You may have heard of the Great Wealth Transfer—the vast amount of money that will be passed down by the Silent Generation and baby boomers to their heirs in the coming years. But in a deep dive for Bloomberg, Chris Rovzar is more interested in exploring the Great Stuff Transfer. "And—oh, boy—is there a lot of stuff coming our way: silver flatware, antique wooden furniture, fine china, baseball cards, model trains, Hummel figurines, cut-crystal stemware and so, so many novelty salt and pepper shakers." The story digs into the cultural reasons these collections came to exist in the first place—many baby boomers, for instance, were raised by Depression-era parents and grew up with a mindset that valued saving and passing down quality goods.
But the heart of the story is the varied strategies people are using to cope with the looming transfer. Many boomers are foisting these collections on their kids, attempting to declutter on their own before it's too late, or flat-out ignoring the issue. Meanwhile, younger generations, squeezed by smaller living spaces and less interest in material goods in a digital age, are often left bewildered by the sheer volume of inherited items. One key point: "Underneath the logistics lies grief," writes Rovzar. "It's an emotionally complex experience processing an estate while mourning the loss of a loved one." Read the full story, which notes that a whole new industry is springing up to help deal with all of the above.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
