Attic-ware
Attic-ware is a term I’ve come up with to describe all that stuff we store in the attic, closet, basement, or wherever for sentimental reasons. You probably have your fair share of attic-ware too. It could be the teddy bear your grandmother gave your kids, the bouquet of white roses from your mother’s 90th birthday party, a vase that seemed to match the decor twenty years ago, and so on. We often keep these items due to their perceived value, sentimental attachment, or perhaps out of ancestral guilt. Take, for example, a painting your great-aunt made for you years ago. You never really liked it, so it ended up on the wall in the back bedroom and finally made its way to the attic, but you feel guilty about getting rid of it. Or maybe it’s the giant toy box your grandfather bought for you as a child. It was your pride and joy, and then your son stored his cars and trucks in it, too, but ultimately, it ended up in the attic, too. This reluctance to part with items given to us by relatives over the years is what I refer to as “ancestral guilt.” It’s not about feeling guilty for the sins of our ancestors but rather the attachment to these sentimental items.
