Giving Family Objects Their Next Lives, with Love
The more I dive into Legacy Organizing, the more I think about my grandmother Florence Angell and her collections and connection to her childhood in early 20th-century Michigan. I also think about how she started preparing her collections to live on after she was gone. Florence had the foresight to go through her things, label them, and even distribute some of them while she was alive. For this, I am so grateful. Objects from her have a story attached, and rereading her little notes gives me insight into the loving relationships and memories she shared with her parents.
“So I give you this box remembering my father’s loving hands that gave and made so many and so much to other people.” —Florence Angell (my grandmother)
For instance, I received this beautiful inlaid wooden box for Christmas from her in my early twenties. Tucked inside it is a note she wrote, giving details on its provenance. The box was made by my grandmother’s father, who was an avid woodworker. My great-grandfather made everything from letter openers to office desks. And he made a whole lot of jewelry boxes, perhaps because he had 6 daughters! As with many families, though, as these siblings died, many of their things came to live with my grandmother, the youngest daughter. Perhaps as a child of the Depression, she felt a deep obligation to keep these things.
Notes left by my grandmother inside the wooden box
Among my 21st Century-living siblings, we’ve each taken one or two objects from my great-grandfather’s woodworking legacy to incorporate into our own lives—selected particularly beautiful or noteworthy items based on our individual senses of style, nostalgia or need (for a jewelry box, for example!). Of course we can’t use all of the items, but they can find new homes as gifts to loved ones, or to someone with a love for board games (a home for those lovely wooden Chinese Checkers or Cribbage boards?). These objects deserve to be used, out in the world, and enjoyed for their visual beauty and high quality.
Do you or your family have old heritage objects stored in attics and basements, going unused or unwanted by family? Think about releasing these items to new users, new uses. Old things are not automatically destined for the landfill or the oft-maligned Goodwill drop-off. With a little imagination and intention, we can find new, meaningful homes for them.
Ready to start going through your own beloved objects? Schedule a free consultation with me to help determine where they go, with love and intention.