I got my Aunt Jane's cat, and her canner. Two essentials. She had little else.
As for this aunt, apparently the massive number of Xmas decorations still in the basement has already been picked over by the family. I'm told they took a lot. There seemed to be a ridiculous amount here, but I've finally figured out that the bulk of it is large dried, or plastic, flower arrangements. I think she must have made a new one every single year, then put it in the basement and forgotten about it. My rule now is "if it smells bad and/or things start falling off of it, it is garbage."
There's a lot of jewelry here too, also well picked over.
Today, I need to pack up all the silver plate (lol @lizelle) and figure out what to do with it. There will be a large size moving box of the stuff, maybe more.
Boxes of silver.... I got rid of my wedding silver (a tea service, a wedding gift from an aunt, something I never would ask for, knowing it's high maintenance). The stuff turns black so quickly between washings. And I almost never use the stuff. Only a few odd pieces remain. Who wants silver, these days....
The dried florals [[to decorate a Christmas tree ?]sound exactly like the kind of decorating I'd love to do, but instead, I just trot out the same old lights (ok, now replaced with LED lights, but same look). The wreaths, the pine sprigs on the mantle, the blue berries of the juniper. White blossoms, dried to snowflake dots... eh. I'd love to see what you do to the house for Christmas and Thanksgiving, and dream of being able to eat whatever gourmet dinners you'd serve. (Jimmy! I will never stop thinking of you!).... #Silverbloggers, how many of you USE and POLISH silver ....??
Oh honey I don't decorate OR cook for holidays. This started when I owned and ran a take out gourmet and catering service. I had no time to do either, because I was so busy doing both for others. I have kept some of the Xmas decorations, hoping I'll get it together going forward, and some of the stuff is really nice.
I;m sure there are some silver stackers here that can help me figure out if the stuff has value. There's quite a lot of sterling silver, but much more silver plated, which I'm hoping a thrift shop will take off my hands.