When my father died, the only material that was left of him was his collection.  Because I was unable to keep it all, I wrote it down.  This is a selection of the physical items that he left behind:

19 garbage/trash cans (5 in kitchen), 10 cinnamon sugar shakers, 1 gallon can dehydrated onion flakes, Lindt bittersweet chocolate, dozen 1-quart jugs of maple syrup, 8 bottles Himbeer Saft raspberry syrup, box labeled “DOOR LOCKS” almost heavier than I can lift, 2 burglar alarms, 11 telephones, 1957 “stop-cycle” dial timer in metal box (inside labeled “CONVERTED TO 1958 STD.” on blue Dymo tape), voltage meters (volt-ammeter), amp meters, ohm meters, kilowatt meter, geiger counter(s?), 6 orange space heaters, 14 suitcases, 2 copy machines (both not working), camcorder, microphones, typewriters, 5 toasters, 2 identical avocado green hand mixers, 5 vinyl Maxwell Street bags, box of 35 rolls misc. tape (duct, masking, packaging, etc.), box of 12 rolls/bundles misc. string, 2 bicycle pumps, 366 tiny drawers [misc. nuts, bolts, screws, anchors, springs, stoppers, chain links, pipe clamps, hinges, steel balls, brass rings, electrical cups, glazier’s points, wire connecters, washers, switches, gaskets, and more], cups of drapery pins, pickle jars of screws, nuts, and bolts, 14 artillery boxes [labeled in Dymo tape letters: “PAINT BRUSHES”, “SCREWDRIVERS”, “C CLAMPS”, “ASSORTED FASTENERS”, “MISCELLANEOUS STOCK”, “WRENCHES” (in black) “MEDIUM SIZE WRENCHES” (in red), “PLIERS”, “OLD TAPS”, “SMALL WRENCHES”, “SHEARS & CUTTERS”, “BICYCLE TOOLS” (in plain type), “MISC. HAMMERS”], 5 giant calipers, 3 sm. calipers, shoe rack containing misc. wrenches, shears, 35 wall mounted wrenches [large → small], 6 adjustable wrenches [18” → 6”], 21 hole cutting drill bits mounted in DCE-made holder, 4 canisters propane fuel, 4 pipe wrenches [36” → 18”], 3 tractron gauges, 4’ x 4’ cabinet of misc. plumbing parts, 6 soldering irons, 3’ x 4’ cabinet [containing 25 electrical dimmers, circuit breakers, PSI gauges, misc. electrical parts], three jaw gear puller set, 4 hand drills of various sizes and vintages, motor, tool box labeled in Dymo tape letters: “⅜ & ¼ INCH SQ. SHANK SOCKET SETS”, tool box labeled in Dymo tape letters: “SOCKET WRENCHES/ALSO ½ & ¼ IN. HEX SHANK METRIC & WHITWORTH SETS/½ INCH SQUARE SHANK”, radial arm saw, bench vise, drill press, magnetic vise, stone grinding wheels, sm. belt sander, drill bit boxes [labeled in Dymo tape letters: “NUMBER SIZE DRILLS”, “FRACTIONAL SIZE DRILLS”, “LETTER DRILLS”], 7 folding rulers, 5 levels, 4 micrometers, radius gauge set, 5 gear tooth calipers, 7 measuring tapes, wrenches, screwdrivers, magnets, staple guns, hammers, pipe benders, pipe cutters, plumb lines, Dymo stampers (one labeled in Dymo letters: “TO ALISON WITH LOVE DADDY”), Dymo tape, lightbulbs, wires, electric impact wrench, funnels, saws, squares, strobe light, cabinet [containing: 9 enormous dictionaries, 3 two-volume dictionary sets, 1 six-volume dictionary set, misc. books: Handbook of Mathematical Functions, Complex Variables, Set Theory, Matrices, Finite Differences and Difference Equations, Differential Equations, Feedback and Control Systems, Electric Circuits, Electronic Circuits, Mathematical Handbook, Advanced Calculus, State Space and Linear Systems, Group Theory, Modern Algebra], hygrometers, applesauce jar labeled “FURNITURE OIL POLISH 11-74”, countless clocks, wristwatches, etc., camera lenses, shadow boxes for pocket watch display, box labeled “Northwestern Steel & Wire Company” filled with boxes of old photographic glass plates and one rawhide bone, answering machines, alarm clocks, jewelry box with nut and washer, chirping christmas ornaments, tape recorders, briefcases, adding machines, eleven-drawer cabinet [containing: precision screwdriver sets, magnifying lenses, tiny mirrors, nail clippers (multiple), scissors (multiple), watchbands, jewelers loupes, clock winding keys, tweezers (multiple), pocket watches, small barometers, pocket knives in misc. leather cases (multiple), pocket watch outers (no innards)], cigar boxes, abaci (abacuses), wrist watches, marine clocks, gram scales in vitrines, binoculars, puzzles, jewelers vises, can openers, sword, 7 microscopes, chirping birds in gilded cage, sundial, pyramid, thermometers, gram scale weights, rear-view mirrors, timing washers (tiny), slide rules, 2 polar planimeters, auto compasses, calendars, bottle 10% Methyl Cellulose (DCE written “IMPEDER”), tags, binocular magnifier, earphones, ace bandages, light meters, tripods, VCR’s, extension