Depression era mentality haunts baby boomers.

• Position: Property Value - Brief article

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, people learned quickly to save whatever they could. Resources were scarce--thus even more valuable. Many of the 78,000,000 baby boomers whose parents learned how to hoard in order to survive are finding themselves having to deal directly with the effects of that mentality.

"Old habits certainly die hard," declares Julie Hall, a professional estate liquidator, certified personal property appraiser, and author of The Boomer Burden--Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff. "I see it over and over. As boomers age and their parents become invalid or pass away, the added burden of having to deal with all that stuff left behind is compounded by the fact that their parents once hoarded items of value in order to stay alive and it ultimately...