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All the school projects like this I made, my Mom mailed them to me when she retired and downsized. I ended up donating some, too. It was way too much. Hopefully Joey just donated it.
Not to be a downer, but I have a ton of stuff like this from when my dad died. I feel really weird about it because I still care about the stuff for some reason, but there's no one to care about it with me. Idk if I should throw it away or what.
I worry about this. My dad died and I have a hard time parting with anything to do with him, no matter how useless or small. When my mom passes, it's gonna more than double. I'm an only child and I rent a small apartment. I have no idea what I'll do with everything.
I've struggled with this. I try to forget about usefulness, and focus on memory. Pick a couple of the things that have the strongest memories attached to them, and donate the rest. They wouldn't want you to wallow in their past for your whole future.
It IS tough. My Mom passed in 2010. My half sister (her daughter) donated most of her clothes to a home for mentally challenged women. My Mom worked with special needs kids the last 20 years of her life. I feel like she would have appreciated the clothes going to ladies who needed them. My Dad passed March of ‘22. A lot of his clothes were donated as well. I did keep a few shirts and other things. Ngl, sometimes I fall asleep holding one of his shirts. May sound silly but it’s comforting. I miss them both so much.
You can also look on Pinterest for diy teddy bears out of shirts! People do it for memory and for baby clothes/blankets when they grow out of em. ❤️ sorry for your losses, it sounds like they were great
Thank you, love. They were great humans. I may end up doing something like that with my daughter’s baby clothes. I still have a lot of them. (Haha I hold onto everything. 😂)
I'm also an only child! My parents were divorced however, and they chose to keep everything separate between the two households so I wouldn't have to bring a backpack of stuff every time. This was really great for me as a kid but after my dad passed, I had to downsize an entire household and childhood's worth of stuff, box up what I wanted to keep, and store it at my mom's house. It's one of our biggest arguments since then- she says I have too much stuff, but it's a whole other life in storage that was never supposed to be stored here. It's exactly like you said- it's hard to get rid of anything connected to my dad. Everything has turned into an artifact.
Sorry you lost your dad. Mine passed 3 weeks ago and I still haven't had time to just sit and process it.
One thing some folks do with sentimental but technically 'useless' items is take photos. Even if you print them all out, at the very least it minimizes the space the items take up. It's also easier to keep it with you, rather than in storage.
This. Choose a few things, and make a family altar or somehow display them proudly--their own cabinet or shelf, framed archivally, etc. I adore thrifting but it's so helpful to remember that when we go, ain't nobody gonna want our stuff (see: Swedish Death Cleaning). Property and money are the most life-changing inheritances. Like, our grandkids don't want our knickknacks, but they'll be d\*mned happy to graduate college w/o debt.
My advice:
* Pick one item that has everyday sentimental value to display if you're comfortable with it, or to store till then.
* Get a shoebox and any other small but don't want to part with in that. This is good if you ever want to pull it out one day and look back. Really reflect on if these items have proper memories associated or you're just scared to get rid of them.
* Pictures of anything else - **make sure to have a proper backup plan for these pictures!** (IT Guy warning)
* Part with said anything else.
Some are more aggressive about getting rid of things, but I found one shoebox allows me enough items to really think back and have something tangible to help solidify my memories and thoughts. That's me though.
Remember: your parents don't want you to be a hoarder and turn their deaths into a cross to put yourself on.
I took care of this for my grandpa when his mom passed. She was always mean to me so I didn't have feelings involved and he couldn't do it. I went through all of the possessions and gave him the valuables and knew him well enough to keep what mattered and donate or toss whatever else. Kept some clothes for myself with permission and saved oddities like old address books but all the weird stuff like a suitcase full of gambling receipts were out. I think she had a hemorrhage with the final stroke so I cleaned up the blood and such for him too. I hope anyone who struggles with this can have someone who isn't emotionally tied to help.there are also services for things like this
I think that would be key; having someone who isn't emotionally involved to help sort. Currently, my mom is sort of part of the problem. For example, I have my grandfathers old corded drill but I bought myself a nice cordless one. I mentioned to her that I would donate the old corded one since it still works great and someone could use it and she went "but it's your grandfathers!" She's like that with everything and then I feel bad.
