Downsizing the Family Home

What to Save, What to Let Go

By: Marni Jameson

Narrated by: Joyce Bean, Fred Stella

It's a rite of passage almost no one will escape: the difficult, emotional journey of downsizing your or your aging parents' home. Here, nationally syndicated home columnist Marni Jameson sensitively guides listeners through the process, from opening that first closet, to sorting through a lifetime's worth of possessions, to selling the homestead itself. Using her own personal journey as a basis, she helps you figure out a strategy and create a mindset to accomplish the task quickly, respectfully, rewardingly - and, in the best of situations, even memorably. Throughout, she combines her been-there experience with insights from national experts - antiques appraisers, garage-sale gurus, professional organizers, and psychologists - to offer practical wisdom and heartwarming advice so you know with certainty what to keep, toss, or sell.

©2015 Marni Jameson (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Great info to listen to before our move across Pacific

My husband and I are selling what we thought was our forever home and moving from Hawaii back to California after 40+ years. Two sons live on Oahu, and two in California; none are on the Big Island where we’ve lived the last 29 years. Moving costs are approximately $2/lb. to CA. With fresh determination, we’re now planning on selling most of our furniture, and downsizing all our possessions, using “Will We use it? Do we need it? Do we love it?”, adding a 4th “Is it worth it? “, in reference to shopping costs. While asking if an item “sparks joy” is good, these questions take the sorting to a deeper more practical level for us. Thank you for so much practical advise!

great book!

I told my mom she had to read it. Then I told my brother if he wanted to be involved in any way he had to listen to the book too!

Downsizing

Great book. It gave me a lot of ideas for my home and my parents. Loved!

Opened my Eyes to Quality vs Quantity

This audible book helped me realize what really matters in life. Remember the moments not the stuff! It requires much perseverance to empty & sell a place you've lived in for 37 years. So many people tell me they feel much lighter after the family home is cleared, sold, and belongs to someone else.

The most helpful book when down sizing your home!

Emotional, at times I had to pause to think about my own parents lives and the stuff that they collected. it's not just stuff to me it's who they were and their legacy!

Just what I needed

This book from the beginning to the end solidified what I was going through both personally and with parents and in laws. My daughter is a minimalist and had politely said she was not interested in our “stuff”. Since I started reading the book I have with ease began downsizing our home. It had been a wake up call. I am struggling with videos and photos. The writer was great. So easy to relate. The narration was excellent. I highly recommend this book and have already shared the audible app with several of my friends. Now if I can get my husband on board.

Downsizing - Great information!

Good audio presentation. Clear, concise.
Many good ideas and information to be used as take-a-ways for yourself and your family moving forward!

Fantastic resource for families

What a wonderful resource for families navigating the daunting process of downsizing with their parents.

Disappointed

This book is deceiving, doesn't assist you in what to save or let go, just tells you how to think about it and how to tell your house and what to do.

Not What You Might Think

Much of this advice is from a person who has a lot of privelege and a lot of existing connections from their work, which most readers will lack. And most of this is about selling things, and hiring experts. Most of us do not require that, or cannot have such fast access to same, or any access at all. If you are downsizing a home that contains a fair amount of genuinely valuable things, this may be a good source of preliminary ideas, potential useful sources, and planning. If the stuff you need to go through is less fancy, this is probably not for you, it is certainly not for me. A whole other planet, this! It was recommended by AARP, but not very helpful for my own situation.