waste it.

[raging moderate]

78. It's fine with me if my kids don't want these things.

What I object to is their insistence that I should store these items for them.

[JEB]

81. We as a society are awash with stuff,

mostly cheap import plastic crap. I have earned a "living" for 35 years buying and selling. Things of beauty or careful craftsmanship will always have value. Things come in and out of fashion. My son doesn't want my Indian Baskets and I have no use for his surf boards.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

82. Anyone need a trouble-shooting flow chart for a Douglas DC-8 toilet?

Because I've got one... sigh...

When my parents were moving into my house I opened a random box and it was full of microfiche.

[kimbutgar]

83. One of my jobs is packing and unpacking people's stuff when they move

A job I had recently a son and daughter had put their mother in an assisted living place. I went in and packed her stuff up to be picked up for donations. The kids did not want to take her stuff. 40 years of possessions to be donated. I had two different charities to come in and take stuff and we still had a lot of stuff that ended up getting tossed. I couldn't believe the stuff the kids didn't take. My co worker took a barely used microwave. I took some dishes, a beautiful rug and some miscellaneous stuff. I had to beg the charities to take the dining room set and both refused the dining room hutch because people don't like that kind of furniture anymore. They wouldn't take the towels and blankets so I donated them to the pet shelter. A couple of things I found that were family heirlooms I shamed them into taking.

My 92 year old Mother has a house stuffed with stuff from over 60 years. I'll become a regular seller at Flea Markets when the time comes. Maybe even buy a truck or van to sell the stuff as a source of extra income.

[pnwmom]

93. My single brother was happy to take my mother's hutch.

He's going to fill it with books and CD's.

[HockeyMom]

88. My 30 year old daughter is a 40s Fanatic

Her wedding was totally 40s from her vintage dress to her husband's "Mobster Suit" to their Old Limo. They played Big Bands at the reception and danced the Lindy. Sorry, guys that was even before MY time.

Hey, Dad? Do you have a Frank Sinatra collection????? Mom, do you have any 40s dresses? Hello, I was wearing DIAPERS in the 40s.

My daughter has always said she was born in the WRONG time period. Doesn't want things from my generation. She wants things from MY PARENTS generation.

[LeftyMom]

90. I'm in that demograpic, and I have no idea WTF the author is talking about.

It's a punch line how much young people love midcentury furniture, 70s stuff is newly trendy, you can make a small fortune on a working console stereo...

But I'm 34 and I have a house full of oak furniture I've restored, so I guess I don't know what young people like. Thank God the WaPo is here to tell me the error of my ways. I'll go toss grandma's china.

[bigwillq]

92. I don't collect anything.

If I don't use something within a month's time, I either throw it away, give it away, donate it, recycle it.

[AnnieBW]

97. I have a storage garage full of my parents' stuff

I grabbed what I wanted after my Mom died. Then, whatever didn't get sold at the estate sale or given to charity came to me. Anybody want some Hummel figurines?

[bhikkhu]

102. I'm not sure, but that's been the case for a long time, I think

I know my mom kept a whole bunch of my things, and I didn't take much with me when I moved out (1979). I left lots of books, sketchbooks, school stuff and so forth. Who wants to cart all of that around? I was pretty mobile, lived on both coasts and probably moved 25 times before finally settling down. Every time my mom or stepdad came to vist they made it a point to bring a box or two, finally cleared out the last of it four years ago when they sold the old family house. I expect my kids to do the same, and I have a basement full of my kid's school things, half-done projects, clothes and nic nacs. I can imagine when they move out they won't have any interest in taking much with them, and I don't blame them. It was always one of the best things to head out unencumbered and start from scratch.

I have a cabinet with old mementos of my past, pictures and little things - don't need more than that. And really its not much more than my mom or my aunts or my grandma had that meant much to them. The problem is more parents saving things that kids don't need anymore. My house is big enough I don't really need to throw the kid's old things out, but probably will at some point.