What did you do to downsize today? (accepting, doctors, withdrawal)
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I started downsizing last summer in preparation for a move to Arizona. I've been doing it a little at a time. Funny how the things I think I should keep one week get thrown out (or donated) the next. Books and magazines were the first to go.
I do remember my Dad use to say we spend the first 50 years of our lives collecting stuff and the next 50 trying to get rid of it...I think he was right! It has been fun watching the house rise slowly out of the ground as the weight decreases.
"When it comes to books - I think a lot of people (myself included) tend to look at them as trophies/signs that we have accomplished something (like reading them). Or - in your case - they're a reminder of your business. Or we keep them around because we thought we should/would read them - but we never did."
Or... We just love books! I have a number that I've read over and over and will doubtless read again. Others are beautiful works of art. Others have historic or sentimental value. If you have the space wherever we're going (or even if you're staying), I see nothing at all wrong with keeping the ones you love. Books help make even a small house a home, and I don't subscribe to a scorched earth approach to any one category of items. Everything in moderation! And the way things are going (Kindle), they'll be valuable "antiques" one day.
"When it comes to books - I think a lot of people (myself included) tend to look at them as trophies/signs that we have accomplished something (like reading them). Or - in your case - they're a reminder of your business. Or we keep them around because we thought we should/would read them - but we never did."
Or... We just love books! I have a number that I've read over and over and will doubtless read again. Others are beautiful works of art. Others have historic or sentimental value. If you have the space wherever we're going (or even if you're staying), I see nothing at all wrong with keeping the ones you love. Books help make even a small house a home, and I don't subscribe to a scorched earth approach to any one category of items. Everything in moderation! And the way things are going (Kindle), they'll be valuable "antiques" one day.
I got myself down to 1 bookcase of books, mostly reference and a few hard cover classics I read over and over.
Since I got my nook all my fiction reading is from ebooks now.
I'll end up with 3 boxes of books to move, mostly coffee table type and a few dogeared and commented travel books. I sent over 20 bags of books to the Friends of the Library for permanent sale bay and annual sale. Kindle is my friend for fiction now.
As a book lover, this makes me sad. :'( I'll never give up the sensual pleasures of a REAL book. Use interlibrary loan to borrow any book in print from anywhere in the country, usually at no cost to you.
As a book lover, this makes me sad. :'( I'll never give up the sensual pleasures of a REAL book. Use interlibrary loan to borrow any book in print from anywhere in the country, usually at no cost to you.
Holding a nook in bed reading beats holding a "real book" any day.
I felt the same way as you at first but now I love the nook and realize the physical book really doesn't mean that much.
Now I do keep physical reference books because I tend to go back and forth and dog ear pages.
But these I don't tend to read in bed.
As a book lover, this makes me sad. :'( I'll never give up the sensual pleasures of a REAL book. Use interlibrary loan to borrow any book in print from anywhere in the country, usually at no cost to you.
Many "real books" have print so closely packed together on small pages they're a pain to read. The Kindle and Nook allow you to set the type font style and size to your liking, with different settings for brightness. That's all a huge plus for older readers.
That said, I'm reading Elena Ferrante's quartet of novels in beautifully designed paperback print, lovely paper and a joy to hold and read. Besides that, I wouldn't want to read writing of this caliber on a Kindle or Nook.
Downsizing update: I'm in the middle of a huge purge of computer files of the past 15 years. Every time I consolidate or delete, my Mac trash bulges and then I press the button to eliminate forever. I can hear my Mac shedding many pounds and the past going down the drain quite pleasantly. I didn't realize till now how much the past weighs on me, this purge is just as rewarding as getting rid of physical stuff. It also leaves me with only what I want to focus on in the next few years without all that baggage.
Last month I visited friends, a couple, in their later 70s who recently sold their 10-room home and moved into a 4-room condo. They were paying $300/mo since the move for storage space rental. A cheap storage unit then opened up at their new condo complex and they hired movers to transfer all their junk (um, stuff) to that space. As I watched the frail husband arranging all that stuff in the newer space all I could think of is that they're at any age and health condition where that stuff is never going to be used and will probably wind up in a dumpster some day. This gives me further impetus to permanently get rid of things I know I don't want to take on the next leg of my journey.
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