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This is strange. The most common phrase I hear from all four of my Millennial kids is, "Hey Dad, do you still need this ___________? I'm going to take it, ok?"
Did we want our parents stuff when we were in our 20's. Be glad they consider it junk as for most of us it will only take on value when we are gone. Even pictures of our parents became precious when they were gone. So I am more than willing to defer them wanting memories and artifacts from our lives. Now what I did want was my baseball cards and comic books that my mother threw away. Yes Mantle, Aaron, Mays etc etc etc. She kept her junk for ever and threw away mucho bucks worth of real memorabilia.
Imagine ...I had the entire set of the 1969 Mets roster (they won the World Series that year).
My brother had the entire set of the NY Yankees.
I'm gen X but I can relate to this. I helped my parents move to a new house last year and they had so much JUNK it was insane. A 3400 sq foot house filled with knick knacks and 2 storage units filled with more junk. I can't believe how many boxes of christmas ornaments and other holiday decorations they had...and KEPT. Weird decorative fabric things you're supposed to put on a table, or something? I have no idea what those are even called, but my mom has a closet filled with those. My mom has like 5 sets of "heirloom" china she got from... somewhere? She doesn't really even have regular plates to eat off of. They just get take out or go out to eat every day.
What's kind of sad is they literally have nothing anyone would want. Not just me, or my siblings... but anyone. It's just all going to get junked. Seems so wasteful.
Well, I like old stuff. Always have. When we got our first condo in the early nineties I furnished it with antiques and thrift store items. I was reading Victoria magazine at the time and was hooked. I'm 51.
My friends all like old stuff. My BFF is 43, she likes a certain pattern of depression era glass. Her DH likes old china, he's 55.
DH's BFF loves old stuff. Tractors, farm equipment, old chainsaws. He is 40. He has other friends his age that sell and collect architectural stuff. Old lamps. I am a huge sucker for old lamps.
My BFF and her DH and myself both buy and sell china and glass on ebay. The market has been terrible for awhile. Since we're moving I am listing my Fenton milk glass at rockbottom prices. I have no regrets, I had my fun with them and it's time to let someone else love them.
One girl's junk is another one's.......well, lets just say it's subjective.
It's a bit too generalized to say "The Milennials don't want their parents stuff". Sure there are many out there that do not appreciate anything lacking the letter i and a hyphen preceding it, but even many of them will in fact eventually grow up and learn to value possessions that hold family meaning,
I feel there needs to hopefully be a balance in there somewhere. Hopefully Millenials can or will appreciate some heritage, even if it is digital, part of why I'm a believer of taking pictures. Someday I may even do something with those pictures! An acquaintance my age made the comment last year that she had said similar things when she was young but now realizes that it would have been nice to have certain things turned down. Furniture, even "antiques" don't fit anymore.
I hadn't thought about the baby boomers being collectors but we were. How many remember the Bradford Exchange? Are they even still in business and does anyone even buy those plates now days? I have crates full of untouched Rockwell Bradford plates that people are almost giving away, if they are lucky, on eBay for $5/plate. And the thing is, there are so many Baby Boomers out there telling each other don't throw it out, sell it on eBay because it's worth something! For a few things that's right, but for a lot, no. I'm always hoping to find another BB who is still collecting to bid on my "stuff"!
When my mom died my nieces were allowed to choose any jewelry and fabric (mom hadnt' sewed in DECADES but had fabric out the wazoo). They took what they liked and could use. But the furniture? Nope. Kitchenware, pots pans dishes? Nope. Already had their own. I find some people are just more practical about what they're willing to take in, than perhaps older people who'd been depression era babies were. My mom would take stuff even if she didn't need it -- because she MIGHT be able to use it SOME day.
My nieces and nephews do much less of that. IF they already know they need it or what they'll can use it for, then they MIGHT take it. Other than that...they are only in their late 20s/early 30s -- and they'll telling me...."I don't need it, I've got too much stuff already."
And now at 54, I'm buying a LOT less. I've got a pack-rat (NOT hoarder) tendency and even I am putting the brakes on accumulation. Because I've noticed what the OP has. My nieces and nephews likely won't want most of it...I don't need it, so what am I buying it for? I don't have room for what I've got.
Did we want our parents stuff when we were in our 20's. .......
Or did we want it when we were in our 30's, 40's, or 50's? In my case, no. Now that I am in my 60's, I don't even want most of the stuff I have accumulated. Unfortunately that is not the case with my wife. She is a collector. If she dies first, the kids and I will just have it hauled off to the garbage. If I die first, she will have to deal with it, because the kids and grandkids still will not want it.
I had a friend who used to say that whoever dies with the most stuff, wins life's game. I never felt that way. For me it is all about doing and the stuff just gets in the way. Unless it is sporting or hobby type gear, the decorative keepsakes are just junk to me.
Today's Washington Post article about how the baby boomer collectors are discovering the millennials don't want our stuff. This has been discussed here so much we could have written this.
I have one DS who fits this to the T but I discovered my other one does have some sentimental bones as he took more stuff than I expected. Of course he's also a starving student living in a high cost area so more likely it was practical needs won out over sentimental desires.
I bet they will still take any money left to them by their parents, though.
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) tendency and even I am putting the brakes on accumulation. Because I've noticed what the OP has. My nieces and nephews likely won't want most of it...I don't need it, so what am I buying it for? I don't have room for what I've got.
