The Upside Of Downsizing

Popular author and humorist Karen O’Connor reveals that life after 50 is great! Most people have raised their families, established careers, and chosen lifestyles they enjoy. Now they look forward to times of cozier living with less stress and more joy, simplicity, and relaxation. Drawing on real-life experiences, Karen shares stories, biblical principles, and innovative ideas for augmenting the upside to midlife, including: whittling belongings down to only items that bring smiles and terrific memories simplifying to achieve a desired balance of commitments and leisure rediscovering the joys of an empty nest eliminating clutter in life and living space to downsize stress finding new activities that bring contentment and help others In brief, easy-to-read chapters, The Upside of Downsizing helps readers transition into vibrant, energetic lifestyles for the second half of life.

Sara knew she had to move but she didn't want to. Knowing it was the right thing to do, she dove in, documenting every phase and the emotional ups and downs that went with them. Her story is a lighthearted look at this major life transition, filled with humor and wise advice on how to handle your own downsizing or support someone you love.

The author says: "The only way to get more out of life is to choose less. Less stuff. Less activity. Less wanting more. Less of you."

Many academic libraries are currently struggling with funding, and the new technological needs of libraries, plus dramatic increases in serials prices, have created even larger budget strain. This work offers librarians a number of ways in which to cope with this disturbing trend.

America’s top cleaning expert and star of the hit series Legacy List with Matt Paxton distills his fail-proof approach to decluttering and downsizing. Your boxes of photos, family’s china, and even the kids' height charts aren’t just stuff; they’re attached to a lifetime of memories--and letting them go can be scary. With empathy, expertise, and humor, Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, written in collaboration with AARP, helps you sift through years of clutter, let go of what no longer serves you, and identify the items worth keeping so that you can focus on living in the present. For over 20 years, Matt Paxton has helped people from all walks of life who want to live more simply declutter and downsize. As a featured cleaner on Hoarders and host of the Emmy-nominated Legacy List with Matt Paxton on PBS, he has identified the psychological roadblocks that most organizational experts routinely miss but that prevent so many of us from lightening our material load. Using poignant stories from the thousands of individuals and families he has worked with, Paxton brings his signature insight to a necessary task. Whether you’re tired of living with clutter, making space for a loved one, or moving to a smaller home or retirement community, this book is for you. Paxton’s unique, step-by-step process gives you the tools you need to get the job done.

The Upside of Downsizing is a humorous look at the challenges and opportunities to be found in letting go of some of our material things. With personal insights, illustrations and photos, Vanessa Goodwyn shares her journey from a large home to a smaller abode, and how she and her husband disposed of a small mountain of "stuff" in the process. TUOD offers useful tips, practical ideas and pointers that can be helpful to anyone interested in adopting the "Less is More" philosophy: retirees, widows and widowers, blended families and others hungry to declutter and downsize. At the end of each chapter, a workbook-style "Your Turn" section challenges the reader to apply the lessons to their own situation -- or at least jot down some notes while ideas are fresh. Vanessa's light-hearted style makes the journey enjoyable and you just might come away from this easy read with a some fresh ideas for lightening your own load.

Popular wisdom holds that the years since 1973 -- the end of the "postwar miracle" -- have been a time of economic decline and stagnation: lackluster productivity, falling real wages, and lost competitiveness. The rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and most of us have barely held on while watching all the best jobs disappear overseas. As Myths of Rich and Poor demonstrates, this picture is not just wrong, it's spectacularly wrong. The hard numbers, simple facts, and iconoclastic arguments of this book will change the way you think about the American economy.