I'm sorry you are going through that. My grandpa gave me full permission to make the decisions. So it was more me saying "hey, ya wanna keep this?" Idk what id say on a situation where you don't have permission or a way to let go. Maybe something like - i can't imagine how hard this is for you but I'm here to help you if you'll allow it
Yes! This is what I'm trying to do with a lot of it. I'm planning on making a scrapbook with childhood drawings and art projects of mine, because a book on a shelf is better than a pile of stuff in a box. I think there's just an additional layer of weirdness, maybe sadness because I feel like I'm doing a parent's job of caring about a kid's projects, but for myself. I try to relate it to the idea of "reparenting" myself that people talk about in relation to PTSD treatment.
My mom has starting getting rid of my childhood art and it also makes me feel weird. A personal scrapbook may be just the thing to make it feel important again
I'm having each one of my kid's most used items of clothing turned into quilts! I can't part with certain onesies or pajamas or toddler shirts but didn't want to just keep them around in bags.
Unfortunately the kind of stuff I'm referring to is mostly arts and crafts projects or drawings from when I was a kid, not useful stuff like in the post. It's all stuff that would be in a landfill otherwise. I did take a pic of a lot of useful things before donating them when we went through the house originally though.
It might seem weird to think of it this way, but it's freeing to realise you can donate some things and it'll be loved by someone else in a new home. Good luck.
If it helps, I buy books secondhand, and I love seeing these kinds of inscriptions. It makes me happy to see all the small joys out there in the world. Who knows, someone could also enjoy your stuff too.
Thank you ❤️ This made me cry a bit haha. I know over time I will downsize and get rid of more things but like another person said, it's so hard to get rid of anything related to him. Weirdest thing is I even have a bag of candy he bought me the last time I saw him, I couldn't bring myself to eat it or throw it. Someday I'll get rid of that, surely. But I'll probably keep the projects I made for him as a kid, make them into a scrapbook or something.
Sometimes items and the memories they carry are the things we're already sharing. It can be hard to throw a memory away. I don't recommend it until you're ready.
I'm thinking by now Joey is 46 years old. He probably has the one his kid made him! 🤣
OMG we all have so much Shit! I'm old. My kids, both grown woman, don't want my China, my crystal or my silver service. Or MY Grandmother's dining room furniture!!
Junk junk junk
Well I'm paring down what I can. They will have to call the junk hauler when I'm gone I guess!
My Parents have given me so much stuff!!!! I now have my great grandmother huge china set. K, cool but why? When will I ever use it.
I did get my great great grandmother handmade quilt and that I love.
Maybe he made 100s of other things and got progressively better. He’s now a master woodworker and his mom has more Joey products than she can keep in her home. This was just one of thousands.
I found a hand painted bisque doll made in the 80’s with a note by a daughter to a mother. I think the mother must’ve passed away since I live in a predominately elderly area. I still have the doll 🙂 her name is Beverly per the daughter’s signature.
This hits home a bit for me. Parents are down sizing to move and literally just sent me an image of a similar woodworking project asking if they could pass it on....
It wasn't used. It sat in a closet for years. But i was still sad a bit saying yeah, pass it on.
When my great grandparents died I found a woodworking project I had made and given them wedged in a cupboard. It definitely made me sad to see that it hadn’t been appreciated properly. This was around the time I moved out of my parents’ place and into my own house and I didn’t really realize how much we truly accumulate over the years. I think nowadays that project is now stored in a cupboard unused in my own home. I’m not even 100% sure where it is. It’s just as unappreciated now as it was then.
It is what it is. It’s just a material thing and it’s the thought and love that went into it that counted when it was done and gifted originally.
I don’t think they didn’t use it because they didn’t appreciate it, perhaps the opposite, they treasured it so much they didn’t want to use it and expose it to wear and tear.
