Some of you have asked and I am here to tell you that a big part of downsizing our lives has been to downsize “collections”. Oh yes, those collections like teapots. I knew the day would come and quite honestly – I was ready to shed some of those lovely teapots. The collection had grown out of control and honestly I didn’t know how many I even had.

There is no way I could keep all of the beauties that I have been gifted over the years. I had to think long and hard about which ones I would keep and how many. I think I have selected about 25 to keep and I think that is pretty good. What made the “keep list”? My first teapot, of course. My Aunt Ruth’s tea set. A teapot Chris got me in China. A teapot Micah got me in Portugal. A teapot Aaron got me in Israel. My mom’s teapot. And various other ones that had special meaning or value.

So what did I do with them? Well, here is the truth. I did not have energy to sell them on eBay, Facebook Marketplace or Etsy. I have sold a few things that way but the teapot collection was……in a word…..overwhelming. Fortunately, we found a great antique shop on 276 called Cantrell Antiques and our new friend Bryan was finally convinced that he needed my collection. When my brother and sister in law were here helping get the house ready, my task for Shari was to help me pack up teapots. She was amazing and as we packed and packed and packed, I told her where they all came from. I saved a few out to give to special friends and when it was all said and done we had packed up about 250 teapots of various shapes and sizes. That did not include a lot of miniature sets that I had already gotten rid of.

Was it emotional? A bit. I was reminded of places and trips, friends and family who had gifted me wonderful teapots and I really had to detach and just get the job done. I always knew the day would come when I would have to downsize my collection and I did it! I am happy that they will all eventually go to new owners and hopefully bring someone else some joy and happiness like they brought me.

Collections and things are just that – things. While I will always be drawn to teapots, my collecting days are over and I am happy that that was a part of my life and my blog for so many years. The great thing is that I have all my Teapot Tuesday archives and if I want to see them again, all I have to do is click. Or repost them for you. Enjoy.

A few I have kept….