[coffeebean]

The Villages lifestyle seems to be very casual and comfortable. I'm already planning how to downsize our belongings when hubby and I move full time into the retirement home we recently purchased. It is a lovely designer home but does not have nearly the storage space our NJ home has.

Providing you had China and Crystal before you made the move to TV, did you bring them with you to Florida? If you did, do you find that you don't have any use for China and Crystal here in TV?

Just wondering if anyone has stored China and Crystal in their attic. Trying to figure out what to do. Thanks.

[billlaur]

Sell It

[Bonny]

A lot of people get down here and make a ton of friends. Sometimes you like to have a big party and sometimes maybe a few close friends over for dinner. I would bring it. Leave it packed in boxes. Then see if you are going to use it. You can always get rid of it here.

[OldManTime]

I gave all to nieces, grandchildren and nephews

[OBXNana]

Going through this same thing. Do you have children that would cherish the item? Selling them is an option, but you will not get what you feel is a fair price. We have 3 kids and it always seems to work out with which one, wants what. When there's interest by more than one child for an item, they came up with, rock, paper, scissors.

[travlin50]

I struggled with this issue as well, but my children did not want any of it. I kept the set that meant the most to me, and got rid of the rest. I purchased a new dining table with a modern looking cabinet. Put the set in the cabinet and made sure everything was easy to access. I will not use things that are too difficult to pull out of the cabinet. It is really hard to downsize and get rid of special items, even if you know you don't need them. I am a dish person, so I enjoy using different dishes for special occasions. I also had additional cabinets put in my kitchen and laundry room area to accommodate more kitchen items, which I use for my set of Holiday dishes.

[Uptown Girl]

If you love your china and crystal, why not enjoy them and use them as your daily dinnerware? Pamper yourself a bit!

If they are too delicate or too much fuss to use daily, then maybe someone you know someone would love them. A parting gift to someone special, perhaps.

I used to throw fancy dinner parties and go all out. I had a number of sets of china, etc. that I loved and would rotate them for different occasions.
I liberated myself from all the 'good' china, crystal and silver when we moved here.

I do not miss it at all!!!

[coffeebean]

Great advice and I thank everyone who has responded. I'll address some of the issues a little further.....

I looked into selling everything but it is practically an insult what these things will bring. I'd rather donate them then go through the trouble of having to ship these items and wind up spending money to get rid of them.

I do have my sister and BIL in TV and will host some of the holiday dinners. I will use the China and Crystal for only those occasions.

The main purpose for me starting the thread was to see if folks here in TV find use for this type of formal dinnerware.

I like the idea of bringing everything with us and storing it in the attic. We just had plenty of flooring installed in the attic so we would have the room to store the boxes. Does anyone see a problem with storing China and Crystal in the attic in the hot Florida climate?

[Happydaz]

My wife says keep it. In her case she likes throwing parties. We are having four couples over for Easter. It is so nice to have fine dishes and glasses to serve dinner to our guests. Everyone does not have to give up everything to come to The Villages. It sounds as though you are hesitant to give up your china and crystal so I would agree with Bonny's suggestion to bring it and then donate or sell it if you don't want it anymore.

[Judith Ann]

There isn't much of a market for China these days. I gave mine away to my dental hygienist in WI. We were talking about things like that, and she said she'd love to have
it. I hadn't used it in years. I love my sets of colorful modern dishes. I brought some of the crystal to FL. We entertain more here, and I use it. I left my more fragile, fancy crystal to use up North.

[dbussone]

Why not donate what you don't need or want to a charity. The can sell your unneeded goods and use the money for a worthwhile cause. We donated many items prior to moving to TV.

[uprivergirl]

I love all the good comments here. I am in the same boat trying to figure out what to take and what to toss. We won't have family in TV for the holiday dinners but I am sure we will have lots of new friends to share dinners with. I think I will get rid of one set of china and keep one.

Oh how did I get so much stuff? Oh I know it's 46 years of collecting.

[missypie]

We kept our china and glassware. They were wedding gifts and I couldn't part with them.

No one will pay you for what they are worth.

My parents gave their china to our daughter and she was grateful. She had seen the china in pictures when I was a little girl and daughter just was enamored with the gift from her grandparents. When they moved in their new home daughter took a picture of where she placed the china and sent it to grandparents. They were touched.

[applesoffh]

Brought my china and crystal down. Use some of the crystal and none of the china and no one seems to be interested in it, either. In my case, it was a big mistake. My circle of friends are perfectly content with plain white and/or very simple patterns. My fine china is all packed up with no place to go.

[dotti105]

This was a tough call for us.

In the end, I placed by sterling and china with a consignment shop that holds monthly auctions as well has having a store front. I also gave them 20+ antiques and misc goods that were "valuable" to the right person.

We tried selling some things on craigslist and a local TV website classified site. We found little or no interest and it was very discouraging.

These were all items that had sentimental value to me and I really felt guilty about WANTING to get rid of them. We have 4 married kids and offered those things to them. But they reluctantly refused them. They did not want high maintenance items either....

In the end, when they came to pick those things us, I felt really guilty....but once they closed the door on the truck and drove off and I looked around and saw the empty space in the room in which we gathered them, I was elated. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted!!!

Many of those things I had carried around through 45 yrs of marriage and they are just "things" for which we no longer have any need.

The consignment shop pays out once a month. If I never get a check, I still feel that FOR US, it was the right thing to do.

We donated tons of stuff and these items were the last to go and like a chain around my ankle.

We feel like newlyweds setting up housekeeping for the first time!! It is fun to start from scratch and choose the things that we will live with going forward. We brought a small POD and it wasn't even full. It is very liberating to not be controlled by "things".

This, of course, is just our situation. Downsizing sucks! Especially at this stage of life. but we knew we wanted a casual, carefree lifestyle and this just felt right to us.

Good luck, this was the toughest stage of the move for us!! We wish you well!