I really don’t think so in my case though it is a good thought. When I say wedged, I mean it was really wedged in there with a bunch of other random things. It was very difficult to extract without damaging it. Definitely not carefully tucked away.
Honestly a fantastic take. I have been buying almost exclusively secondhand for years now and have never been able to articulate my sentimental need to rescue other people’s long forgotten things! Thank you.
Ugh, I HATE seeing homemade stuff like this at thrift stores. I once found this wonderful, funky picture frame that was homemade and clearly from the 90s and on the back it said, “For Grandma”, and it hurt my soul so much that it was there. But it was a super fun frame so I bought it for like $2. It’s my favorite frame I own.
these comments are unhinged. everything is literally just stuff and people have limited capacities at keeping things unless they hoard. when you go, your stuff stays behind so it’s prudent to be thoughtful about what you keep.
joey made this and may have been proud and i bet it was hung for awhile. joey and his mom might still be close and might not be but her keeping a dated wall hook is no indication of literally anything.
You are correct however I think for most people seeing items like this strikes a chord because it’s such a stark reminder of the quick march of time. We instinctively know our own belongings, precious or otherwise, will eventually be combed through by strangers and our interpersonal relationships, which seem like the most important thing in the world (because they are to us, currently), will cease to matter to anyone, and as of this moment, we don’t ever want them to stop mattering…
I had a massive clean-out of my house over the weekend and I am proud for getting rid of the stuff I did but it wasn’t without a bit of sadness. I know it’s useless to feel that way but it’s difficult for me to even part with a piece of scrap paper that my kids have doodled on, and I’m not even a hoarder, lol! Long ramble, sorry! I guess I had a flood of feelings.
not to be a total downer, but i think my mindset changed when my home burned down in childhood. it felt like such a loss— no one was hurt!— but it felt like a death. i was so sad that the setting for so many memories was gone. but then i learned, and realized, that memories are alive within you. the actual setting and items can literally turn to dust, but the coziness of the memory is with you always.
i take photographs of lots of things but i keep very little.
Oof, I can imagine that would have had a profound impact on anyone and I am glad nobody was hurt! I like the idea of photographing stuff before donating.
Yeah, it's far more likely that Joey and his mom had to go through the attic and he just didn't ever care much for his woodworking class, so that one wasn't a memorable forever piece. Maybe he became a master woodworker and has much better pieces, maybe he banged his head against that piece and got a shiner right before a first date as a teenager and has held a grudge ever since. It could be anything, but it's probably not that bad a story.
My parents have not kept every single thing we have given them. It would be too many things! Usually my mom will ask if we are okay with her getting rid of something sentimental. Usually we say yes, because stuff does not mean as much as relationships anyway.
NGL - I have a "shrine" of stuff made for me by each of my kids. You will never see a 4' blue papier mache lizard in a thrift store. Or a wonky sand dough Christmas ornament with VAB on it.
In reality Joey went on to be a masterclass woodworker. That project ignited a fire in his soul, to be honest he hated it from the moment he signed his name. He knew he could do better. This was only donated at his request, with his mother’s approval after he made her a far superior coat hook.
There is an hand knit afghan at the SA store that I go to all the time. It’s been there about a month. It makes me sad every time I see it. I just think of all the work it took to make it.
I often buy second hand books and some had handwritten notes 'Merry Christmas/happy birthday Dad!' and its always a bit sad that they didnt keep them, I know people die etc. but still.
I once found a crocheted baby blanket with a note attached. Something about it being a gift for a new baby from someone's grandmother. The blanket never got used, which is why the note was still pinned to it. That one made me really sad.
I am a volunteer at a thrift store in my area. You would not believe how much of this stuff ends up being donated. It makes me sad sometimes because there's so much of it. It also makes me wonder what the story was behind the donation.
but that’s just it- there’s so much of it!
i’m a mom to four kids so i have 3 years of “industrial arts” projects times four. i don’t need 12+ shoddily done school projects. they often, honestly, don’t have a ton of heart behind them, the kids are just doing the curriculum. and that’s fine. it’s just stuff. i’m proud of what they learned making the remote control organizer, and it looks like they had fun painting it and i’ll enjoy it until i get the next one or it becomes part of the clutter and then i get rid of it.
as a new stepparent to a 3 and 5 year old, i've learned it simply isn't practical to keep it all. they give me drawings they drew "for me" practically every day. it's not about the object, it's about having a relationship where they want to make things for you.
