Gen Z are conflicted when they visit their grandparents’ homes: they cherish grandma’s hugs, oatmeal cookies and lavish praise but they suffer anxiety and disorientation from the knickknacks, porcelain figurines, vintage dolls, collectible plates, vacation souvenirs and family photographs that occupy every nook and cranny of their palatial  home. They wonder did their grandparents’ home always look so tacky, or did Liberace come back from the dead, break into their residence, and redecorate to his heart’s content?

The younger generation live in small apartments and starter homes that cannot accommodate the treasure trove of trinkets and keepsakes that their grandparents value so much. Such curios are anathema to their minimalist aesthetic.

They value memories more than material things, keeping those memories on their cell phones and in the cloud, rather than displayed on a fireplace mantel or stored on a bookshelf.  

My advice to the younger generation: Your grandparents are not hoarders, and they take comfort in the knickknacks you consider clutter. It will not kill you if you put your cell phone on silent mode when you visit them. They may not be around for much longer.