A question about sentimental items for the older os people

pelirocco

I'm not 60 + but slightly worried I will be considered old when I hit 60 lol , especially as the opening post seems to imply we might need sentimental items as we may be going a bit senile by then !

TravellingAbuela

I have just had my 70th birthday and have a load of old "stuff" that is taking up valuable space. But it would break my heart to get rid of it! I have a massive box of old family photos and a smaller box of slides & viewer for starters. Then both my mum and grandma's china tea sets (given to them as wedding presents) and a box of display plates and ginger jars my mum collected. I have other bits and pieces, including my dad's teddy bear and my grandma's china Christening mug. In my eyes, a photo of these items could not replace them!

I also have a little suitcase of various papers, birth, death & marriage certificates etc going back to the 1800's. This was invaluable when searching my family history.

I know once I have gone the kids will probably get rid of most of it without a second thought but I personally could never part with them! If I were you I'd hang on to this stuff as, once gone, it can never be replaced.

[Deleted User]

I am 70+ and keep the things that are personal to me and as a genealogist, photos have been helpful in amassing my four family trees of all four grandparents Luckily my eldest DD shares my love of history so I know they won't just get binned

I have cut down on lots of photos though by giving the ones to the relevant people e.g. my Dds with their late Dad and friends who we used to know and have got it down to one plastic box alone of photos. My eldest DD has the letters my OH sent me over the years in a box tied up and put away for when I shuffle off this mortal coil as they will come with me.

All certificate of family and the various trees are all in files and sorted.My family tree covers 43 pages of A4 paper as I have been researching since 1976 and its a hobby of mine .

But my grandchildren all know where they came from and who their gt.grandparents were and what they did.I used it as a tool to help them learn about history as history is about ordinary people as well as Kings and Queens. How my grandparents live in the Victorian era (my Mum was born in 1900) and my Dad in 1890 so they learned about who fought in which war, and where they went .Most of my grandchildren get quite fascinated about the past (must be from being around me all the time :) I am a real history nut and every item I have kept has a story attached for the grandchildren.

The thing I regret most is not having my late ma-in-laws cook book after she died It had not only recipes of hers but stuff her Gt Grandma had written in pencil different recipes from the late 1880s in there.

It was binned before I could get to the house, and was criminal really as it was a piece of social history as they had also written about different things that were going on at the time

My ma-in-laws Mum had written about seeing the old Queen Victoria's hearse going down to the boat to be carried to the mainland from the Isle of Wight.There was a bit of an hebe from one of the wreaths that fell off and she snatched it up and took it home to Northwood just outside Cowes, and potted it up.

Everyone in the family had cuttings taken from it and I had cutting taken from my ma-in-laws plant and its growing well in my garden My two Dds also have cuttings from my Hebe bush in their gardens, so that tiny scrap of wreath has given rise to a whole family and descendants having a bit of it

We call it the Queen Victoria bush :):) as its descended from the original cutting from over a hundred years ago, now that is a real slice of history that I would never throw away

dandy-candy

pelirocco wrote: »

I'm not 60 + but slightly worried I will be considered old when I hit 60 lol , especially as the opening post seems to imply we might need sentimental items as we may be going a bit senile by then !

Oh no I don't mean it like that! Life right now is still full of running around after the kids (all 3 at home still) and making sure the chores are done and the bills paid. I don't really think about the past much. I said 60+ because (hopefully) life will be a bit less hectic by then, and I might start to be more interested in my families past?

There is room to keep everything but I have already in the house some items that I can relate to more like the kitchen jars I remember being in granny's kitchen and a little wooden crow that sat in my mums kitchen, also granny's recipe book.

I think maybe keeping a few photos to frame and scanning the rest might be better, but things like their toys? They n very had them out on the side, I inherited them already boxed away so they don't hold any "memories" for me. I kept them because they were important to them, I'm not sure if that's a good enough reason? I don't want my kids to feel obliged to keep my personal stuff when I'm gone, they'd never get in the door!

dandy-candy

Wow jackieo that's a fantastic story about the hebe! Thanks for sharing it

[Deleted User]

Don't you believe that life after 60 will be less busy, we're 68 and 71 respectively and busier than ever as we now have more time to live life to the full. I've just come back from a holiday in Sweden with DD1 where we went exploring, rock climbing and walked 20ish kilometres every day, was wonderful, we brought DD1 home yesterday and spent the day doing her garden, sorting the house, mega ironing session, out to restock cupboards, and didn't sit down until 8 in the evening. At home we both walk our friends dog once each a day 5 miles in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, we have a full sized allotment, 1/6th an acre of garden with a greenhouse and polytunnel and are gardening all the hours that God gives for most of the year and then processing what we grow etc. we're more active and healthier and happier than at any other time in our lives.