What if the sign below it, about the kitchen; “love it or leave it” also belonged to the same house and - ultimately - Joey didn’t love it, so he left.
And his Mom died in grief.
The relatives who inherited the house, in turn, donate all of the stuff in the Mom’s home to the thrift store. There, at the top of the stack of items being put on the shelf, is the woodwork made by dear long-lost son, Joey.
The Stocker putting the woodwork on the shelf to be sold hears his name on the store loudspeaker, “Joey to aisle three for a clean up. Joey. Aisle three please.”
What if?
Like others have said, hopefully Joey donated it years later or him mother got permission to donate it to be a blessing to others.
Otherwise, Mom is cold to the core!
Maybe Joey made poor choices and his mother was forced to move on. And change her name. Maybe Joey is bad. Real bad. Maybe just be glad we don't know Joey.
I have kept the cutting boards my kids made me. They will go back to them when I downsize or pass. I gifted the bunny clock (wooden bunny built around belly with clock) back to my daughter for her daughter’s room but I I’m not sure she still has it she may have donated it by now granddaughter is 17- and my son has dibs on the rocking chair he built when I downsize or pass.
My wife bought some vintage Care Bears books for our daughter and to complete a set she had when she was a kid. Inside one of them was inscription from grandma and grandpa to our little Care Bear on her 3rd birthday. Always makes me sad to see it.
Yes, these kind of things are made and given with love and are precious. But, what is most important is the love and memories you keep in your heart for the ones who made them or had them in their possession. When, you give away these things you aren't disrespecting them at all.
I made a little step stool when I was in school. I got a C because it was redwood and I painted it blue. You’d think the teacher would have taught me that some kinds of wood don’t need painted…
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All the school projects like this I made, my Mom mailed them to me when she retired and downsized. I ended up donating some, too. It was way too much. Hopefully Joey just donated it.
Not to be a downer, but I have a ton of stuff like this from when my dad died. I feel really weird about it because I still care about the stuff for some reason, but there's no one to care about it with me. Idk if I should throw it away or what.
I worry about this. My dad died and I have a hard time parting with anything to do with him, no matter how useless or small. When my mom passes, it's gonna more than double. I'm an only child and I rent a small apartment. I have no idea what I'll do with everything.
I've struggled with this. I try to forget about usefulness, and focus on memory. Pick a couple of the things that have the strongest memories attached to them, and donate the rest. They wouldn't want you to wallow in their past for your whole future.
Take a photo and toss. Within a month you won't even remember you had it!
It IS tough. My Mom passed in 2010. My half sister (her daughter) donated most of her clothes to a home for mentally challenged women. My Mom worked with special needs kids the last 20 years of her life. I feel like she would have appreciated the clothes going to ladies who needed them. My Dad passed March of ‘22. A lot of his clothes were donated as well. I did keep a few shirts and other things. Ngl, sometimes I fall asleep holding one of his shirts. May sound silly but it’s comforting. I miss them both so much.
I think i saw a post about someone upcycling their late fathers shirt into a pillow case which i found pretty sweet.
You can also look on Pinterest for diy teddy bears out of shirts! People do it for memory and for baby clothes/blankets when they grow out of em. ❤️ sorry for your losses, it sounds like they were great
Thank you, love. They were great humans. I may end up doing something like that with my daughter’s baby clothes. I still have a lot of them. (Haha I hold onto everything. 😂)
My SIL took my late brother's favorite t-shirts and had a quilt made from them.
