A Facebook post asked, “What’s the oldest thing in your house?” A lot of us jest, “Me.” That could be true, especially here in Florida, where many of us relocated from up north and left our old furnishings behind.
It’s intriguing to ponder the age of your possessions. When newly married, most items are fresh. Now, I often pick something up and say, “Wow, I’ve had this over 50 years.” Younger people, like my 26-year-old niece, might say her oldest item is 10 years old. That's when she got her first apartment.
On social media, responses to that question include fascinating items: grandmothers' treadle sewing machines, great-grandparents' immigration trunks, or grandmother’s jewelry. Uncommon collections like a trilobite fossil or other fossils that are 460 million years old. One smarty-pants answered, “Hydrogen atoms about 13 billion years old.” Yeah, we probably all have some of those; my hydrogen atoms might be even older, who knows?
Many of us possess items in our homes older than we are. I have my great-grandmother’s hat pin, probably from the mid-1800s. We also own an Antebellum tilting water pitcher from the mid-1800s. If I wanted to be as clever as the hydrogen atom guy, I’d include a couple of rocks, one from the China 3 Gorges Dam area (estimated @ 2 million years old) and a piece of slate from Newfoundland (maybe 500 – 600 million years old). (Yes, I feel guilty. I know, if everyone picked up a rock from the Three Gorges Dam, it might disappear in a few million years – but it is a tiny rock. At least I'm not keeping a trilobite which probably belongs in a museum).
Demilked.com (2) asked for pictures of the oldest thing in people’s houses. I was particularly intrigued by a doorway lintel circa 1678 from Doubs, France. Hubby’s ancestors were from Doubs. Doubs’ current population is 2,888.
Remember when antique sounded really old? Now you realize many things in your house would be considered antiques. I look at the tree and realize ornaments I bought or made can be 50 years old. Many of my cross-stitched ornaments were made in the early '80s.
I chuckle when online auctions like eBay offer items we likely all have in our houses as rare, antique items. Ouch! I just saw a ‘rare find 1970s Blue Cornflower Corningware quart cooking dish on sale for $2,793. It didn’t even have a lid. I gave the thrift store two of them before I moved. Better yet, there’s an “Extremely rare vintage Corningware bowl offered for $23,000. So if you have any Corningware left, get on eBay fast!
My sister recently downsized, and we discussed the tough decisions. With my move to Florida, I gave away the antique sewing rocker my grandmother gave me for a wedding present. We talked about pictures. She had boxes of pictures. I, too, have struggled to get rid of pictures. The good news is you can scan them. The bad news is that takes so much time to go through the pictures and decide which to scan. And I bet if you have the pictures, many of them are yellow with age.
One blog asked readers, “What’s treasure versus crap?” (3) Some people keep old items “because they’re family heirlooms – except they don’t like them, use them, or even really know much about them." I admit I have a few things in that category. The only reason I have the hat pin is that it doesn’t take up space. I only see it when I’m cleaning the drawer it lies in. I don’t feel a sentimental connection to it.
Several years ago, I sold some antique, hand-painted Easter eggs my grandma had given me. It makes me wonder: What were these eggs used for? Did parents put them in their kids’ Easter basket? Wouldn’t they be dangerous? Was glass cheaper than chocolate? I also thought, “Was this a family heirloom, or something grandma picked up at an antique sale?” Grandma’s hobby was visiting antique sales. I’m not sure if anything in her antique-filled house was passed down or just something she bought at a sale.
But back to old stuff. The good news is that your old stuff could have some value and could be sold on online auction sites such as eBay and 1stDibs. I feel good that rather than ending up in the trash, someone in the universe might want to actually buy the stuff. The bad news is that takes time (and a bit of expertise) to sell things online. I guess I’d rather write blogs than sell things on eBay. So during my downsizing, I’ve carted the stuff to thrift stores where other people buy it for pennies and sell it on eBay. At least it goes to a happy home.
I’m at the stage of life where I begin to wonder, "What will happen to my stuff?" Some people keep things from their parents, grandparents, and ancestors to pass down to the kids. But my sister and I realized we don’t have anyone to pass things down to. Her daughter is in the Navy and travels the world. She has little desire for an antique clock or hat pin. Geez, I just noticed an antique hat pin on auction for $1,650.
Our popular community thrift store closed two years ago. That would have been a wonderful home for the things I love. I have ornaments for two Christmas trees – many hand-made, many costly ones from museums. Does anybody know someone who wants two boxes of beautiful (in my opinion) Christmas ornaments when I decide to stop decorating trees?
References
Someone Asked Our Community To Share Pics Of The Oldest Object In Their House, 30 Delivered, boredpanda.com, March 4, 2022
20 People Shared Pics Of The Oldest Object In Their House, As Shared By This Online Community, https://www.demilked.com/vintage-things-pics/
Joan Concelio, Treasures Vs. Crap: What’s the Oldest Item in Your Home?, manvsdebt.com, May 10, 2013
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