At one time in my life I owned an awful lot of stuff.


Part of that amount was made up of things, the majority of which I had inherited,  that were reasonably valuable-

silver(plate) flatware and utensils, teapots etc
crystal stemware
old 33,45 and 78 records
several violins
old comic books
furniture
memorabilia

-all the sorts of things that people will tell you are "valuable" or "worth something".


Then I came to a point in my life when I simply could no longer live having all this stuff around me (let alone having to pack it up and move it even one more time) and became a minimalist.


I put a lot of time and effort into selling what I could (this was in the days before eBay) and eventually sent everything that was left to a consignment shop.   I got some money as things sold but even at the time I was aware it was a small fraction of what it all was "worth".  (Something can be very valuable but that doesn't mean a lot if you can't find someone who is willing to buy it.)


Now, in my joyously minimalist life, I do my best to NOT have valuable things.  I have some nice things and things that I like but overall nothing that I would be that concerned about losing.   I love having furniture my friends and I can relax with - if something gets scratched or spilled on it's not a big deal and I think of it as adding character.  If a dish drops and breaks and I just sweep up the pieces and may or may not replace the item.  It's not that my home is shabby or junky but it is a place to be lived in.