But it won't have stuff like garbage cans, lamps, dish drainer, etc. It *will* have linens, towels, etc. It will be more skewed to the typical wedding gifts--tableware and kitchenware, which perhaps are the categories your folks DIDN'T toss.

I think you will only ever find a starting place. You are going to have to modify it based on what your folks actually have, and what they like.

And you might do better to simply stand in a room and look around, and make a list.

A short set of categories (to keep you from forgetting the bedroom wastebasket, for example) might be useful (trash, tissues, lighting, clocks, reading-matter holder, music, )

Kitchen equipment: http://www.slate.com/id/2167843/

Or go to the website for some housewares store such as Bed Bath and Beyond, and click on their categories (www.bedbathandbeyond.com has the categories bedding, ath, kitchen, dining, window treatments, furniture/rugs, home decor, wall decor, electrics, organization, electronics, luggage, seasonal, and specialty shops, which includes emergency preparedness), and browse through.

I would imagine looking at all the products available will help you remember what's out there in the world that is needed in the home.

when I got set up in NYC, that's where I went--believe it or not, a tad cheaper than Woolworth's.

My uncle was the last CFO of Woolworth's (he did the books when they folded the operation), and at dinner once, I mentioned Lamston's. He whipped around and asked me, "what's Lamston's?"

A rival to Woolworth's, a local chain, w/ the same sort of stuff and slightly cheaper prices. In many of the same locations but not all. Woolworth's bought them out, and took over many of the sites. It had been years, but apparently there was still some mention of Lamston's in the bookkeeping--some account name--and nobody working for him knew where it had come from. (or at least, nobody that he had idly asked, since it wasn't *that* important that he know).

Or look to see if some place like the Red Cross has a list of what a household needs after a fire.

(thinking of your Q, I did a search on "after a fire" and "household" and "checklist"--that led me to a household inventory)

(Just kidding, I'm old enough to have shopped there.)

-Lena

Gloria

Made even more famous in 1960 as a major happening of the Civil Rights Movement, when black students sat at the "whites only" eating counter.

Woolworth's general stores started fading in the 1980s, and the company closed the last one in 1997 (though they'd been closing many of them in the years preceding), and the company focused on sports footwear (Footlocker).

That was 10 years ago, Surfergirl is young, if I'm remembering right, so she was probably too little to pay attention to store names at about that time. And they've all been gone during the years she might have. The only time she'd have heard about them is in cultural references. But not as an actual store.

Woolworth's stores were among the first five-and-dimes.

Like all five-and-dimes, they started out w/ basic, decent merchandise at set and somewhat low prices. In 1979 it as the largest department store chain in the world, according to Wikipedia. By the '70s and '80s, like Kmart, they had become known for selling really cheap stuff--cheap in price, cheap in quality.

My uncle (CFO of the chain at the time it folded) told me that the Woolworth's store in *my* neighborhood had the highest shrinkage rate in the entire nation. (shrinkage being, merchandise damaged in the store or stolen by employees.

"we were driving through central London and we came around the corner and by golly there was a Woolworth's store! And I wanted them to stop the car and let me out so I could go fill up my suitcase with unnecessary plastic objects!"."

I've always loved those lines.

I believe the original scion was E.P.Charleton, who in the early 1900's built a magnificent enormous ocean front summer estate, rather in the style of the Newport mansions (The Elms, The Breakers, etc), but 15 miles east at the Massachusetts border. Little hamlet called Little Compton and/or Acoaxet and/or Westport Harbour. Odd that it was the only estate on that scale in that area.

I grew up nearby and the place always fascinated me. Years later a couple of my brothers lived in an apartment at the back of the converted 10 car (?10 carraige?) garage. Some friends and I stayed there a few days, strolling the grounds and beach making like Gatsby. Good memories.

No clue what became of the Charleton family...

Talley Sue, So a five-and-dime is another term for a dollar store? We have some here and there are definitely filled with unnecessary plastic objects!

And thank you, I am young. I'm 21 years old.

I just watched the movie "O brother where art thou" and they got kicked out of a Woolworths. And I thought - hey it's a Woolworths!

You may not need xx number of sheets, xx number of dishes and glasses, xx number of towels, etc.

If there comes a time when you will be having a big party and want to have 20 tumblers or wine glasses, then you can buy them. But until then, maybe 2 or 4 or 6 would work just fine.

Maybe you will decide you prefer to have more walking space around your house, rather than instantly filling it with furniture.

Just because there's an empty spot doesn't mean something needs to be put there. Empty can be good.

I would say it was more like a very small K-Mart.

My mother used to call Woolworth's "the dime store". My logical child's mind thought everything cost a dime. I was a little baffled when I learned that wasn't true. I was amazed when, as an adult, I saw my first dollar store where everything really was exactly $1.00.

To the OP, I would agree with minet's advice above. Start small and go slow. I would start with the mindset of a camping trip, where you want to be comfortable, but not bogged down with things not necessary. Your parent's lifestyle will dictate the definition of "necessary". Since they just built a new home, I assume they aren't dirt poor. That may help decide whether they shop at "the dollar store" where they may be able to get inexpensive dish towels, but may not be able to match them if they want more later - or if they shop at a pricier store and be able to add to the set later.