No matter how hard I try to be a ‘minimalist,’ it just doesn’t ever seem to work out that way for me.

As I click through pages on the internet and even through photos on my friends’ social media, I’m often faced with images of spotless rooms and homes, with sleek furniture and the occasional knick-knack placed artfully in exactly the right spot.

While I suppose this is something we can all aspire to, it just doesn’t seem realistic.

You see, I come from a family of collectors. While I try to simplify my life as much as possible, they are constantly adding things to their collections. Then, when they have too much stuff and they need room for something new, they want to pass those items along to me, because clearly, I don’t own enough stuff.

The truth is, I’m neither messy nor obsessively neat. I like things tidy and organized, but I also have a lot of books and random office supplies. In my favorite places in the house, you’re likely to find a stack of books, notebooks, and a few random pens nearby, just in case I need to make a note of something,

While I strive for that perfectly clean space that I’ll never achieve, my family collects any number of things. Though they are just “things” to me, they will often remind me that their stuff is actually valuable. In many cases, they are absolutely right, though I’m often amazed at the items that are worth the most money. Usually, it’s some random thing that you wouldn’t expect.

A man named Ted brought an interesting item from his home to Antiques Roadshow for appraisal. He must have thought it was worth something or he wouldn’t have made the trip. However, he had no idea just how much his unique collectible was actually worth.

Appraiser Donald Ellis approached and took a look at the item. Ted didn’t know much about the blanket that he brought to the show, only that it was “Navajo.” He was about to get quite a surprise when Ellis asked him, “Are you a wealthy man, Ted?”

It turns out the blanket, which is more than 150-years-old and still in excellent condition, is a very rare Chief’s blanket – a Navajo-Ute First Phase Chief’s Blanket to be exact. After the appraisal, the amazing piece of history was sold to a mystery buyer for an unknown amount, but it was most likely quite a bit of money. The blanket was then given to the Detroit Institute of Arts.