The best inheritance you can give your loved ones is not collecting stuff

How your life’s collected treasures fare after you’re gone

“The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.” — Og Mandino.

In Western societies, death is often seen as a taboo or uncomfortable topic, which can lead to a lack of discussion about end-of-life planning and the responsibilities that come after someone passes away. But it is the inevitable fate of all humans, and so let’s talk around it, for now. This is also hard for me. I am only human.

Last month, my elderly neighbor of over 15 years passed away. For the last 15 years, we had maintained quite a few of the same rituals — like mowing lawns about the same time, cutting hedges at about the same time, as well as the same waste collection rituals — putting the household waste out on the curb at the same time every Sunday evenings. Our waste is collected on Mondays, for my city zone.

My neighbour, who was retired was more on top of things than I was and had to sometimes yell over — “its green and blue for you this week,” especially if I was the first one out and messed up the waste collection cycle. Elderly people are like that. They know things and sometimes more present than we…