What to do with.......Crystal and Dishes?

How many sets of dishes and crystal do you own? How many do you use? We gather dishes from our parents (one set) or grandparents (possibly two sets). I do have room to have my parents' dishes and I use them on holidays and other occasions.  A friend mentioned once, "If those dishes could talk" and that made me think of the countless numbers of relatives and friends who ate off of those dishes over the years. Many of those people are now gone so the dishes have new meaning for me.
Most of the dishes we are collecting are not worth much to most people but they do take up space in our homes and when space becomes a premium, decisions must be made.  An option is to keep a functional piece such as a small bowl to hold jewelry or tall glass or vase to hold toothbrushes.  You can still have the memory of the dishes or crystal but no longer have boxes taking up space.