Little bit by little bit

 And enlist help when you can. Today I managed to do this by asking my daughter to just help me understand what was in a tote in the garage...it was full of dishes! We here in this family have a long and storied relationship with dishes. My mother set the standard with her Noritake china (for special occasions) and her Arabiaware midcentury stoneware set that was for everyday...but wait!!!! There's more...sooooooo much more. 

She collected all manner of blue and white dishes during a three year stay in Tokyo, Japan. She had multiple types/styles/sets of blue and white but also colorful Chinese dishes and many, just sooo many incidental dishes for serving anything. She believed in "the art of living" which translated to, "have the perfect thing for absolutely every possible occasion." 

Later she collected multiple sets of whimsical dishes for the lake home and for grandkids to use and on and on. 

I had the Arabiaware for many years and recently passed it on to my oldest. The Noritake also resides with me- I love it and use it for special occasions and have fleshed it out to a full 12 place settings with all available serving and hostess pieces. I hold it here for my youngest to someday claim as her Grandma gift. She just needs to be someplace more established. 

I have processed most of the blue and white sets (with a few exceptions) and all of the various Asian specific dishes- like bowls for rice/ramen. Mostly because I collected my own massive set of dishes as a show of my independence. 

So, suffice to say, "we love dishes!" My youngest had been given a very large set of dishes from her uncle- these are very nice, Dansk brand. Massive amount of dishes though. She has filled her apartment with them but there was a tote that contained many, many more pieces. I mean, a full tote. She groaned when she realized what it was...I gave her full permission to part ways with them- they have been through her two cousins too so it wasn't like they hadn't been put to good use. She heaved a sigh of relief as she heaved the large tote into her car to set them free. 

I have explained to her that she needs to refuse to take on the ancestral burden of the stuff. She can refuse and her life will be all the better, and less stressful, for it. I am glad to see her accept this advice and I'm also glad to have help with the declutter process here. I can't thank her enough for just taking things away and not telling me what happens to them. 

I even managed to toss in a windchime that had been gifted us several years ago (still with a tag- never got used as we are not chimey types).  I fully recommend enlisting someone to assist you with the declutter caper. If you can hand something off and not have to worry about actually driving it to the donation center, it makes the whole process a little less daunting.