InCas_ of Emergency

So earlier this year, my husband went through a phase where he wanted to check out estate sales for unusual, and possibly rare antiques. We soon found out that in reality, you have to get there early to get the good stuff...if there's any at all. Anyway, out of the small number of estate sales that we went to, we ended up not buying anything, but I did gain new insights into people's things, which has motivated me in my path to minimalism:

1) The first estate sale we went to was at a house that had been inhabited by the same family for over 90 years. When we stepped inside...it was like traveling back in time. It didn't look like anything dated past the 70s. Granted, the newer stuff might have been cleared out by family members, but all the furniture and appliances were very old yet in good condition. Outfits from the 50s and 60s hung in the bedroom closet. Most amazing of all was the stove that seemed to date back to the 1950s...it was part of a functioning kitchen all these years! I found it amazing that the former inhabitants seemed to have taken care of their things and managed to make them last a very long time. They had no need to "upgrade" whenever the latest model or style came along. I'm not saying that people should make their house into a museum, but as long as they serve a purpose, we should strive to get use out of our things for as long as possible (even though I'm not sure if things are made to last such a long time anymore).

2) The second estate sale had newer, as well as older things. But what caught my eye was a small sealed plastic bag with a little porcelain horse and what looked like small trinkets. I wondered why anyone would want to buy something so junky. Then, I read the note taped to the bag. It described how the horse had been part of a snow globe that ended up breaking years later. It dated back to around 1945 when the owner (who had written the note) was a child living in Ann Arbor. It was obviously treasured by this person. While it was very touching, this treasured item ended up in an estate sale where random people considered it junk.

3) At another estate sale, I looked at one of the closets and saw 3 or 4 school graduation gowns hanging in the closet. They were probably only ever worn once, then hung in the closet where they remained for years, only to be put for sale at an estate sale, where probably nobody wanted to buy them. What had been the point of keeping them all these years?