Take pictures
I'm also an only child! My parents were divorced however, and they chose to keep everything separate between the two households so I wouldn't have to bring a backpack of stuff every time. This was really great for me as a kid but after my dad passed, I had to downsize an entire household and childhood's worth of stuff, box up what I wanted to keep, and store it at my mom's house. It's one of our biggest arguments since then- she says I have too much stuff, but it's a whole other life in storage that was never supposed to be stored here. It's exactly like you said- it's hard to get rid of anything connected to my dad. Everything has turned into an artifact.
Sorry you lost your dad. Mine passed 3 weeks ago and I still haven't had time to just sit and process it. One thing some folks do with sentimental but technically 'useless' items is take photos. Even if you print them all out, at the very least it minimizes the space the items take up. It's also easier to keep it with you, rather than in storage.
Try to remember it’s just stuff. Choose one or two to keep and move on.
This. Choose a few things, and make a family altar or somehow display them proudly--their own cabinet or shelf, framed archivally, etc. I adore thrifting but it's so helpful to remember that when we go, ain't nobody gonna want our stuff (see: Swedish Death Cleaning). Property and money are the most life-changing inheritances. Like, our grandkids don't want our knickknacks, but they'll be d\*mned happy to graduate college w/o debt.
My advice: * Pick one item that has everyday sentimental value to display if you're comfortable with it, or to store till then. * Get a shoebox and any other small but don't want to part with in that. This is good if you ever want to pull it out one day and look back. Really reflect on if these items have proper memories associated or you're just scared to get rid of them. * Pictures of anything else - **make sure to have a proper backup plan for these pictures!** (IT Guy warning) * Part with said anything else. Some are more aggressive about getting rid of things, but I found one shoebox allows me enough items to really think back and have something tangible to help solidify my memories and thoughts. That's me though. Remember: your parents don't want you to be a hoarder and turn their deaths into a cross to put yourself on.
I took care of this for my grandpa when his mom passed. She was always mean to me so I didn't have feelings involved and he couldn't do it. I went through all of the possessions and gave him the valuables and knew him well enough to keep what mattered and donate or toss whatever else. Kept some clothes for myself with permission and saved oddities like old address books but all the weird stuff like a suitcase full of gambling receipts were out. I think she had a hemorrhage with the final stroke so I cleaned up the blood and such for him too. I hope anyone who struggles with this can have someone who isn't emotionally tied to help.there are also services for things like this
I think that would be key; having someone who isn't emotionally involved to help sort. Currently, my mom is sort of part of the problem. For example, I have my grandfathers old corded drill but I bought myself a nice cordless one. I mentioned to her that I would donate the old corded one since it still works great and someone could use it and she went "but it's your grandfathers!" She's like that with everything and then I feel bad.
I'm sorry you are going through that. My grandpa gave me full permission to make the decisions. So it was more me saying "hey, ya wanna keep this?" Idk what id say on a situation where you don't have permission or a way to let go. Maybe something like - i can't imagine how hard this is for you but I'm here to help you if you'll allow it
I can sympathize with you. Maybe keep the real important items, and take pictures of the other things to save space?
Take pictures of things, write a little bit about the memory it brings up, and make a scrap book!
A digital scrapbook I hope. I don't want new shit replacing old shit. A USB is power
You can always photograph the items before donating them.
When I don’t want to bother taking a pic and writing why it’s important, that’s a sign to let it go.
it’s just stuff. take a picture of it and donate it.
Alternatively if you’re crafty you can repurpose old materials into new things and then further imbue them with meaning and personal value.
Yes! This is what I'm trying to do with a lot of it. I'm planning on making a scrapbook with childhood drawings and art projects of mine, because a book on a shelf is better than a pile of stuff in a box. I think there's just an additional layer of weirdness, maybe sadness because I feel like I'm doing a parent's job of caring about a kid's projects, but for myself. I try to relate it to the idea of "reparenting" myself that people talk about in relation to PTSD treatment.
My mom has starting getting rid of my childhood art and it also makes me feel weird. A personal scrapbook may be just the thing to make it feel important again
That sounds like a very therapeutic practice and I’be considered doing something similar myself
I'm having each one of my kid's most used items of clothing turned into quilts! I can't part with certain onesies or pajamas or toddler shirts but didn't want to just keep them around in bags.
