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From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: hobby electronics
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2024 09:35:36 -0700
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On 7/10/2024 6:28 AM, BillGill wrote:
> On 7/9/2024 6:41 PM, Don Y wrote:
>> I've watched many friends/neighbors moved into assisted care
>> (or worse, "memory care") facilities.  Leaving their "stuff"
>> and "home" behind is very traumatic for them.  Esp as they
>> often have delayed that transition to a point where adjusting
>> to a new environment (new friends, etc.) is exceedingly
>> difficult.

>> I'm not keen on finding myself (or SWMBO after my demise) in
>> a similarly traumatic "adjustment".  To that end, I can afford
>> to rid myself of dead trees, paper financial/business records,
>> test equipment, etc.
>>
>> "What do I *need* this for, at this point in my life?"
>>
>> YMMV.  But don't underestimate the impact it will have on
>> those around you!
>
> My position is different from those you mentioned.  My
> daughter lives in a rented house, while I live mortgage
> free.  20 years ago when my brother died I made a vow
> not to collect 'stuff'.

Been there, done that.  Yet, on my biweekly trips to drop off
kit at the local recycler, I always seem to "find" something
interesting to bring home.   :<  Thankfully, the trend has
consistently been to come back with less than I set out
(though why bring back ANYTHING?  There's absolutely nothing
that I *need* that I don't already *have*!)

> I have been through the house
> several times trying to get rid of 'stuff'.

I do this weekly.  I treat it as part of the "job" of dying.
Why wait until the last minute?  :>

>  It is of
> course a losing battle, but when I die I will not leave
> huge lots of stuff cluttering up the house.

A friend has been tormenting himself over his "matchbox"
car collection.  Several thousand, mostly NIB.  I've suggested
he gift them to his young (5-ish) neighbor:  "Are you  kidding?
They're worth thousands of dollars!"

"Then why not sell them -- or, gift them to another collector -- while
you are alive/capable of doing so?  What do you think your wife is
going to do with them once they have no use to you?"

It is interesting to watch people squirm over "things" that have
little real value to them -- other than to say they *have* those things.

OTOH, SWMBO has a large collection of art books (dead trees) and
frequently talks of donating them to a local school, etc.  I have
consistently suggested she keep them as she is ALWAYS rediscovering
a title that she hadn't looked through in quite some time and
getting enjoyment from it.

"I can box them up for you and donate them when/if the time comes..."

OToOH, I've probably 40 pounds of DIMMs/SIMMs accumulated over the years.
I routinely find myself digging through it all (sorted) as I find need
for a particular size/speed/flavor device for some bit of kit that
I'm playing with.  So, resist discarding it as portection against some
future need.  OTOH, if I end up with a bit of kit that needs some hard-to-find
memory, maybe I don't need that piece of kit???

> My daughter's
> main problem in that regard is deciding how to merge
> her furnishings into my house.  Hopefully she will be
> able to just make the cut and then call the Salvation
> Army to take away what she doesn't need.

We try to be minimalist in terms of furnishings.  How many items do two
people need to sit on?

And 86 the "knick-knacks"!  Sheesh!  A neighbor's house is cluttered
with them.  She spends her time dusting them.  Hint: if you didn't
have all that clutter, you could spend your waking hours doing something
other than dusting!

[How many people find themselves, on their deathbeds, saying "I should have
dusted more"?]

> And she has,
> unfortunately, just been through that experience.  Her
> boy friend died and she had to separate his stuff from
> her stuff and get it appropriately dispersed.

I think that sort of divestment is probably easier.  The
attachment is likely not as long-lived/intense.  It may
be a reminder but it's not a fixture.

I can recall choosing NOT to preserve my childhood bed when
my folks moved out of that home.  I've only slept on it a few
nights per year so it's not like I'm going to "miss" it!
"It's just a bed"

> So her big problem will be sorting my library, and she
> will be happy to have a lot of the books.  Sorting them
> will be a chore, but not one that, hopefully, will
> call out a lot of memories.

Until she finds herself in YOUR situation?

I really regret not having kept electronic versions of my earlier
documents.  At the time, I made the deliberate decision to opt
for rendering them to paper as it is more portable (could you
read an 8 inch, hard-sectored floppy?  have a bernoulli drive
handy?  9T tape?)

But, trying to maintain portable electronic forms is a perpetual
activity.  And, verifying that the files are still intact...

> Which doesn't mean that she won't be distressed by my
> passing, it just means that I will try to leave as
> little for her to do as I can.

Kudos to you!  Too often, it's just "not my problem -- I'm dead!"