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pstokely

(10,893 posts) Mon Mar 30, 2015, 08:43 AM Mar 2015

Stuff it: Millennials nix their parents’ treasures [View all]

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."

102 replies

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Highlight:

Stuff it: Millennials nix their parents’ treasures [View all] pstokely Mar 2015 OP

"Thanks, Mom, but I really can’t use that eight-foot dining table or your king-size headboard." Erich Bloodaxe BSN Mar 2015 #1

That's the key to decluttering. Butterbean Mar 2015 #25

Yes, I am having trouble giving away my solid wood very heavy furniture hollysmom Mar 2015 #60

I love my Thomasville stuff Protalker Mar 2015 #79

We barely have room for a 4 person table. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Mar 2015 #80

oh please mercuryblues Mar 2015 #2

! bravenak Mar 2015 #36

yup mercuryblues Mar 2015 #40

I find this sad. Millennials don't care about old wood furniture and historical items mainer Mar 2015 #3

Maybe they can just move into cyberspace, too. I hear the rent is cheaper. zonkers Mar 2015 #26

How much of it is really old or hand-carved though? antigone382 Mar 2015 #48

I can put my ass down on the very couch my great granny and grandpa sat upon. MADem Mar 2015 #56

Yeah, but how many families really have hundred year old quality furniture to pass down? antigone382 Mar 2015 #57

People should do what they want! Live as they choose! MADem Mar 2015 #99

Oh I paid through the nose for my furniture, I didn't want to have to buy asgain when damaged hollysmom Mar 2015 #61

Hubby inherited a 200 yr old cabinet mainer Mar 2015 #98

All the while rent-a-center pipoman Mar 2015 #4

Quite true. We've picked up incredible furniture, etc. in thrift shops and auctions for really, RKP5637 Mar 2015 #10

Rent-A-Center and similar stores are the biggest rip off. Initech Mar 2015 #24

Oy. I paid $265 cash at Micro Center for the perfectly serviceable laptop hifiguy Mar 2015 #31

$4,000 can buy you a PC with an Intel i7-5960X, and dual Titan X's. Initech Mar 2015 #44

not dumb, just not educated pstokely Mar 2015 #71

Taking out your phone and using the calculator to hifiguy Mar 2015 #84

people with little education aren't readers of consumer reports pstokely Mar 2015 #87

Woah!!! Where do you get anything about entitlement from this article? antigone382 Mar 2015 #49

Because I am aware of the rent-a-center demographic pipoman Mar 2015 #65

You have forgotten about the have-to-move demographic. pnwmom Mar 2015 #89

Yeah no doubt! my coworker moved across country last year. antigone382 Mar 2015 #95

Exactly. n/t lumberjack_jeff Mar 2015 #72

While it is nice to have some things from your childhood home and from your parents GreatGazoo Mar 2015 #5

You don't put silverplate in the dishwasher? Manifestor_of_Light Mar 2015 #28

not recommended by manufacturers GreatGazoo Mar 2015 #34

you need a stable lifestyle to keep "stuff." PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #6

If I were young today I would not have many possessions and I would travel lightly. One never RKP5637 Mar 2015 #11

That's true! pipi_k Mar 2015 #16

plus 1 Liberal_in_LA Mar 2015 #37

That's right! tabasco Mar 2015 #41

We don't have the stable housing required to keep all that shit RedCappedBandit Mar 2015 #7

Yes, sadly, that is quite true. I've moved several times and wondered, what am I doing with all RKP5637 Mar 2015 #13

My 40 something daughter does not want "any of my stuff". sandpan Mar 2015 #42

It makes a huge difference. I still have stuff in boxes from a move. I was saying the other day I RKP5637 Mar 2015 #43

Welcome to DU!! StevieM Mar 2015 #70

We can thank the billionaires and the predatory banking system for this. Initech Mar 2015 #27

+1 (nt) jeff47 Mar 2015 #39

I'm not reading that they aren't defined by possessions here gollygee Mar 2015 #8

yes. they will still line up for the latest iphone JI7 Mar 2015 #35

Actually a lot of millenials are choosing to go back to flip phones. antigone382 Mar 2015 #53

Really? I think the article portray a pretty clear reduction placed on the importance of possessions antigone382 Mar 2015 #52

They don't have much space because they're living in the city gollygee Mar 2015 #54

I live in the country. In an attic. Because that's what I can afford. antigone382 Mar 2015 #59

I thought it said the sold stuff on Craigslist, not that they bought it gollygee Mar 2015 #64

