What we keep might say as much about other people as what it says about us. I enjoy looking at the things another person has decided to keep on display in their home. If nothing else, having stuff out for others to see can make for good conversation starters.
Knickknacks can be found throughout our house. Those are accompanied by numerous framed photos and other items someone felt worthy to display. My wife, who is a teacher, receives lots of inexpensive figurines and the like from her students. Some she puts in view for a while and others stay stored away until it's time to donate them.
Keepsakes--that what they are until we don't want to keep them anymore. Most of us likely have keepsakes that we display throughout our households. There are probably thousands, maybe millions of those trinkets like the ones my wife gets from her students in homes all across the world. And likely even more in thrift shops and landfills.
Land sakes alive! All the essentially useless stuff that floods the marketplace fills up our lives. Somewhere in the world people are sifting through the dirt to find enough grains of rice to make a meager dinner for their families while tonight I'll eat well within the walls of my dwelling filled with the stuff I need along with the stuff that I want in my life as well as the stuff that waits to be tossed out.
Keepsakes? Land sakes! We've got them at our house. I guess they create a sense of decor. They also can be connected to specific people or memories. That works for me and if it doesn't then I start a donation box. Maybe someone else will find their own meaningful keepsakes in what I've gotten rid of.
Do you have a lot of knickknacks sitting on display in your home? Do you collect things with any particular theme in mind? Do you like to look at the knickknack collections at places you visit?
We've gotten rid of a lot of ours while the more valuable items are in two curio cabinets. But they are still found throughout the house. Then of course there's my Minion shrine which has taken over a third of my office.
ReplyDeleteL.Diane, if I had a cabinet just for my stuff I'd fill it with juggling clown figurines--those are my nicest.
DeleteLee
Oh, yes! People used to give me knicknacks galore! Unicorns and spaceships, mostly. I eventually asked to be given only what I could use up, or for people to purchase a goat for a family somewhere in a developing country. I don't haver as many student gifts as your wife, but those I do have I cherish. My latest gift from a student(who was leaving the school) is a paper crane she made herself, along with a sweet note to thank me for being fabulous, and wish me all the best "with this crane by your side".
ReplyDeleteNeither of those is going into the bin!
Aussie Children's Writers: K is for Robin Klein
https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2018-k-is-for.html
Sue, you know what I'm talking about. I agree that the truly personal gifts are often the best.
DeleteLee
I had quite a bit of knickkacks years ago. We collected them from various countries we visited. While many of them withstood our move across the Atlantic, others did not. The most important ones though, are the ones made by my children.
ReplyDeleteElsie
Elsie, a lot of our stuff has come from our travels. We haven't had to move any of it yet.
DeleteLee
I love all my knick knacks!!! All have memories attached to them. I love to collect unique things!
ReplyDeleteJoJo, the memories are the best thing about little curios. If I can't attach a memory then there's not much meaning in having something.
DeleteLee
Wow! Lots of stuff there! I love this: " Land sakes!" I think you are one of the few people (aside myself) I have heard say this!
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved, many of our knick knacks had to leave. I took photos of them instead as a way of preserving them and the memories.
Susan K, I don't think I've ever actually used "land sakes" in my own speech, but I've heard a lot of people like my grandmother use it.
DeleteI should start a good photo record of things that I have.
Lee
I do have a few knick knacks. My favorite keepsakes are pictures; packed in boxes since I can't hang them on adobe walls. I suppose I should 'get with the times' and digitize them ;-)
ReplyDelete"Keepsakes until we don't want to keep them anymore," I like that!
Diedre, my favorites overall are photos as well and mine are also mostly packed in boxes.
DeleteLee
I don't have a lot of knick knacks sitting around, but I do have things that seem to appear on shelves and surfaces.
ReplyDeletehttp://findingeliza.com/
Kristin, I'm always finding new oddities in unexpected places.
DeleteLee
You know, that's kinda why I lost interest in garage saleing. I had pretty much "ooh, that's neat" ed myself out of wall space.
