Dear LPG, 

You can tell that we are gradually approaching spring when we get a couple of bright days that are not so cold and I can’t help it, this is the time of year when I start to rummage through a few of my nooks and crannies.  

I have a lot of them too.  I have been living in the same house for the past 50 years and. even though it does not seem anywhere near that long, the years, sort of creep past while you are too busy to notice somehow. 

Spring, to my mind, has always been about going through your things and sorting out the rubbish but I still find that I go through boxes of things without finding very much that I can bear to part with and I bet I am not the only one.

I suppose that all the boxes that are hidden under the stairs, in the attic, and the spare room cupboards not to mention the garden shed, makes me a hoarder but there is so much that I have found hard to part with over the years.  

I am talking about items like the cup I received when at junior school for winning the sports day 100-yard dash one year, and the somewhat ugly vase that I got for a wedding present and put in the attic years ago.  

There are more and more antique shows featured on daytime television these days and, as I have become more of an antique I notice that many of the things featured don’t seem that vintage to me because I can remember when they were state of the art.

But having said all of that, I found a few bits of information online recently which got me wondering if I am holding onto something that is of more than intrinsic value, and I wonder if any fellow readers might benefit from taking a look at some of the quite unusual items that might be found in a house that has not changed hands for half a century or so.  

I strongly suggest you take another look at some of the stuff that your friends might refer to as your personal tatt because even I might be able to part with something for a bit of money, if I thought it was valued and going to a good home.  It is a harsh reality but, we can’t take it with us and perhaps that is the way to look at giving some of it away while we can still choose where it goes if it has more than personal value.  Perhaps this is a better future than its ending up in the bin or in one of your children’s lofts when you are no longer there to look after it.   perhaps even personal tatt deserve a new adventure.

I would like to share what I found just in case it triggers a few other readers to think about parting with a few items which might have been keeping you company for a bit longer than they need to…

AJ, Lewisham.

Though many of the sites she has found are American AJ offers them as a starting point when it comes to taking a more objective look in your attic…

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