Use Your Fancy China, Already!

This topic has been on my mind lately, because I have been working on an ongoing project with a senior who has been downsizing a lot of her belongings. We are sorting through a lifetime's worth of houseware, decor and photos and deciding what to keep, what to donate, and what to pass on to her children.

As we are going through her things, we have been having a lot of fun reminiscing about the stories behind the stuff - where she got it, whether it was a gift, etc. It's been fun for me, and I think really fun and therapeutic for her as well. Did you know reminiscing was a side benefit of hiring a professional organizer? Well, now you do! :)

As we have come across the extra special items in her life - the china, the beautiful serving plates - I have been telling her to find ways to use it now, instead of storing it or saving it for a time that calls for a good dose of fancy, like Obama visiting or something. Why have beautiful things in our home and never use them? Are they making you happy all stored away and out of sight?

We all have a relationship with the stuff in our lives, as well as a value we place on sentimentality that drives how we handle our stuff. This experience of going through 85 years of belongings has really helped clarify how I feel about the most precious and sentimental things I own. So for those of you looking for advice on what to do with the boxes of cloth napkins, fine china and other things that are "too nice to use"? USE THEM, ALREADY. Who cares if they get stained or broken? It is no different than if they were just being stored, for all the good it's doing you.

Let us all be users of the fancy things in our homes, and not just on special occasions. If you need a reason, it's Friday and we all know Trader Joe's 3 Buck Chuck tastes way better in a china mug.