I Save Stuff- So What?

I have a small kitchen. My cabinets are crammed with stuff. Unfortunately I love kitchen gadgets, and my collection of coffee mugs is growing. But I can’t bear to part with any of it. So what if I use my quesadilla maker once a year? I still use it. And yes, I buy coffee already ground up, but don’t take my coffee grinder.

I’m pretty good about getting rid of things if I don’t use them. If I buy something I try to get rid of something else. But sometimes things that we don’t use are a comfort. I’m saving the first set of dishes I received at our wedding for my daughter when she gets her own place. I’m saving the wooden trains my son plays with so he can give them to his son, and add to the collection that includes some that his dad played with when he was a boy. We still have a hyper color t-shirt – remember those? – Circa 1988, that belonged to my husband’s brother, who passed when he was only 14. Some things we just can’t let go. We look at them and remember things we can’t capture any other way. My family didn’t have a lot of things to pass on. They either didn’t have a lot or didn’t think much of what they did have, or it got lost along the way. So I’m glad to start passing things on, from my husband’s side of the family or from my own small collection. I’m looking forward to it, and hope my kids realize that even though antique heirlooms and savings bonds are nice, there can be a different kind of value to holding on to other things.