Woman mourning her grandma discovers a massive secret collection — over 2,000 of the same kitchen item

As kids, most of us have a fond memory of visiting our grandparents’ house. Similarly, whenever Rachel Whitten—who goes by @rachelwhitten1 on TikTok—and her sister Sara Cole visited their grandma’s house as kids, they would sit around the kitchen table every Sunday after church, admiring the walls that were stacked with assorted salt-and-pepper shakers. Each shaker carried a story, and when their grandma told them a story, they listened with wonder. Years later, the girls and the rest of their family gathered once again around the kitchen table to behold the collection, but this time without Grandma. Whitten’s grandma, Sharon Tidwell, passed away in December 2024.

Recently, Rachel posted a video on TikTok, sharing some glimpses of Tidwell’s salt-and-pepper shakers, never imagining that the video would end up crossing 8 million views.

“My grandma used to collect salt-and-pepper shakers. Today we unpacked them,” Whitten wrote in the text overlay of the video while the camera panned through her grandma’s kitchen. A large dining table was filled with oodles of salt-and-pepper shakers featuring sundry designs. As the camera moved, it displayed how even the shelves and cupboards were filled with dozens and dozens of condiment holders, not just the table. In total, there were nearly 2,000 sets of shakers, she said.

Tidwell had a penchant for collecting salt-and-pepper shakers. She started collecting salt-and-pepper shakers in 1990, after moving into a new house with her husband and building up an immense collection over three decades.

"Her mother gave her some family heirloom salt and pepper shakers, and from there, she caught the 'collection bug,'" Whitten told PEOPLE. At that time, Tidwell would take care of Whitten and her sister while their mom worked.

Whitten, now a high school teacher in Arkansas, told the outlet that she fondly recalled the memory when she and her sister stayed overnight in Tidwell’s house on weekends and had to dust these shakers when they got in trouble. “They are my grandma’s legacy, something she can pass down to me and my sister. She can touch others' lives through her love of these small trinkets," she described. "When she lived in her house, she had a custom-built shelf along the wall of her dining room," she added.

"It was at least 15 feet long and 9 feet tall. After she moved in with my parents, the shakers were boxed up and stored in a shed for 13 years until we opened them after her passing." When the family unboxed the sets in January this year, they found that many of them were broken or destroyed. A total of 1,154 sets were intact.

People on the platform did not take long to jump in to share their comments. “Photograph them all and put it in a book with any sayings you remember,” suggested @chillimills15. @mj.dgee said, “You guys could put them on display and make it a museum! People could come and look at all the different shakers!”

@angstbun reflected, “Every salt and pepper shaker she brought has a memory attached to how she got it, and while we might not know everyone, the table shows the memories are abundant. How awesome!” Others suggested Whitten convert some of the shakers into decorative ornaments or donate them to “The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum” in Tennessee. When many people, like @tacos.4.life, @chelseadanielle, and @pizzanoodles, requested to see Tidwell’s shakers, she started posting a multi-part series of TikToks displaying some of the shakers in close-up detail.

In the first video of the series, Whitten took up the metal ones, glistening with silver, gold, and coppery undertones. She showed shakers designed like silver cowboy boots and cute little tea sets. The second video showcased the wooden shakers. This set had everything from tiny tombstones to teensy barrels and tiddly-sized floral bottles. The third video showed the penguin-like shakers, whereas the fourth one was about the sets made of Pyrex and Corningware.

Tidwell also had an array of shakers designed like cute outhouses that Whitten showed in another video. There were also cute little guitars, microphones, and garages, as well as those with themes of flowers, places, animals, Christmas, mushrooms, fruits and veggies. Among these, the ones that Whitten and her sister loved the most included a "Wizard of Oz" set and an astronaut set, she told the outlet.  

Whitten said that she “misses her grandma every day.” She reflected that her grandma wouldn’t have believed the outpouring of response they’ve received from people for her salt-and-pepper shaker videos. People are making requests to buy some of their favorite shakers from the collection. She told the outlet that while they plan to sell and donate some of the pieces, they’ll ensure that they go only to those who treasure them. Other pieces will be passed on to the next generation of the family. “It’s nice to have something tangible to hold on to,” she wrote in the video caption.

You can follow Rachel Whitten (@rachelwhitten1) on TikTok to watch the entire series of her grandma's salt-and-pepper shaker collection.