Posts tagged Downsizing
TAKING STOCK IN SEPTEMBER

Where did this summer go? These suddenly crisp September days remind us of the passing of another year. A strange year where the pandemic has affected most everyone in significant and varied ways.

For some of us, we intended to tackle an organizing or downsizing project this summer. That may or may not have happened. For others of us, that was the last thing on our minds with the demands of work and family. Or we may have spent every spare minute outside gulping in these precious days of summer with safe outside visiting.

And now it’s September. Have you once again considered tackling a house or garden project?

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THE KEY TO NEW YEAR’S DOWNSIZING RESOLUTIONS

What’s the key to start my New Year’s resolutions about downsizing and organizing?  I heard several versions of that question over the holiday season. 

I learned awhile ago that one-size-does-not-fit-all when it comes to downsizing!  Personality, motivations and circumstances all impact how we best start and keep downsizing resolutions.

What method or key is going to unlock consistent downsizing possibilities for you? 

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GIFT-GIVING EXPECTATIONS: ROOTS & WINGS

Parents give their children roots to grow and wings to fly. This may apply to family treasures as well!

How do we gift from our collections without placing heavy Expectations on the recipient?

Recent blog posts focus on gift-giving from our abundant collections and story-telling about family treasures.

While helping people through downsizing, I often hear:

“The next generations don’t want my stuff or won’t take good care of it." 

How do we gift from our collections without placing heavy Expectations on the recipient?

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THEY LEFT US EVERYTHING

They Left Us Everything is a memoir by Canadian Plum Johnson about caring for her senior parents and the 16-month project of sorting and clearing their home. This contemporary story is set in her parents’ rambling 22-room house filled with decades of accumulation and memories. In sharp contrast to The Swedish Art of Death Clearing (my recent blog posting), Johnson finds real value in waiting until after someone’s death to sort their stuff.

How many of us have faced the experience of setting out on an excavation to clear an elderly relative or friend’s home?

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TWO PRACTICAL HINTS ON LETTING GO

“Just two practical hints from THAT book — that’s all I need” wrote a friend after reading my blog posting: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death-Cleaning.

In her wise and humorous book about letting go of stuff in a way that uplifts and doesn't overwhelm, Margareta Magnusson offers two suggestions that appeal to me.

Begin letting go somewhere other than PHOTOS — or letters and personal papers.

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THE GENTLE ART OF SWEDISH DEATH-CLEANING

Throughout this Fall, I will be reviewing two books that have greatly helped me in my own downsizing before a move and rightsizing to enjoy my current home. The first is the international best seller The Gentle Art of Swedish Death-Cleaning: How to Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Clutter (2018) by Swedish artist Margareta Magnusson.

I love the title!  The phrase "Death-Cleaning” can be startling!

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AMBIVILENCE BOX: DOWNSIZING INCLUDES INDECISION

Confession: I sometimes have difficulty letting go of items in my own home. I may spout a good line about downsizing, rightsizing, and estate organizing, yet some days I can be brought to a standstill when I sort my own things. There is nothing I love more than unearthing a happy memory of my past. I am sentimental and sometimes nostalgic, and I can hold on to items well past their shelf-life. For this reason, I have an Ambivalence box.

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