Your kids don’t want your collections.
You think they do but your kids really don’t want your collections. They are uniquely yours. You have spent many hours and dollars. Consequentially, you have put so much of yourself in to your collections. Your take great joy in your collectables. You take great pride in displaying them. They have great meaning for you. They are an expression of yourself, a passion of yours. Again, notice all the you’s and your’s.
Ask them
Are they interested? Secondly, ask them if they are interested in any of the pieces. Do your kids share in your passion of the collections? Yes, great! No? Why not? It’s a fantastic collection you spent years collecting. It is better for you to edit your collections. Once you decide what is ready to move on, sell them. Keep the parts of it that you truly love. You know their monetary value and where is the best place to sell them. More importantly, you will have recouped more of your money. However, if left to your children. there is the possibility they would sell the entire collection for a lot less than their value, since they don’t know their true value.
Your kids don’t want your set of china
The set of china for 12 with three different sizes of goblets that make your table look so elegant. They don’t want all of the crystal, silver and table linens that you have. You could breakdown the setting of 12 into (2) 6’s or (3) 4’s if that works. The problem is, is that people just don’t entertain like they used to. When was the last time you used all that stuff?
When was the last time you used…? Depending on your situation, start going through your house as if you were going to move. With that attitude in mind, ultimately, you will ask yourself do I really need and love this.
If your family has a unique set of circumstances or if you find this challenging just as many do, contact me to discuss your situation.
The final installment will offer suggestions on how to disburse what you are willing to let go. As a result, you won’t be dumping your stuff on your kids.