Inheriting over 1000 salt and pepper shakers has taught me how to let go

• My whole family contributed to my grandmother’s salt and pepper collection.
• When he had to downsize, he passed it on to me. I was honored, but it was massive.
• It grew to over 1000 pieces and I had to learn to let go.

When I was a child, my grandmother loved to tell me about her salt and pepper collection. She would pull out her favorites from the custom shelves she had installed in her home—she always wanted to display her ensemble—and tell me their history. He started collecting when he inherited his grandmother’s collection. At the time, there were only around 100 pairs.

Then, when I became an adult, and Grandma had to downsize to move in with my uncle for good, salt and pepper was passed down to me. At that point, the collection had become a work of our whole family. Whenever someone took a vacation, they bought salt and pepper for grandma. When there was a family vacation, Grandma got a few new pairs.

Over time, her collection grew – and then, I inherited it

There were salt and pepper shaped like pumpkins, some like rabbits. There was a set that looked like a pair of pigs in biker gear riding a motorcycle. A few were so old that they even predated her own grandmother, who started the collection.

This patchwork of family memory was now mine, and as a deeply sentimental person, I was more than honored that my grandmother had chosen to pass it on to me. There was one problem though – this was no longer a small and manageable set. Instead, it grew to a massive hoard of over 1000 pieces – closer to 1100 at last count.

And what the hell was I supposed to do with all that salt and pepper?

I had to learn to let go of sentimentality

I have a problem. It’s hard for me to let something go. If someone gives me a gift, I have to keep it. If a shirt came from a trip or is attached to a memory, it will stay with me until it is tattered. I didn’t realize how unhealthy this was until my grandmother gave me her collection.

This legacy was awkward and I knew it was going to be a problem. But I wanted to honor my grandmother’s wishes and keep this family memory together.

So I did, for a while, but that changed when I decided to move across the country. Trying to move over 1000 miles over 1000 salt and pepper was a nightmare I didn’t want to face. And for a moment I thought about not moving. It would be more convenient to just stay where I was.

I had to take a moment and think about the real importance of salt and pepper. For a while, they reunited my family. It was something we all did, helping my grandmother develop her display, and yes, they had a lot of memories attached to them. But I would always have those memories with or without the physical pieces.

It wasn’t easy and sometimes I have a bit of regret, but I knew I couldn’t keep the whole collection. I gave it to my mom to help me sell and kept just a few pairs that I was really attached to – pieces picked up from family trips and a set that looked like chef cats. Keeping just a few and getting rid of the rest is the best of both worlds; they serve as reminders without overwhelming me with the entire collection.

So if you’re trying to decide what to do with your rock collections, pop vinyl figures, Magic the Gathering cards, or decorative spoons, it may be best to leave them out of your will. The memories they create with their loved ones are far more important than the burden they may leave behind. Let your legacy be one of love, not stress.