Parence-induced minimalism: how my dad's passing brought me to minimalism.

My dad recently lost a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81 and my only parent, as my mom had died back in 2003. He and I were very close, and he was also quite a minimalist. I'm 59 and in many ways my dad's passing has brought me to the path of minimalism.<br><br>I've always been someone who generally likes to keep things to the minimum. I never had a large collection of anything. I never had over 100 DVDs. My music library of CDs never topped 150. I've only had two cars my whole life and each one was a Subaru. I don't like jewelry and my wife's tastes are similar. Living modestly has always been high on my list of priorities for my life.<br><br>My dad was the same way. After my mom died, he promptly disposed of everything that wasn't of use in their house. He had 2 pairs of shoes, a dozen shirts, and that was it. He was a retired professor of French, and he loved clothes that were quality, not quantity. He did, however, have a large collection of books.<br><br>After my dad died, I had to go to his apartment where he had lived for 10 years to go through everything and decide what should be donated, what should be sold, and what should be junked. I wound up coming home with an Bryce Harper bobblehead doll and a collection of vintage postcards from the 1920s. Everything else I just let the people from Savers handle, as they were extremely professional and helpful. But going through his apartment I realized that there are some things in life that you do get over, but there is more that you don't ever get over. My dad was someone I will never get over, but in the end, I really didn't miss any of his stuff. He had lived a good life, and I realized how I had been taking him for granted.<br><br>It was nice to get home an sort through my bookshelves. I think I pulled out 15 books that I got rid of. My wife has already donated some kitchen items. I bought a used book about minimalism written by a monk, although I haven't read it yet. My cousin and I just went through my dad's compact disc collection, which he had accumulated over 30 years. He had over 800 CDs, and I brought home 90 of them. My cousin took a few, and we disposed of the rest. I also gave my step-brother a box of books, and I still have 2 boxes to donate.<br><br>I've started thinking more about what I use and what I don't use. I sold my old bass and amp, things I hadn't used in 20+ years. And I just purchased a quality shirt that was on sale for about 40% off. I think I'm on a good path.