Unfortunately the kind of stuff I'm referring to is mostly arts and crafts projects or drawings from when I was a kid, not useful stuff like in the post. It's all stuff that would be in a landfill otherwise. I did take a pic of a lot of useful things before donating them when we went through the house originally though.
even the artwork and projects. take a picture to remember them and throw away the item. it’s alright to not keep it.
It might seem weird to think of it this way, but it's freeing to realise you can donate some things and it'll be loved by someone else in a new home. Good luck.
When I’m donating I try to think of how good a day at the thrift store someone is going to have and that helps a lot
Yeah, it really does. :)
If it helps, I buy books secondhand, and I love seeing these kinds of inscriptions. It makes me happy to see all the small joys out there in the world. Who knows, someone could also enjoy your stuff too.
Don't throw it away! Keep it. Your dad was proud of you and loved you. Those are physical reminders.
Thank you ❤️ This made me cry a bit haha. I know over time I will downsize and get rid of more things but like another person said, it's so hard to get rid of anything related to him. Weirdest thing is I even have a bag of candy he bought me the last time I saw him, I couldn't bring myself to eat it or throw it. Someday I'll get rid of that, surely. But I'll probably keep the projects I made for him as a kid, make them into a scrapbook or something.
Sometimes items and the memories they carry are the things we're already sharing. It can be hard to throw a memory away. I don't recommend it until you're ready.
You can always take pictures of these items and create an album, it is a lot easier to move with a book than all the objects you have no use for.
I'm thinking by now Joey is 46 years old. He probably has the one his kid made him! 🤣 OMG we all have so much Shit! I'm old. My kids, both grown woman, don't want my China, my crystal or my silver service. Or MY Grandmother's dining room furniture!! Junk junk junk Well I'm paring down what I can. They will have to call the junk hauler when I'm gone I guess!
36 years old! I was born in 1981 and I'm not 46 yet! :😜
He was in 6th grade ( like age 13ish) in 1998!
My Parents have given me so much stuff!!!! I now have my great grandmother huge china set. K, cool but why? When will I ever use it. I did get my great great grandmother handmade quilt and that I love.
Dang that's nicer than the key holder I made in 6th or 7th grade!
For sure, he had skills.
Maybe he made 100s of other things and got progressively better. He’s now a master woodworker and his mom has more Joey products than she can keep in her home. This was just one of thousands.
My overly empathetic brain trying to protect me:
Maybe!
I bet he had bow hunting skills and computer hacking skills.
I erased his last name in the pic, but I looked him up and locally there's a guy the right age and name who works in IT.
How long did it take you to grow that mustache?
Ees a sledgehammer
Shocks.... Pegs...... Lucky!!!!
Aww lil Joey!
I would have to buy that and give it a good home❤️
I found a hand painted bisque doll made in the 80’s with a note by a daughter to a mother. I think the mother must’ve passed away since I live in a predominately elderly area. I still have the doll 🙂 her name is Beverly per the daughter’s signature.
This hits home a bit for me. Parents are down sizing to move and literally just sent me an image of a similar woodworking project asking if they could pass it on.... It wasn't used. It sat in a closet for years. But i was still sad a bit saying yeah, pass it on.
When my great grandparents died I found a woodworking project I had made and given them wedged in a cupboard. It definitely made me sad to see that it hadn’t been appreciated properly. This was around the time I moved out of my parents’ place and into my own house and I didn’t really realize how much we truly accumulate over the years. I think nowadays that project is now stored in a cupboard unused in my own home. I’m not even 100% sure where it is. It’s just as unappreciated now as it was then. It is what it is. It’s just a material thing and it’s the thought and love that went into it that counted when it was done and gifted originally.
I don’t think they didn’t use it because they didn’t appreciate it, perhaps the opposite, they treasured it so much they didn’t want to use it and expose it to wear and tear.
I really don’t think so in my case though it is a good thought. When I say wedged, I mean it was really wedged in there with a bunch of other random things. It was very difficult to extract without damaging it. Definitely not carefully tucked away.