The choice to live in a city is obviously colored by economics. antigone382 Mar 2015 #96

i think this is kind of sad Angel Martin Mar 2015 #67

have them go to a pjthographer or an office depot DonCoquixote Mar 2015 #94

I cannot imagine passing on such junk to anyone Skittles Mar 2015 #101

If they don't live nearby, shipping is expensive. It can cost more to ship old stuff pnwmom Mar 2015 #91

Hard to collect in a one bedroom apartment Prism Mar 2015 #9

That statement is so true, "Less is more," especially in the Bay Area, and many other places too. RKP5637 Mar 2015 #14

I live in L.A. PasadenaTrudy Mar 2015 #85

What I noticed in the Bay area when I lived there dixiegrrrrl Mar 2015 #86

20-year-olds aren't typically the offspring of boomers. They are the offspring of Xers. ScreamingMeemie Mar 2015 #12

I agree. As is often the case, GenX is totally overlooked. I have nothing to hand down. RadiationTherapy Mar 2015 #38

I'm a Gen-Xer, not a millenial. My house is full of hand-me-down LeftinOH Mar 2015 #15

This will continue BeyondGeography Mar 2015 #17

while you may see that in fact people are moving away from big cities and into burbs snooper2 Mar 2015 #22

The biggest cities are too pricey BeyondGeography Mar 2015 #29

"new Millennial 'coppering' fad leaves buildings without wiring" "Millennials using trash-can fires MisterP Mar 2015 #18

i'm gen x/millenial cusp fizzgig Mar 2015 #19

Thank god I have neither children nor possessions to force on them. GliderGuider Mar 2015 #20

This message was self-deleted by its author olddots Mar 2015 #21

Meh. My milennial kids will be delighted and eternally grateful to inherit my possessions. Zorra Mar 2015 #23

My goodness that's a lot of cords you have on the floor there. icymist Mar 2015 #69

Good. I am reading the Fall 2013 issue of YES!. It is all about changing our materialistic ways. One jwirr Mar 2015 #30

I'll probably keep shedevil69taz Mar 2015 #32

It's a change in times also. these days there are more pics and videos JI7 Mar 2015 #33

Once they start abandoning hand me down money I'll pay attn. nt raouldukelives Mar 2015 #45

I wouldn't count on it. n/t lumberjack_jeff Mar 2015 #74

One of my brothers is the official repository for our bulkier family heirlooms. hunter Mar 2015 #46

"Her Photographs, Writing, and Art" TBF Mar 2015 #50

Stuff they bought as opposed to stuff they made. That's my measure. hunter Mar 2015 #66

If I don't use something in a year, I get rid of it. Marr Mar 2015 #47

I'm trying to teach my teen kids to purge-as-you-go Arugula Latte Mar 2015 #51

There is definitely an aesthetic gap in the generations. Arugula Latte Mar 2015 #55

Not this 30-something. a la izquierda Mar 2015 #58

i do estate sales. i so so miss the depression generation. baby boomers have CRAP! good stuff in the pansypoo53219 Mar 2015 #62

They are no less materialistic. This group buys urban real estate, imported cars,and lots of travel. leveymg Mar 2015 #63

Yup. I heard repeatedly that people just want crap these days REP Mar 2015 #68

I think the last recession taught people to upaloopa Mar 2015 #77

They're putting crap in their mini mansions REP Mar 2015 #100

A great example of lazy journalism. HuckleB Mar 2015 #73

My kids only want my car. lumberjack_jeff Mar 2015 #75

Good for them. We Boomers were raised by materialistic, acquisitive Depression kids Warpy Mar 2015 #76

It's fine with me if my kids don't want these things. raging moderate Mar 2015 #78

We as a society are awash with stuff, JEB Mar 2015 #81

Anyone need a trouble-shooting flow chart for a Douglas DC-8 toilet? Sen. Walter Sobchak Mar 2015 #82

One of my jobs is packing and unpacking people's stuff when they move kimbutgar Mar 2015 #83

My single brother was happy to take my mother's hutch. pnwmom Mar 2015 #93

My 30 year old daughter is a 40s Fanatic HockeyMom Mar 2015 #88

I'm in that demograpic, and I have no idea WTF the author is talking about. LeftyMom Mar 2015 #90

I don't collect anything. bigwillq Mar 2015 #92

I have a storage garage full of my parents' stuff AnnieBW Mar 2015 #97

I'm not sure, but that's been the case for a long time, I think bhikkhu Mar 2015 #102