[Walter_Middie]

My family just moved my dad out of his house and garage and into a retirement home. He was always a do-it-yourselfer and had a ton of tools and miscellaneous crap. We sent about 4 large loads to the dump of things my dad was saving. After we were all done, I started doing a lot of personal reflection, as there wasn’t anything my dad had that was worth much after a lifetime of working and building and fixing. I started thinking about what I was going to leave my kids, and wondering if anything I had was really worth keeping. I spent the next couple of weeks throwing things away, giving things away, or selling them. I completely re-designed my garage with all the space I created, and we are now looking at buying a much nicer but smaller house. My life is simpler now, and I have a lot less stuff. I’m not as busy as I was, and I’m a lot less stressed. I want more time to sail, and hike, and camp, and ski – and generally just enjoy life.