Published:
10/07/2011 02:51pm
Old Junk or Antiques?
Recently, I was asked how anything would ever become an antique if all the generations who came before us had thrown everything away. Being organized doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything you own; it means being able to access what you have and enjoy it. If you have so much stuff that it causes a problem, it doesn’t matter whether it is brand-new paperwork or antique furniture. We need to realize that people had fewer possessions in previous years and made things last far longer than we expect things to last today; therefore, they had less clutter.
In order to be a true antique, an object must be at least 100 years old. Anything that is less than 100 years old but isn’t new is referred to as “vintage.” Toys from your childhood, for example, are vintage unless they were handed down from previous generations. Although many people refer to “antique” pieces from the 1950s and ‘60s, these pieces are not true antiques.
How do you know what to keep to make it to the 100-year mark? Most of what is produced today is made in such great numbers that it would have little value, even if it were quite old. What makes antiques valuable is not simply age, but their scarcity. Pieces were made in smaller quantities then and often were used until they were unusable, so there are fewer of them to go around.
Some people have collections that they hope will become valuable. I just want to remind everyone about Beanie Babies. Remember when they were trading on eBay for hundreds of dollars? Now you can’t give them away. The reason to keep things is because they bring you joy, not because they might pay off one day. In the meantime, you are paying with your time to maintain them and, if you have to rent storage, real dollars to stash them away for “someday.”
The best way to keep the things you love is to use them and display them every day. If you have more things than space, rotate your collections, storing the others safely. Garages, basements and attics are not appropriate for long-term storage for most things because they are too damp and the temperature fluctuates too much. Closets and the space under the bed are ideal places to keep books, photos, textiles, paintings and paper collectibles. If you must rent a storage area, make sure that it is temperature controlled. For more information, contact Heritage Preservation at 202/233-0800 or online at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/Index.html.
Marcie Lovett, Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant, is the author of The Clutter Book: When You Can’t Let Go, available at https://www.createspace.com/3596243 and on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Book-When-You-Cant/dp/0615483720/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312236598&sr=8-1.
You can find quick organizing and productivity tips at www.organizedbymarcie.com
