I like this. I've decided that stuff is the devil's spawn!
The more stuff we have, the less freedom we have.
Each piece of "stuff". is like a dependent. It takes time and energy from us to keep it.
Cars? ... maintenance, insurance, etc
Major appliances? .... use electricity, occasional maintenance, etc.
Pets? ... demand attention, limit our freedom (travel is more complicated), etc
The house? ... a major dependent
Power tools? .... maintenance, replacement parts, etc
I've come to realize, after pursuing the American Dream of a big house, nice property, bunch of stuff,
that most of my free time and weekends are spent taking care of these "dependents"!
I now feel they took away time I could have been doing things with my family while the kids were young.
As I contemplate retirement I now want to shed everything I can, within reason.
How many cars do I really need? How many computers do we really need?
Do we really need that new electronic gizmo?
My mission over the next year or so is to get rid of stuff and enjoy what I have more.