ReplyDeleteCW, I don't need to acquire anymore, but I could stand to sell more stuff.
DeleteLee
I like that line - they're keepsakes until we don't want to keep them anymore. I have a strange relationship with keepsakes - they often leave me feeling bogged down but I find it hard to give them away. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteKalpanaa, I'm the same way. And when I have gotten rid of some of them, I miss them after they're gone.
DeleteLee
Keepsakes and knick knacks! Great post Lee thank you! I have a few, but they're in my study and no-where else!
ReplyDeleteSusan Scott, I haven't bought many of my own, but have acquired them from others.
DeleteLee
My space includes very few of these tchotkes... I like the flow in my house. Some meaningful items (painting my mom did, photo my daughter took). I love seeing how different this is for others and thinking about how I might modify my way.
ReplyDeleteBeth
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/location/
Beth, I like having nice or interesting artifacts of remembrance, but they are dust collectors.
DeleteLee
I collected shot glasses. I had one from almost everywhere I visited. Now I have no idea what I did with them when we liquidated. Perhaps a family member has them or I donated them? I kept nothing that might fit into the category of knickknacks but I have picked up a few since arriving in Ecuador - all gifts. Good luck figuring out what to do with all of those your wife has received over the years - goodness, she has to have tons!
ReplyDeleteEmily In Ecuador
Emily, we regularly purge my wife's collection of gifts she receives from students so the accumulation is not too bad. Sometimes she keeps them for the next year and gives them to students as prizes for good behavior or performance.
DeleteShot glasses make for a nice keepsake. One of my daughters used to collect them and probably still does. My wife collects hurricane glasses.
Lee
I guess I've always been a collector, my husband and I have started a few over the years, still have a few from each, but then moved on. One time I fell in love with cows, anything black and white, I seemed to want... recently I've been finding homes for all those cows and moved on to Nancy Drew while hubby took over the cast iron collection... talk about heavy baggage! While it's fun to collect, gives you something to look for, it has its drawbacks. Sometimes I envy people who purge constantly and care about keeping nothing. I also have quite a few family heirlooms, some out, some packed away. I write stories on them so hopefully they don't get tossed one day.
ReplyDeleteJeanne, cast iron does seem heavy, but a suitable collectible for a man. I think humans by nature tend to be collectors when they stay in one place for any length of time.
DeleteLee
We have various 'keepsakes' around the house from antique heirlooms to some sentimental toy animals. Some are out in the open attracting dust, while others are in a display cabinet. Perhaps, the more personal items are my wife's collection of ceramics and my horse trophies/bronzes. Or, maybe it's the ashes of the departed that we cherish.
ReplyDeleteRoland, curio cabinets are nice when you have the room. My sister has several very nice cabinets with beautiful figurines in them. Whenever I visit there I feel like I'm perusing a museum.
Deletelee
Great "K". Lee . I have many keepsakes of my travels. Good to look at on a cold wintery day.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Yvonne, keepsakes can keep us connected to fond memories so they are worth keeping for that reason alone.
DeleteLee
I have a china cabinet converted to trophies and sentimental glasses and such
ReplyDeleteMike, one shelf of our china cabinet is filled with souvenir hurricane glasses while the other shelves are filled with fancy glasses and dishes that we have very rarely used.
DeleteLee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteYes, I have keepsakes and knickknacks collecting dust & taking up space. I have to bite my knuckles to keep from buying anything else. :)
Curious as a Cathy
A2Z iPad Art Sketch for K 'Kid'
Cathy, I don't have much urge to buy more but sometimes I have to question my wife's purchases. That doesn't stop her if she wants something badly enough, but she has become more careful in what she buys.
DeleteLee
I rotate my knickknacks seasonally, so there's not too much clutter on the surfaces (plus I hate to dust, so less is better). I collect tacky snow globes, and those stay on a shelf year-round (and yes, they're dusty). I have an antique oak secretary with old family knickknacks in it, too. It's more of a museum than a revolving exhibit :)
ReplyDelete