I inherited over 1000 salt and pepper shakers from my grandmother. I kept my favorites and sold the rest, and it taught me a lesson in letting go.

Trace Salzbrenner inherited a set of salt and pepper shakers.

Courtesy of Trace Salzbrenner

• My whole family contributed to my grandmother's collection of salt and pepper shakers.
• When she had to downsize, she passed it on to me. I was honored, but it was massive.
• It had grown to over 1000 pieces, and I had to learn to let go.

When I was a kid, my grandma loved to tell me about her collection of salt and pepper shakers. She would pull her favorites down from custom-built shelves she had installed in her home — she always wanted to have her assembly on display — and would tell me their history. She started collecting when she inherited her own grandmother's collection. At that time, there were only around 100 pairs.

Then, when I became an adult and my grandma needed to downsize to move in permanently with my uncle, the salt and pepper shakers were passed to me. At that point, the collection had become a work of our entire family. Whenever someone took a vacation, they bought salt and pepper shakers for grandma. When there was a family holiday, grandma got a couple of new pairs.

Over time, her collection grew — and then, I inherited it

There were salt and pepper shakers shaped like pumpkins, some like rabbits. There was one set that looked like a pair of pigs in biker gear riding their motorcycle. A few were so old they predated even her own grandmother, who started the collection.

This patchwork of family memory was now mine, and as a deeply sentimental person, I was more than honored that my grandma had chosen to pass it on to me. There was one problem, however — this was no longer a small, manageable set. Instead, it had grown to a massive hoard of over 1000 pieces — closer to 1100 at the last count.

And what the hell was I supposed to do with that many salt and pepper shakers?

The author had to decide how many salt and pepper shakers to keep.

Courtesy of Trace Salzbrenner

I had to learn to let go of sentimentality

I have a problem. It's hard for me to let anything go. If someone gives me a gift, I have to keep it. If a shirt came from a trip or is attached to a memory, it will stay with me until it's ragged. I didn't realize how unhealthy this was until my grandma gave me her collection.

This inheritance was inconvenient, and I knew it would be a problem. But I wanted to honor my grandma's wishes and keep this family memory together.

So I did, for a time, but that changed when I decided to move across the country. Trying to move more than 1000 salt and pepper shakers over 1000 miles was a nightmare I did not want to face. And, for a moment, I considered not moving. It would be more convenient just to stay where I was.

I had to take a moment and think about the real importance of the salt and pepper shakers. For a while, they brought my family together. It was something we all did, helping my grandma grow her display, and yes, they had a lot of memories attached to them. But I would always have those memories with or without the physical pieces.

It was not easy, and sometimes I have twinges of regret, but I knew I couldn't keep the entire collection. I handed it off to my mother to help me sell, and I kept only a few pairs I was truly attached to — pieces collected from family travels and a set that looked like chef cats. Keeping just a few and getting rid of the rest is the best of both worlds; they serve as mementos without overburdening me with the entire collection.

So, if you are trying to decide what to do with your collections of rocks, vinyl pop figures, Magic the Gathering cards, or decorative spoons, it may be best to leave them out of the will. The memories they create with your loved ones are much more important than the burden they can leave. Let your inheritance be one of love, not stress.

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