The neighbor showed me what the oldest thing in her apartment was, and I immediately recruited the quick-witted buyer Benjamin.

Before the New Year, you need to remove all the old things that clutter the house. But everyone in the closet or in the pantry there are old expensive things that a person will never throw away. Even if old items don’t have any value at first glance, they may be the most important item in the home.

To store old things and accumulate household items that we do not use is to clutter the house. The more spacious the house, the more comfortable it is to live in. Esotericists advise to get rid of things and gifts that cause negative emotions. And the editors offer to read short stories of people who write about the oldest things in their home.



Every item in the house has its own story. Often, when I go through things in the closet, I try to be objective, getting rid of clothes that I no longer wear. But it's not easy. Some things evoke tender feelings, and I'm beginning to understand why some people keep their grandfather's crystal shelves or an old flask - it's the only thing that reminds of departed relatives, the closest people.



I live in a small apartment where the main storage is a closet-coupe for half rooms. And most of the bottom shelf is occupied by a chest of an old sewing machine that once belonged to my mother. Grandpa gave my mom the car. And even though I have a new sewing machine with different sewing modes, I will never give the old Zinger to anyone. When my mom passed away, we moved out, and we gave her things to charity, but I couldn't give the chest with the typewriter.



On this machine, my mother sewed clothes, sewed handkerchiefs and bedding. The old machine, which rattled and annoyed, did its job properly, and the mother behind it was relaxed and focused. Sewing comforted her.

I’m not the kind of person who hoards unnecessary things in the house. But on the eve of the New Year cleaning, I thought, "How many more people keep old things in the house, and what do things mean to these people?" - it turned out that everyone in the house has very old objects with which fond memories are associated.



Warm memories "Mother's chest, finished with metal slats with Kazakh ornamentation." When Mom married Dad, she brought her dowry in the trunk. That was 63 years ago. But this chest was used long before this event, so it is probably 80-90 years old, says Rosa.



Not only old things, but old things remind us who we really are. It is the memory of roots, in these subjects the history of generations. And it’s not always expensive or a family heirloom, like a grandmother’s ring, sometimes it’s just an old creaking nightstand or Soviet scissors in bins.

“The oldest thing in my house is the crystal buttons from my great-grandmother’s wedding dress. She was born in 1902, these buttons are more than 100 years old.



A canned can that my grandfather brought from Germany after his release after the war. Grandma kept buttons in it. And I have this button jar now. I can't throw it away. What a carpet that lived in 10 houses and four countries and has seen five generations!



Even when people move to another country, they take everything they need with them. And in their suitcases there are very strange things that seem to strangers junk. Don’t rush to judge things by their appearance. I'm sure you have an item at home that's gone through generations, haven't you? I wonder what is the oldest thing in your house. It would be great if you shared your story in the comments. Have a good day.