Things your parents never threw away

[DareIask]

My dear parents.

Their 3 piece suite lasted them all their married life (albeit with loose covers)
Their mid century teak dining room furniture
Their beds

My mum has the same prestige saucepans all her married life

We live in such a throw away world.

What did yours keep?

My mother changes everything every couple of years. My parents aren't a great example!

A colander with no handles. It was my nans. My mum tried to throw it out a few days ago and I persuaded her not to.

I have inherited my parents mid 20th century Danish table and chairs. Also their Ercol elmwood sideboard
My mother in law - in her 90s - has a 50 year old Kenwood mixer that she uses on a weekly basis

Breast milk

I’m not kidding

I sorted their freezer out when I was in my early 20s....

Mine were like yours, OP. It was somehow comforting to always find the same things there whenever I visited.

Everything and the kitchen sink. My mum will freeze bits of pastry and everything to use later

I think all those things from your OP, and many, many more.

In truth I am much more like them, than 'throwaway'.

A lot of my kitchen stuff / linen / towels etc is what we had as wedding presents decades ago. Our dining table was my parents, and they bought it second hand out of the local paper in the mid-70s.

It was only about 4 years ago I replaced the Kenwood mixer my Mum had had since the 1950s too numbuscloud . I've got quite a few things that I use that have been handed down from my Mum (or even Gran)

...... also things like wrapping paper and bits of string.

Makes me laugh when you get earnest teens suggesting we could re-use single use bottles, as if it is something they have come up with to save the planet

My gran liked buying new, my parents would take her old stuff - sofas, car, plates

Mums sideboard. Oh how I wish I'd kept it. A whole childhood of 'mind the sideboard' and the matching table and chairs she cherished.

My Prestige pans have been going strong since 1997! They look about two years old.

The sewing machine DM had for her 21st birthday. She is now in her 80's.
Bed sheets that belonged to my great aunt

My DF (90) goes through the bin to check what's been thrown out - sometimes my DM gives me a big of rubbish to bring home to put in my dustbin to prevent my DF sorting through stuff and keeping it 'just in case'. He has been retired over 30 years but wears his old business suits cut down into shorts .

@MrsMoastyToasty

The sewing machine DM had for her 21st birthday. She is now in her 80's. Bed sheets that belonged to my great aunt

Did they all have sewing machines? I have mums, and her 'new one' (circa 1970).

@Ragwort

My DF (90) goes through the bin to check what's been thrown out - sometimes my DM gives me a big of rubbish to bring home to put in my dustbin to prevent my DF sorting through stuff and keeping it 'just in case'. He has been retired over 30 years but wears his old business suits cut down into shorts .

Love it! It's the make do and mend, but who can argue with them

Totally agree BackforGood - a bit like people thinking 'meal planning' is some wonderfully original new idea .

My dm had a dishwasher for 21 years, Indesit, I'm guessing they don't make them like they used to

She has also just (within the last year) gotten rid of her Kenwood mixer, I remember her using it when I was a 4/5 year old...I'm 46.

All of my childhood books and toys! Every so often she'll have a trip to the loft and pass us loads of stuff for our dc. Then I get the guilt when they grow out of these things, of deciding whether to throw them away / pass them on, or keep them because they are now family heirlooms 🤦🏼‍♀️

@beela

All of my childhood books and toys! Every so often she'll have a trip to the loft and pass us loads of stuff for our dc. Then I get the guilt when they grow out of these things, of deciding whether to throw them away / pass them on, or keep them because they are now family heirlooms 🤦🏼‍♀️

Oh dear I'm guilty of this, but without the gc yet. Should I keep them? Will they really be wanted?

My parents bought a sideboard, dining room table and full bedroom suite when they married in the 60s. When they died I donated the dressing table and headboard to a friend to upcycle. The rest is still in their house which I rent out. Thankfully the tenants love them as it would break my heart to get rid of them, they're so ingrained in my childhood memories. The smell when I open the drawers in the sideboard catapults me back to when I was young.

Every fucking thing

If she had her way it would be an episode of hoarders in the house.

When they moved she had as a snapshot;
3 kettles ( 2 brand new in boxes)
Two sets of mismatched glass saucepans- she was using chipped ones while hoarding the decent ones and complaining they were too heavy
Formica table she'd has since the dawn of time and is in the shed because it doesn't fit anywhere else.
Several suitcases full of odds and sod of material and wool.
The most enormous crockery set ( she sold the claris cliff )

My mum will try to keep the elastic string from around chickens and the plastic meat trays to use.

The absolute gem was when I was pregnant with dd, I was 27, she had me 18 years after my brother was born but she produced a maternity bra and girdle for me.

My Mum got a Kenwood food mixer with all the bells and whistles in the 1960s. It's incredibly sturdy (and heavy), the blender goblet is really thick glass and she used to make lemonade by chucking in a whole lemon, a trayful of ice and some sugar.
The noise was fearsome but the drink was delicious.
I inherited it in 2016 and still have it.
I also have her Good Housekeeping cookery book that she got when she got married in 1949.

My baby teeth

And now I have a box of my kids' baby teeth...

My late dad kept everything, mostly in his workshop on shelves in tins which previously held national dried milk. These date from my babyhood in 1956. All labelled such as “ short pieces of string” “ 1/2” nails” “ bits of leather for shoe repairs” “ narrow cord from old pyjamas”
And every jam jar that was ever emptied seemed to be on the shelves as well.
War time after effects I think.
What a job to clear after they both passed away. And in the attic... so many left over pieces of carpet, old curtains, a museum range of suitcases!
Dad reused everything, even his old pants as washcloths for garage or garden chores.
I’ve gone through phases of doing well/ being careless about reusing and recycling but am coming back to trying really hard to do my bit to save the planet.

Things used to be made to last. And last they did. I have quite a few of my late DM's kitchen utensils, and they are in daily use. Many of them are 1950's and prior.

Why would I want (for instance) to get rid of a vintage Prestige spatula with a wooden handle, in great condition, which does the job perfectly and I've known and used all my life? What on Earth would be the point in replacing it with a random new one? I'm really rather fond of it.