I live in the here and now, I keep very little materially from the past some photographs and some artworks from the girls very early years but what I have kept and love to look through are cards that have been given by He Whoknows and the girls for Christmas, Birthdays and Mothers Day over the years. I guess my memories are more important than any material things but that's a personal thing and some people like a tangible item to enhance their memories.

vodkawitch1

I`m 61 and really couldn`t get rid of old photo`s but most other things go in the bin. I used to keep cards etc but not now. I would love to have photos of my parents wedding but all those things were destroyed in the war when houses were bombed out.

I`d keep them.

Goldiegirl

pelirocco wrote: »

I'm not 60 + but slightly worried I will be considered old when I hit 60 lol , especially as the opening post seems to imply we might need sentimental items as we may be going a bit senile by then !

That made me smile - I think 'old' is always someone 20 years older than you are now..... as 60 is only 4 years off for me, 60 seems quite young to me!

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

The impression I get from my much older brother and sister, who have endless comments about what people are like in every decade of their life, is that when you're in your 50s, you will probably feel the need to purge almost everything in your life anyway!

I don't know how accurate it is, having not got there myself yet, but my siblings say all their friends too have seemed to feel the need to simplify their lives and get rid of any baggage.

I think that can be very true.


In your 50's, you may have gone through clearing your parents home after they died, and had to get rid of so much stuff. It makes you think about your own belongings, and you think that you don't want someone to have to do the same for you.


Plus, there's a sense for preparing for the next stage of your life, i.e. retirement. You feel as if you want to simplify and so you go forward without all the baggage from the past.


That's what I've found, anyway

MandM90

JackieO wrote: »

I am 70+ and keep the things that are personal to me and as a genealogist, photos have been helpful in amassing my four family trees of all four grandparents Luckily my eldest DD shares my love of history so I know they won't just get binned

I have cut down on lots of photos though by giving the ones to the relevant people e.g. my Dds with their late Dad and friends who we used to know and have got it down to one plastic box alone of photos. My eldest DD has the letters my OH sent me over the years in a box tied up and put away for when I shuffle off this mortal coil as they will come with me.

All certificate of family and the various trees are all in files and sorted.My family tree covers 43 pages of A4 paper as I have been researching since 1976 and its a hobby of mine .

But my grandchildren all know where they came from and who their gt.grandparents were and what they did.I used it as a tool to help them learn about history as history is about ordinary people as well as Kings and Queens. How my grandparents live in the Victorian era (my Mum was born in 1900) and my Dad in 1890 so they learned about who fought in which war, and where they went .Most of my grandchildren get quite fascinated about the past (must be from being around me all the time :) I am a real history nut and every item I have kept has a story attached for the grandchildren.

The thing I regret most is not having my late ma-in-laws cook book after she died It had not only recipes of hers but stuff her Gt Grandma had written in pencil different recipes from the late 1880s in there.

It was binned before I could get to the house, and was criminal really as it was a piece of social history as they had also written about different things that were going on at the time

My ma-in-laws Mum had written about seeing the old Queen Victoria's hearse going down to the boat to be carried to the mainland from the Isle of Wight.There was a bit of an hebe from one of the wreaths that fell off and she snatched it up and took it home to Northwood just outside Cowes, and potted it up.

Everyone in the family had cuttings taken from it and I had cutting taken from my ma-in-laws plant and its growing well in my garden My two Dds also have cuttings from my Hebe bush in their gardens, so that tiny scrap of wreath has given rise to a whole family and descendants having a bit of it

We call it the Queen Victoria bush :):) as its descended from the original cutting from over a hundred years ago, now that is a real slice of history that I would never throw away

Jackie I really do wish you would write a blog!!

june89

Another not 60+ person but I've moved abroad several times starting when I was 18 so have always had minimal "stuff" around. The last time I was really ruthless, scanned/photographed anything important (including photos - all digital now) and then either gave to other family members or binned if they weren't interested/relevant. But it does mean I moved with only a single suitcase - less than I see typical tourists travelling with. That was pretty liberating!

The only thing (so far) from my childhood that I miss is one particular soft toy. But I lost him along the way rather than purposely got rid of, so it's not something I could have prevented anyway. Memories are still in my head.