I got hooked on your gutter story. There is only so much crap we can dump into the system before the system becomes crap. Most systems are now crap beyond repair. We need more than a good plumber. Personally we to stop paying for crap. This article would be even more effective if some of those items you went without or left behind were listed as an example of minimalism. A lot of us are in the same ship and your story can encourage us to get rid of more crap.