Downsizing Your Life

There was a time when heirs were excited to receive their parents’ and grandparents’ most prized possessions. Their fine bone china, lead crystal, and sterling silver were not only welcomed but proudly displayed and regularly used…

Bad neighbors and good neighbors, yes, we’ve all got them in our lives! But can our bad neighbors actually have a negative effect on our property value? Yes, bad neighbors can and do affect your property value…

I live in a community that holds an annual garage sale. This is an opportunity, as one of my friends said, to shift the stuff we no longer want to somebody else’s garage. While that has merit, there are some other interesting (and lighthearted) aspects of letting go of things. What does it mean to […]

Women tolerate a lot. We put up with a lot of irritating annoyances. We’re taught not to complain, not to rock the boat, to go along with others, to be grateful for what we have, to be understanding, to be constantly available to family and friends…

I realized early in the process that downsizing from my big-ass house and moving to a condo wasn’t going to be easy. Although it was the right decision at the time, I was overwhelmed by the jaw-clenching enormity of the job. So I did the only sensible…

When I was young, I used to think that things sort-of worked out in the course of a life. I mean things, like your pots and pans and your cutlery and your living room furniture. I imagined you bought all this stuff when you were young and then they were just…

I came across this quote about clearing clutter on – of all places – a medical website, and it struck me as the perfect way to look at the “too much stuff” conundrum I’m still struggling with. If you have so much stuff it drags you into…

Are you downsizing? Did you struggle with some of your favorite possessions? Have you thought about downsizing your photos? One of our downsizing challenges was 60+ years of photos were stored in 5 large plastic storage containers that needed two people…

Spring cleaning has been viewed as a tradition and ritual for thousands of years, with the earliest roots found in Jewish, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures. For these cultures, and now here in the United States, spring cleaning corresponds…

Aging brings many surprises. Sometimes, it’s a slow advance. It creeps up; a twinge, almost imperceptible the first time. Then a creak. We start slowing down to accommodate new aches, encroaching weariness, and shorter…