OK, I have HAD it with minimalist shaming!!!! I love my stuff!
I am sick to death of being told that I need to throw out all my stuff before I die.
No, I don't!!! I just have to have a PLAN (I.E. a will!!)
Anything of value, will go to someone I will name who can keep it or sell it.
The rest will be donated.
Yeah, my heirs will have to box it up, or hire someone to do so, but you know what?
They can suck it up, because they'll be getting $$ from the sale of my house, other funds I have, or the stuff of value that I have.
I am from now on going to enjoy the stuff I have, because I enjoy it!
My books, my art, my records and CDs, DVDs, my collectibles, my Great-Grandmother's china, and my great-great grandmother's quilts.
Maybe I don't use them on a daily basis, so what?
Knowing that they are there (on display) and seeing them makes me happy.
Fuck Marie Kondo and all the rest!!!
Stop telling folks they can't keep what makes them happy!
(This is NOT about the mental disease of hoarding, that is something else entirely. This is about the "live in a sterile hotel room" shit that keeps getting preached by these so-called "experts" that want you to hire them to do Swedish Death Cleaning).
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I recently told one of my adult children that they were going to be so mad at me when they have to go through all my things. They really surprised me and made a positive comment about all the cool stuff that they would discover in my Niagara hoard.
It's alright to enjoy and be content with your treasures!
I recently decluttered a homemade teapot, sugar and creamer set that I rescued from heavy trash day. These items were bulky and I really didn't have a place to put them. So I decided to donate them.
I also decluttered about 5 pairs of pants that were 2 to 3 sizes now too large for me. I have many more too large of clothing to go through as I don't need it anymore. Things get complicated with weight changes and attempting to declutter clothing that one once wore and liked is difficult for me. It's a slow process.
I also donated some dress boots that I've had since 1999? They're nice looking boots but they didn't fit anymore. They had a slight heel on them too. I'd rather my feet be flat on the ground these days! 
On another note, it's okay to donate items that no longer serve any purpose!
He would have to be exceptionally patient and forgo potty breaks.
There are more modern handcrank versions though. Maybe he has one of these:
Both my wife and I enjoy reading. We also collect art, whether it is my own paintings or other artists we know.
It is so relaxing to sit in this room reading a book, especially in the winter with a fire going.
We could not get a rolling ladder we liked so we settled for a library steps tool that you can see in the back.
Update: we had the bookshelves, fireplace surround, floor, molding and paint done by our contractor and it was surprisingly inexpensive. About 10k all in material and labor.
you enjoy your collections 
and I will keep all my books!
It's quite simply "Do you own goods, or do they own you?"
I have ALWAYS valued things for their expected future value or usefulness. When I moved to the wilderness near a well-known national park, I thought that friends would drop by and enjoy the scenery (almost a nice as that national park, on a much smaller scale, and no parking problems) and gourmet preparations.
Nada
So, I gave my daughter a lot of expensive cookware to sell on Craig's List and keep the money.
Lately, as I approach {redacted} years, I just don't need the isolation and the maintenance on the "Ponderosa Ranch" here, so I am downsizing to give me more options for a move where stores and services aren't a 50 mile drive. And that is based entirely on "Did I use this in the last 10 years here?" and "Will I ever need this again?" which will vary a bit with the destination.
When water started pouring in the window frame during a storm, I had the "magic" waterproof tape on hand, same for the bend in the gutter. One of the big achievements was finding electronic versions of 15 totes worth of printed books that I paid good money for.
The only really problematical item is the historical microcomputer. Museums seem to only want autographed stuff, or expect me to pay shipping on 80 or more pounds of gear. But I am concentrating on odds and ends. "It will work out"
BELIEVE ME. I was married for 27 years to someone who gave me the daily "Throw, Throw" speech. It was quite the experience from hell, but I stayed in order to be the best Dad I could be to the most wonderful daughter imaginable. And it was worth having my own Marie Kondo at home all that time. I am truly made of steel.
But I'm practical. My Dad collected Madonna statues, the religious kind not the pop kind, and I gave all but two to my ex. He also collected cow creamers. He started collecting when he saw a purple cow creamer on a visit to Maine. I kept a few and let my niece have the rest of them as mementos. I don't have many sentimental pieces. An old mechanical Spirograph, a couple of small slide rules to shock people with, as I calculate gas mileage faster than Siri can!!
So as not to ramble (more), People should understand that many people collect things out a a feeling of lack, somewhere in the past, and, humans being a bit cantankerous, myself VERY cantankerous, one should understand causes and effects and help people feel more themselves and less dependent on "things".
I remember very little from the previous 30 or so years, compared to the treasure of raising a great kid who is now a great adult. These are "treasures of the heart" ... (except that wonderful radial arm saw .... sigh)
Dad was an artist who used brushes, oils and canvas to create. My grandfather was a carpenter who used tools to build. I admit it. Dad had 3 or 4 tools, that's all, so I compensated, though most of my time now is spent on the artistic side, with photography and music (when not repairing gutters).
When people don't understand something, they devalue it to zero. I forgot who said it, Alan Watts? That people we call materialistic are the LEAST materialistic. They don't have things for their intrinsic value, like a piece of olive wood I have with beautiful grain and veining, but just its cash value. It's as if weight were a measure of value, or how high you can pile things, or how "All my friends have Porches, I can't make amends".
Of course, besides the artistic side, I have the tinkerer mentality and the coolest thing ever was that transparent wristwatch. You didn't have to take it apart to see how it works (admittedly, it was little more than a tuning fork). I did take lots of things apart, though. And as for computers, I built them from kits with bare boards and a big bag of parts. I have a good feel for what's going on with this computer in front of me. and an appreciation.
But ultimately, we are in an extreme capitalist culture of endless duplication. Everyone has the same items they rarely use and never share or exchange. This is especially hard on older citizens, and I am focused on a more "sharing economy" having gone from a family "compound" where three brothers, my dad and two uncles, lived in adjoining houses, and we had old world traditions, to my own family. Three in one home, and then two homes and now three homes, all with expenses and taxes and duplicated thingys. Not saying we need to move back together, but that things should be easier to share "just in time". They are soooooooooo far away.
At the very least, we should have communities where someone is nearby to help in a pinch.
Community is not a "thing". It's an idea with practical action as a result. And good feelings.
And Marie Kondo BUYS her friends.
pulling a train of FIVE shopping carts, with a baby-stroller caboose.
