Are you ready for the avalanche of items, better known as, the “heirloom avalanche” that might be coming your way..
When we moved my grandparents in 2006 all of us grandchildren were brought to the house to decide what we wanted for our own prospective homes. Kevin wanted the old hutch, I wanted the collection of vodka and some glasses from the 70s ( I still use them) but what were we going to do with the rest of the items that they valued so much, the so-called “family heirlooms”.
My mother, being the loving compassionate woman that I strive to be, decided to take on all of the things she thought held value to her parents (although she herself did not really want them) and thus, my parent’s basement is filled with items that no go unseen and unused.
It’s no surprise that one day these precious generational heirlooms will be passed on to me (maybe this stuff will be back in style soon) However, maybe it won’t, and I
will continue to carry and collect items that go unseen and unused, and sadly become a burden of space.
Luckily I don’t have any siblings to fight over who “doesn’t want this and who doesn’t want that” I will get the gift of all of it. Ha! Can’t wait!
But many kids do have that argument and the remaining parent is often hurt when the children don’t want the goods once held with such regard.
I was helping declutter my mom and dads basement the other day and I wanted to throw out this clay dog figurine (from the dollar store) – she wouldn’t let me! To me it was junk but to her, it was “a gift I gave her when I was 9”. So we kept it, and now I’ll probably have to keep it until I can pawn to my spawn one day.
According to Environmental Commissioner Diane Saxe each Canadian produces 1 tonne of waste ( per year) and three-quarters of that go to landfills. Imagine what our coming years will look like with baby boomers getting older and doing a mass purge of large items.
One of our roles at YNS is to consciously donate our client’s items to charities and organizations they feel strongly about. A personal favourite is The Furniture Bank, a non-for profit donation and distribution organization that strives to end furniture poverty and reduce waste.
Before we donate and distribute items to those in need we encourage the children to help with the initial picking through their parent’s stuff. It often brings back a blast from the past and helps them to get a complete picture of their parents that they may not have been able to see when they were younger.
“We encourage the process of reflection” we want our clients to reminisce, to cry, to remember and to embrace” – Brittany Huggins states. “This is an important part of the closure process and we are simply here to support instead of strip away”
If you’re worried about the heirloom avalanche and what that means for your sibling and parental relationships give us a call to begin discussing what’s best for your individual situation.
