Museum-Worthy or Just Sentimental? How to Determine the Real Value of Your Stuff
Think your stuff belongs in a museum?
This weekend I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in San Francisco. They had a great exhibit called The Art of Noise (if you’re in the area, check it out).
One room was filled with sound-playing devices from over the years. Victrolas, 8-Tracks, CD players, record players. You name it, they had it.
It was amazing to see such beautiful pieces in one place.
And it got me thinking about the value of the items we keep a hold of.
I’m currently helping a client go through her father’s items after his death. There are yearbooks, old letters, and some amazing artifacts from when he served in WWII.
She doesn’t want to keep them, but she wants them to go to someone who will appreciate them. It feels like a big project to
We’ve been calling around to see if anyone is interested in them. An Air Museum in California wants his WWII items.
His alma mater got excited to hear that we had yearbooks from the 1940’s. So, they passed us along to their archivist. But the archivist said they already had a ton of yearbooks from that year. So, we let them go.
It’s easy to feel like our items are super valuable.
If you want to hold onto something for the emotional connection/memories, that’s one thing. But if you’re holding onto things because you think they may be financially or historically valuable, take a few minutes to research and find out if that’s true.
I have seen people hold onto porcelain statues that ended up being worth $10. And other people who discovered that a single stamp is valued at over $500.
I had a collection of holiday Barbies from my childhood, that I thought were going to be valuable someday. When I researched, I found out they weren’t worth more than we originally paid for them. So, I gave them to my cousin’s daughter and they’re finally getting played with after all these years.
When it comes to items you’re holding onto for potential value (historic or monetary). Challenge the assumption that items are valuable, and instead research to find out for sure.
You may find that you’re sitting on a historical goldmine, or that the items you thought would fund your retirement will only fund a coffee. ☕️
It’s better to know the truth.
Knowledge is power. And it’s time to take yours back when it comes to your stuff.
Do you collect anything that you’re holding onto in the hopes it will be valuable? Comment below and let me know what it is.
You’re priceless!