cords, Sotheby’s catalogues, Christie’s catalogues, hundreds of tiny plastic zip-close bags, radios, stacks of Consumer Reports magazines, model steam engines, encyclopedias, ties on racks, sweaters in sweater bags, pants on hangers hand-tagged with size, pictures of dogs, handmade lucite drawer dividers [holding paperclips, rubberbands, tiny scissors, nail clippers, markers, and miscellany], stamp pads, rubber stamps, rulers, templates, triangles, protractors in leather cases, desk drawers filled with tools, shelves and shelves and shelves of books, three swing arm lights (one with a magnifying glass), electric stapler, boxes of batteries labeled “BATTERIES”, battery testers, permanent markers, hole punchers, files and files [including: “TAXES”, “NEXT TRIP”,  “ARTICLES OF INTEREST”, “PAID BILLS + PURCHASE RECEIPTS”, “ANTIQUES”, “ADDRESSES”, “STOCK LISTS”, “BUSINESS LETTERS CLOSED”, “PERSONAL CORY BUSINESS”, “SENTIMENTAL”, “SNAPSHOTS”, “MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS”, “NEGATIVES”, “HUMOR”, “SOURCES”, “AUTOMOTIVE GENERAL”, “CIVIL DEFENSE”], millions of pencils and pens in misc. jars and holders, more jewelers loupes, more jewelers screwdrivers (6 sets in one drawer), tiny lightbulbs, jewelers files, utility toothbrushes, syringes of various adhesives, tiny jars of clock oil, price tag labels, bottles of lens cleaner, stacks of personal letters and postcards, pen holder/pocket protector, rags, stacks of tiny manila envelopes, piles of receipts, etc., boxes of check stubs and cancelled checks, atlases, more maps, selected book list from bathroom: [The Search for Solutions, Wide Awake at 3:00 am, Mathematics and Humor, Mathematics, Myths After Lincoln, The Book of Lists, Number Theory and Its History, It’s All Elementary, College Physics, Inside the Cell, Five Equations that Changed the World, Frontiers (Isaac Asimov), Frontiers II, The Cosmic Code, Chambers Thesaurus, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, The Synonym Finder, The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road, Dell Big Book of Crosswords, The Army of the Potomac: A Stillness at Appomattox, The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln’s Army, Animals You Will Never Forget, Men of Mathematics, The New Ambidextrous Universe (Martin Gardener), The New Grove Book of Operas, Gardener’s Why’s + Wherefors, The How and the Why, Number, Mathematical Mystery Cruise, Inventory Reality, A Physicist on Madison Avenue, The Matter Myth, Understanding Physics (Isaac Asimov), Mysteries of Life and the Universe, Asimov on Science, Hitler’s Willing Executioners, The Relativity Explosion, Interactions, The Puzzle Instinct, In the Beginning, Thereby Hangs a Tale, Becoming Human, Mathematics and the Imagination, The Language of Science, Far as Human Eye Could See (Isaac Asimov), Ideas and Opinions (Albert Einstein), With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln], drawers of keys, key rings, ball chains, and padlocks (ALL LABELED), tags, bundles of plastic combs, old toothbrushes, daughters’ barrettes, a few collected seashells, nail clippers, foreign coins + currency sorted and bundled in small zip-close bags, wet naps, tiny slide-rule tie-clip, luggage tags, stacks of old charge cards, ID’s, and passports, bundles of surgical clamps and tweezers, tiny clear cellulose capsules containing watch parts, drawers of shoelaces, playing cards, magic tricks, 3-D puzzles, boxes of polished stones, 9 sets of tiddly winks, drawers of wallets, small notebooks cataloguing watch collection, stacks of videotapes, beach tokens on a shoestring: 1948-2002, watch parts in small manilla envelopes, dog tags from all our dogs, family pictures, drawers and drawers of eyeglasses and sunglasses, flashlights all over the house, bathing trunks, winter mitts, big bedroom drawer of television cabling and wires, crayons form the children, stacks of shoehorns, bundles of Ebony pencils, paper price tags, hole punchers, staple removers, clips, chalk, triangles, rubberbands, typewriter ribbons, dog collars + leashes, scores of record albums including a great collection of Fats Waller 78’s, cassette tapes of his daughters as small children, 4 lawnmowers, ladders, shelves of cans and bottles of oils, fluids, and aerosoles, piles of hose parts, bundles of jumper cables, dozens of bicycles, 1 unicycle, bicycle wheels, bicycle pumps, stacks of Scientific American magazines, typewriters, turntables, spaceheaters, railroad lamps, video cameras, super-8 cameras, sewing machines, Lord Peter Whimsey hat