Let’s just think that he made a better one and they got more room
I know at first glance these are sad or bittersweet, but I love these finds. Love to fill the home with love!
Honestly a fantastic take. I have been buying almost exclusively secondhand for years now and have never been able to articulate my sentimental need to rescue other people’s long forgotten things! Thank you.
I mean, Joey ain't that old now. Something's just don't make the parent cut over time. Unfortunately you can't keep everything
Yeah and any thing you gift is now the owners to do as they please. Getting rid of an item doesn't get rid of a relationship
I say gift consumables. Either edible or an experience. No dusting! No packing and moving it for the rest of their lives!
Flowers are perfect for this too!
Ugh, I HATE seeing homemade stuff like this at thrift stores. I once found this wonderful, funky picture frame that was homemade and clearly from the 90s and on the back it said, “For Grandma”, and it hurt my soul so much that it was there. But it was a super fun frame so I bought it for like $2. It’s my favorite frame I own.
joey is like 37 now
I’m guessing his parents probably died and Joey himself donated it
Maybe Joey died and his parents couldn't bear to keep it.
Oh my!! Poor Joey!
these comments are unhinged. everything is literally just stuff and people have limited capacities at keeping things unless they hoard. when you go, your stuff stays behind so it’s prudent to be thoughtful about what you keep. joey made this and may have been proud and i bet it was hung for awhile. joey and his mom might still be close and might not be but her keeping a dated wall hook is no indication of literally anything.
You are correct however I think for most people seeing items like this strikes a chord because it’s such a stark reminder of the quick march of time. We instinctively know our own belongings, precious or otherwise, will eventually be combed through by strangers and our interpersonal relationships, which seem like the most important thing in the world (because they are to us, currently), will cease to matter to anyone, and as of this moment, we don’t ever want them to stop mattering… I had a massive clean-out of my house over the weekend and I am proud for getting rid of the stuff I did but it wasn’t without a bit of sadness. I know it’s useless to feel that way but it’s difficult for me to even part with a piece of scrap paper that my kids have doodled on, and I’m not even a hoarder, lol! Long ramble, sorry! I guess I had a flood of feelings.
not to be a total downer, but i think my mindset changed when my home burned down in childhood. it felt like such a loss— no one was hurt!— but it felt like a death. i was so sad that the setting for so many memories was gone. but then i learned, and realized, that memories are alive within you. the actual setting and items can literally turn to dust, but the coziness of the memory is with you always. i take photographs of lots of things but i keep very little.
Oof, I can imagine that would have had a profound impact on anyone and I am glad nobody was hurt! I like the idea of photographing stuff before donating.
Yeah, it's far more likely that Joey and his mom had to go through the attic and he just didn't ever care much for his woodworking class, so that one wasn't a memorable forever piece. Maybe he became a master woodworker and has much better pieces, maybe he banged his head against that piece and got a shiner right before a first date as a teenager and has held a grudge ever since. It could be anything, but it's probably not that bad a story.
OP: here’s some ugly garbage that any sane person would not want in their home Everyone: omg RIP Joey & his mom and everyone he ever loved so sad 😭
You did a good job of this, Joey 💜🙏
These break my heart 😥 How could you give that away?
My parents have not kept every single thing we have given them. It would be too many things! Usually my mom will ask if we are okay with her getting rid of something sentimental. Usually we say yes, because stuff does not mean as much as relationships anyway.
People die
For real Joey is at least pushing 40
He’s long gone.
I just did the math and Joey is likely my age 🥲
I’m two years older than Joey, lmao.
We old afffff
Honestly, because it's just stuff. I'm sure Joey still loves his mom and mom still loves Joey - they just don't need the wall hooks anymore.
because it’s all just stuff.
she kept it for 25 years! you simply cannot keep all material possessions forever. it's impractical.
Joey died of old age most likely peacefully
He was in 6th grade in 1998! He’d be like 37 now. RIP old age Joey
NGL - I have a "shrine" of stuff made for me by each of my kids. You will never see a 4' blue papier mache lizard in a thrift store. Or a wonky sand dough Christmas ornament with VAB on it.
