Write what you know is advice often given to would-be writers.  I’m not sure it’s such great advice, though.  Look at the Harry Potter books, Lord of the Rings and the other phenomenal fantasy novels.

Write about what you want to write about makes much more sense.

So in my new book I am writing about about a consignment store, which one of my characters owns.  Since I spend a lot of time in consignment stores I thought I should get something out of this pasttime besides pie plates and baking dishes and vintage tablecloths and accordion planters.

My (ahem) research has led me to the following conclusion:  Our kids don’t want our stuff.  Not that I blame them or expect them to.

But I think the subject of what people want (and don’t want) is fascinating.  It’s what my characters are dealing with: what to keep and what to throw away and the consequences that come from those decisions.  And of course I’m not just talking about stuff, but relationships and memories and grudges and everything else we carry around one way or another.

When I was 12 and accompanying my mother and real estate agents in the family’s search for a new home, we went into a house of an elderly person who had recently died.  It was an older, two-story home on a quiet street in town and inside it looked as if nothing had been touched since before the funeral.  The agent apologized for the mess and said the grown children wanted nothing.  Whoever bought the house would have to clean it out themselves.  Even as a kid I thought that was strange.  What about the photographs?  The dressers stuffed with clothes and jewelry?  The pictures and rugs and dishes?  Would everything be taken to the dump?  Or would the new owner love the idea of living with old things?

Recently I went to three consignment stores to study exactly what our kids won’t keep after we’ve been shipped off to a nursing facility or to that great Woodstock In The Sky.  I even made notes.   I wish I’d taken pictures.

What They Will Get Rid Of Without A Second Thought

end tables
glass vases
china, especially if it has roses on it
crystal goblets, wine glasses and dessert dishes
china closets
curtains
pianos and organs
collections of ceramic animals
large dolls dressed in elaborate outfits
Barbies
television stands
leather and/or fur coats
sofas
silverplate
costume jewelry
punch bowls
ice cream makers
books
video tapes, dvd’s
coffee tables
anything in a frame
linen, especially if it has to be ironed
maple dining room sets
ceramic planters
baking dishes & pie plates
cookie jars
old chairs
large dressers
bread machines

The shops are full of this stuff.

So I’m going to enjoy it all now.  My collection of ceramic horses is staying with me until the very end.

What are you keeping???