Southerners are experts at mixing the old with the new. Whether it’s a leather purse or an old wooden chest, Southerners know how to see the heirloom quality of what might otherwise be considered hand-me-downs. Tour any Southern home, and you’re likely to find family stories in every room—from the cast-iron skillet in the kitchen to a plush stack of quilts in the guest bedroom. Sometimes we’re just being sentimental, but we promise there’s some practicality at play too.
We weren’t surprised to learn that our readers agree. We polled our Southern Living Facebook audience to find out a few things a Southerner would simply never throw away. Here’s what they had to say.
What Our Readers Said They’d Never Throw Away
“I still have my grandmother’s casserole dish, where she wrote her name on the bottom!”
Michele Rene
Handwritten…Anything
Thank you notes, holiday cards, birthday cards, words of encouragement written on a sticky note …you’ll find these handwritten mementos stashed all over Southern homes for good reason. Some handwritten notes and cards can transport us back in time, while others are meaningful because they were “small gifts from the heart,” as Sandi Hubert-Folsom says. Sometimes it’s even gifts from small hands. She says she would “never throw away one piece of paper from a child or grandchildren.”
MOLLY BOLTON
Cast-Iron Pans
When you think of Southern cooking, one of the first things that comes to mind is probably the ever-so-versatile cast-iron skillet. Good for everything from pizza to crisp cobblers, there’s a reason you’ll find these in every kitchen in the South…and a reason it was one of the most common answers among our readers. It’s a known fact: Some things just taste better when cooked in a cast-iron skillet that’s been well-loved and well-seasoned.
China
Owning your own set of china is practically a Southern birthright, and pulling it out when you’re serving guests is all the more special when it’s a set that’s been in your family for decades. Also known as wedding china or simply “the good plates,” the pattern you pick can say a lot about you, but inheriting a set is even sweeter. They’re more than just plates—they’re a small treasure that
“reminds us of previous generations,” as reader Sara Waddell Nalley points out.
Containers
So this may not be quite as sentimental as the rest, but you can’t deny how useful a spare Mason jar or a beloved Country Crock tub can be when you’re looking for a place to store leftovers, buttons, safety pins… you name it. Southerners love their recycled containers so much that it was one of the most frequent answers in our poll. You never know when an old Cool Whip container will come in handy.
Quilts
If you’re lucky enough to have inherited a quilt or two (or twenty), you know how special it is to pull it out on a chilly night knowing the years—decades even—of warmth and comfort it’s brought your family. Interior design trends come and go, but a quilt is something truly timeless. Not just for the foot of the bed, every room of the house deserves a cozy quilt—you can even hang it up like art. Reader Robin Reeves Campeau says she’ll never get rid of the “quilts and crocheted doilies” made by her great-grandmother.
Stacy K. Allen; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
Bacon Grease
Much more of a short-term treasure, Southerners know the value of a little leftover bacon grease. That’s probably why it was mentioned quite a few times in our reader poll. Swap it in wherever you need a rich, salty fat—saute some fresh veggies in it or incorporate it into a savory pie crust. Swap it for butter on fresh biscuits or add a little to your salad dressing. Just be sure it’s properly stored. Make sure to remove any bacon bits and run it through a filter before stashing it in the fridge for up to three months or in the freezer for…well, as long as you can make it last.
Wardrobe Staples
Trends come and go, but the classics never go out of style. From your great aunt’s pearls to Mama’s favorite white oxford shirt, these are the types of passed-down pieces you can build an entire wardrobe around. The best thing about a good hand-me-down is that they’re usually completely one-of-a-kind. We guarantee no one else will show up to the party wearing the same broach or monogrammed locket as you, and you’ll have a great statement piece to build your look around. But it’s not all about the actual shirts and dresses. As reader Vanessa Lunsford Crider calls out, Southerners will never toss “their fashion sense.”
Good Manners
While we know that gracious, friendly people live everywhere, we believe that Southerners are true pros when it comes to good manners—and we’re not just talking about table settings. In the South, manners are all about genuine kindness and compassion. Once learned, it’s a part of our personalities and something we’d never forget or toss aside. So it’s no wonder that many of our Facebook respondents added “our manners” to the list.
Momentous Flowers
A tremendous amount of thought goes into floral arrangements for special occasions, which is why you’ll often find dried flowers in Southern homes. It’s a way to preserve petals from weddings, school dances, first dates, and everything in between. Reader Cheyenne Brinkerhoff Williams mentioned “corsages and homecoming mums” as important to keep, but we’re sure you’ll find a dried wedding bouquet or two in many a Southern household too.
The Most Popular Answer
A Good Recipe
Family recipes hold generations’ worth of Southern cooking secrets, but good recipes come in all forms. According to our readers, everything from the right cookbook to the exact handwritten recipe card from a family member, stains and all, should never be tossed. From traditional Christmas dishes to adored appetizers and desserts, these are the recipes we’ll never stop making and certainly never throw away.
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