I know I need to be re-sized in a number of ways. For this reason, the book “Rightsizing Your Life, simplifying your surroundings while keeping what matters most” by Ciji Ware caught my attention. From what I read, the book is a smart person’s guide to “downsizing”.

In the introduction, Gail Sheehy (author of “Passages” and other books on social issues) writes that there comes a time in the lives of most adults when they reach a “Second Adulthood”. The children are out of the house; the careers are stable; the home is too large; and the possessions are staggering. It’s time to pare down, to simplify, and to consolidate. To use a common phrase in a new way, “It’s time to lighten up.”

Sheehy doesn’t suggest that we change our way of life. Instead, she suggests that by “lightening up” a mature adult can redirect his attention to living more fully the extended life span he has been blessed with. Regardless of what the media promotes, life is not about possessions and who has the neatest toys. When you are finally “laid out”, it would be better to know that you’ve “…had your day in your time” rather than hope to take comfort in what you owned (notice the pass tense).

In “Rightsizing Your Life”, Ciji Ware helps the reader overcome the fears and frustrations that occur when one rightsizes. Instead of thinking that you are about to give up a prize position or a home, she promotes the freedoms you are gaining. To be a mature adult, free from all the entanglements and trappings of a prior life, is an incredible gift that one must seize while the opportunity is available.

While a devastating hurricane or tornado can make for an immediate rightsizing, most of us must painstakingly plan the process. Ciji suggests a notebook to list the spaces you have (bedrooms, garage, tool shed, storage unit, etc.) and all of the items in each of these spaces. On a separate page, list the spaces you will have when you move, and in each of these spaces, list the items you love and use. The remaining items must be discarded. Ciji suggests that children and relatives be given first choice of the discards, but only if they are willing to take it off your hands immediately. You can no longer be a depository of their cherished items. Give them an ultimatum—take it or lose it.

A few years ago, my wife and I helped her mother rightsize from a large three-bedroom and two-car-garage home to a two-bedroom high-rise condominium. She was ready for the move as the yard work was excessive and kept her homebound while her friends were traveling. For her, being in the right frame of mind made the chore practically painless. She halved her possessions—all except an old vacuum cleaner. I pleaded with her to sell it at her huge garage sale but she insisted on taking it with her. We now joke about it. She gave it up soon after moving as the nap of her new carpet was too thick.

In the author’s concluding chapter, she examines the rightsizing we have already done in our lives. We’ve changed jobs, moved to new locales, seen our children leave home, and dealt with the deaths of close relatives and other loved ones. As we graduate to that “second adulthood”, we have the opportunity to personally direct the rightsizing of our way of life. In that new frame of mine, we can live for “What matter most right now?”

Recent donations to the Library Foundation include those in memory of Edna Loseke from Mr. and Mrs. John McPhail, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kluck, and Mr. and Mrs. Dan Riley. The memory of Ruth Warner was honored by a memorial from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mead. Allen Runge was remembered by a memorial from Mr. and Mrs. Terry Engel and Elizabeth “Betty” Hayek was honored by a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Leon Wragge.
New furnishing—chairs and tables and decorator pieces—are needed for the soon to be remodeled children’s room on the second floor of the Library. Please contact the Library Director should you wish to donate to this long-term project