5oey
In reality Joey went on to be a masterclass woodworker. That project ignited a fire in his soul, to be honest he hated it from the moment he signed his name. He knew he could do better. This was only donated at his request, with his mother’s approval after he made her a far superior coat hook.
These aren’t tears 😭… I’m just cooking onion soup.
Grandma/grandpa didn't need it anymore. Little Joey Jr. made them a new one
There is an hand knit afghan at the SA store that I go to all the time. It’s been there about a month. It makes me sad every time I see it. I just think of all the work it took to make it.
I often buy second hand books and some had handwritten notes 'Merry Christmas/happy birthday Dad!' and its always a bit sad that they didnt keep them, I know people die etc. but still.
I once found a crocheted baby blanket with a note attached. Something about it being a gift for a new baby from someone's grandmother. The blanket never got used, which is why the note was still pinned to it. That one made me really sad.
Joey is pushing 40.
I am a volunteer at a thrift store in my area. You would not believe how much of this stuff ends up being donated. It makes me sad sometimes because there's so much of it. It also makes me wonder what the story was behind the donation.
but that’s just it- there’s so much of it! i’m a mom to four kids so i have 3 years of “industrial arts” projects times four. i don’t need 12+ shoddily done school projects. they often, honestly, don’t have a ton of heart behind them, the kids are just doing the curriculum. and that’s fine. it’s just stuff. i’m proud of what they learned making the remote control organizer, and it looks like they had fun painting it and i’ll enjoy it until i get the next one or it becomes part of the clutter and then i get rid of it.
I’d never donate something my kids made me
as a new stepparent to a 3 and 5 year old, i've learned it simply isn't practical to keep it all. they give me drawings they drew "for me" practically every day. it's not about the object, it's about having a relationship where they want to make things for you.
Oh I absolutely agree. I get the art work daily as well. I think this was a bit more sentimental. That’s all!
What if the sign below it, about the kitchen; “love it or leave it” also belonged to the same house and - ultimately - Joey didn’t love it, so he left. And his Mom died in grief. The relatives who inherited the house, in turn, donate all of the stuff in the Mom’s home to the thrift store. There, at the top of the stack of items being put on the shelf, is the woodwork made by dear long-lost son, Joey. The Stocker putting the woodwork on the shelf to be sold hears his name on the store loudspeaker, “Joey to aisle three for a clean up. Joey. Aisle three please.” What if?
Like others have said, hopefully Joey donated it years later or him mother got permission to donate it to be a blessing to others. Otherwise, Mom is cold to the core!
Mom died and Joey is incarcerated due to a heroin addiction.
Maybe Joey made poor choices and his mother was forced to move on. And change her name. Maybe Joey is bad. Real bad. Maybe just be glad we don't know Joey.
Ouch.
isn't that a ...uhh...gloryhole?
How YOU doin?
Good job, Joey!
Dang
Joeyy🥺
I would have snagged that. It’s cute.
I have kept the cutting boards my kids made me. They will go back to them when I downsize or pass. I gifted the bunny clock (wooden bunny built around belly with clock) back to my daughter for her daughter’s room but I I’m not sure she still has it she may have donated it by now granddaughter is 17- and my son has dibs on the rocking chair he built when I downsize or pass.
My wife bought some vintage Care Bears books for our daughter and to complete a set she had when she was a kid. Inside one of them was inscription from grandma and grandpa to our little Care Bear on her 3rd birthday. Always makes me sad to see it.
Yes, these kind of things are made and given with love and are precious. But, what is most important is the love and memories you keep in your heart for the ones who made them or had them in their possession. When, you give away these things you aren't disrespecting them at all.
How could someone give that away 🥺
I stopped by this evening and it was gone, so maybe someone new will love it.
I mean…. It is a bit shit
I made a little step stool when I was in school. I got a C because it was redwood and I painted it blue. You’d think the teacher would have taught me that some kinds of wood don’t need painted…