I’m updating my will–finally. The current edition was generated from an online provider. No executor was named and Andy was the primary beneficiary. An attorney who specializes in elder law is working with me.
My situation isn’t complicated. Things with beneficiaries, like life insurance policies and retirement accounts, bypass probate. A will covers the rest–in my case, the house and other personal property.
And therein lies my conundrum. Nobody in my immediate family lives anywhere near Athens. Moving here is highly unlikely. That got me to thinking about my possessions and what to do with them.
Start with a wall of diplomas, prestigious awards, and other keepsakes from my career. They mean a lot to me, but have no value to anyone else. Maybe someone will salvage the frames.

The mirror over my fireplace originally graced the mantle at my grandmother’s house. I have no idea how much it’s worth, but would guess next to nothing to anyone outside our family.


I also have a mirror from Aunt Toodles, along with several framed bird prints from the 1960s she hung in her living room. Their value to me exceeds whatever the market value might be.




I also have a couple of framed prints from Dad’s house, a couple of silver julep cups engraved with “R”, and an antique cherry cabinet of unknown origin or value. DDad said he found it in an abandoned cabin. His sister says he stole it from someone’s property. Tomayto, tomahto.

My journals–more than thirty volumes now–similarly have no value to anyone but me. Yeah, historical value blah blah blah. The sheer quantity is off putting, never mind the handwriting and mind-numbingly dull content.
I have no jewelry of value. There may be photographs buried in my memory box various people might want. The rest is likely destined for Goodwill or the dump.
Somebody will have to go through everything. Rather than making a relative travel to Athens, I’m looking into options. It’s just stuff. What are you doing with yours?
4 responses to “Precious Junk”
I’m a member of local Buy Nothing group on Facebook. Whenever I decide I can live without something, I post it. Almost everything has found a home. And I’m talking about everything from garden tools to clothes to garden & home decor items. I’m fortunate that my group is very active. I also donated some things – an old religious treatise from 1833 that had been passed down (there is a library for that obscure denomination), and the blacksmith shop that my park district maintains at an historic site took all my dad’s old carpentry tools (they have one corner dedicated to woodworking). Dealing with one or a few items at a time is slow work. At some point, I’ll start donating general stuff to a charity resale shop.
I’ll have to look into that. I’ve been paring down for a while, so I use most of what’s left. It’s an ongoing process!
I can totally identify. I’ve told my daughter if something happens to me before I purge through all the crap I’ve amassed in the 20+ years in this house, just get my cats, my scrapbooks, and whatever she wants, and set a match to it. Lol. Not really, but these days I’m overwhelmed just keeping it manageable for me (And now Corey) to simply *live* in it. The thoughts of really purging nearly renders me unconscious. I have a 94-y-o aunt who has never thrown away anything, and we are beginning that task as well. She probably has the first-ever (and subsequent) editins of Look magazine in her attic.
I feel the way you do about most of my things, like my scrapbooks, photos, family antiques, etc, but probably worth nothing to anyone else. Well, my grandkids do enjoy looking at their scrapbooks.
I’ll be gad to come help you sometime if you want.
It’s way more fun doing chores at someone else’s home than it is at mine.
I’m in no hurry. I’ve already done one big purge since retiring and am about readyfor another. For whoever ends up dealing with my stuff, this post is proog I tried to lessen their load hahaha