Being a librarian (and married to a librarian/lawyer/mathematician), we find it very difficult to get rid of books and not accumulate more. We compromise by not buying a speedboat or an RV or a pickup truck. Instead, we just kinda move along with buying books instead of a pair of ATVs.

I am appalled by the lifestyles of some of my neighbors, though. Several have RVs that I know had to cost more than their house, others have four and even six ATVs, snowmobiles, and several vehicles -- and often they are the same people. I realize that it's their money and their choices, but I wonder how long they can maintain the debt load.

And I mean several kinds of debt, not just monetary.

If you REALLY want to pare down, ask yourself this question:

What would I take if I had to flee NOW before an advancing wildfire? No time -- you've got 20 minutes to load up and get out. Or rephrase it as, "What would I take if I had to head for hills as the secret police pulled turned into the street?"