We’ve moved a few times over the years and H and I are good about getting rid of stuff we no longer need! And I’m big on organization so we go through our stuff every so often and take stuff to Goodwill. Heck, we’re one of the very few people on our street who can actually park both cars in their garage! Heck, I know people who have two couches stored in their garage or who still have clothes from the 80’s! Also, neither of us are big collectors…Our kids shouldn’t have too much trouble dealing with all our stuff someday.
When my childless great aunt died, her will had some stuff for charity, but for the rest all the heirs were given tickets and could use them to bid on items. I was out of the country at the time, and I’m not sure if I was even really aware of what was going on, but one of my aunts used my tickets to get me a silver salt and pepper shaker set. I’m not sure it’s what I would have picked, but I thought it was nice that they remembered me!
Our family is really small so it starts with a coin flip Winner gets first choice of similar items (the tea cup collection for example) and then it goes in a circle. If someone REALLY wants something then they usually get it. Donated or sold if nobody cares or can’t accommodate it.
H’s great aunt’s husband worked in the foreign service back in the day and lived all over the world. As such they collected a lot of art/artifacts from other countries, mostly Asian. Some us kept some of the stuff and we donated the rest. One of our relatives lives near a place that sells Asian art and collectibles so she took some of the stuff there. We also took some of their furniture to a consignment store and some of us also took furniture that we needed/wanted. My oldest nephew took their old card table for his college apartment and my niece took a tea set. One of the things I got/inherited is a really pretty bottle that probably used to hold snuff or perfume. It’s from China and it has a jade stopper and a pretty picture of a dragon painted on the inside along with some Chinese characters…it’s hard to explain in words what it really looks like, but I love it! My SIL took a beautiful little vase…
H’s mom had a kimono that these relatives got for her and she used to let D wear it…
If you’re trying to get rid of stuff that is real valuable such as pieces of art, it might be worth it to get it appraised…or get it appraised before you go…
OP here – thank you for the suggestions. There is a museum near us that deals with textiles, and we may visit it at some point to eyeball what is going on there.
Whenever seeking advice or appraisals, it’s probably better to start with email. We had many things my Dad gave us from the aforementioned estate — not to keep, but to research. We worked on some stamps and the first dealer was a Big Deal in a Big City and he offered a token once over and sum. We knew someone who was serious about philatelic stuff, and he gave us a dealer’s reference book . I checked and rechecked but the pieces we had turned out to be really valuable (4-figures! for stamps!) so we were better equipped to deal with them accordingly.
My prized possession is a presentation box given to my great-grandmother – inside, wrapped in bunting is the remains of the bottle she christened a ship with. My great grndfather had perfect attendance at the shipyard, so she had the honor.