Don't Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move [Paperback]

Vickie Dellaquila (Author), The Word Cellar (Editor), Drawing Conclusions (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2007

Vickie Dellaquila draws on her experience as a professional organizer and senior move manager to share her most valuable tips on downsizing and moving. Here is a book that will help you downsize, organize, and move in an organized, efficient, and caring manner. With her background in healthcare and social services, Vickie brings expertise and warmth to helping seniors face the physical and emotional aspects of moving to a new home. Whether you are a senior embarking on this new chapter of your life or are helping family members or friends downsize and move, this book is your roadmap.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Vickies compassionate approach and insight into the moving and downsizing process gives you the necessary tools to ensure a smooth and satisfying move experience. --Barry J. Izsak, President, National Association of Professional Organizers

This will help you understand that it is not just about stuff , it is also about the memories, emotions, and life stages that stuff represents. --Peg Guild, President of the National Association of Senior Move Managers

A book that guarantees a happy ending! With a heart for seniors and wisdom that can only come from experience, Vickie will expertly guide you down the road to a successful move. --Donna Smallin, Author, The One-Minute Organizer Plain & Simple

About the Author

Vickie Dellaquila is a professional organizer and senior move manager, and president of Organization Rules, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Through her business she has helped many clients de-clutter, organize, and simplify their lives. She uses her background in nursing and social services to help seniors downsize and relocate. Her expertise enables her to answer questions like: I have lived in a five-bedroom, two-story home for the past 47 years and need to downsize and move. How do I start? Vickie is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and a founding member of NAPO Pittsburgh. She is a current board member and marketing director for NAPO Pittsburgh, and a member of both the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD). For more information please visit: www.OrganizationRules.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Publishing; 1st edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978818938
• ISBN-13: 978-0978818937
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't toss this book away! (You're going to need it.), September 2, 2007

By 

Rod Harrington (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move (Paperback)

I'm 61 years old. I live in a big house and have accumulated way more than I ever should have. Someday I'm going to have to downsize and deal with all the "stuff"--or someone will have to do it for me. That's when a book like this become a lifesaver. You couldn't ask for a more practical help.

Whether it's me who has to make the move, or my mom, it's a huge undertaking to even think about (let alone to actually carry out and finish!). A lot of emotion is involved when someone has to leave behind years of keepsakes and memories. What can we take with us? What will we try to sell (and how)? What could we give away? What will we have to throw away? Here's a book with answers--to make it all a little bit easier.

How do I decide it's time to move, or how do I convince my parents it is? Check out Part One. How do I sort through it all? Check out Part Two. What practical things should I be aware of when I move out (and when I move in somewhere else)? Check out Part Three. The book ends with over 25 pages of practical checklists: things that will have to be dealt with, all organized and ready.

The author has very clearly and concisely revealed the wisdom she's accumulated after years as a professional organizer and senior move manager. It's an easy read, a toolbox of experience. Every family should get this.

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very General Introduction to Helping Mom or Dad Move, April 30, 2007

By 

M. Hayes (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move (Paperback)

I ordered this book with high hopes that I would get useful insights from a professional organizer about how to help my 92-year old father move from the family home he has lived in for 60 years. I was disappointed to find a very generalized approach with little specific detail or tips and techniques that I could use. Rather than passing along her insights as a professional organizer, the author simply promotes the idea of hiring a professional organizer to help with the move. Many people do have the financial resources to hire a professional organizer nor access to one if they do not live in a populated area. Therefore, they rely on resources such as books to help them through the process. Unfortunately this book isn't a resource that will provide the required help.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Downsizing possessions is a battleground or at least a minefield, August 15, 2007

By 

Dana Jenkins (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move (Paperback)

This amazing book fills a specific void in the decluttering realm- that of providing practical downsizing advice and solutions for seniors (or anyone, for that matter) moving into smaller quarters.
The first part of the book focuses on reaching an agreement that someone, most likely an elder parent, has to move, and this is usually after a lifetime of accumulating possessions. Dellaquila emphasizes, whenever possible, involving those who are moving. Participation in decision-making is the most important part, emotionally and psychologically. The stage is set for control dramas and unpleasant confrontations between generations even in the best of circumstances.
The middle of the book details many of the nuts and bolts of moving, such as how to decrease possessions, categorizing what to keep and ways to part with things that once generated memories of life in the past. This section addresses such topics as what to keep and how to dispose of different items (which arguably are unique to each family).
The last part of the book is a set of resources and checklists for moving, valuable to anyone relocating their household.
This book gives an excellent overview of what to expect as a member of the sandwich generation, those responsible for their parents' quality of life in their later years. It will also be an eye-opener for those who, as they live longer and longer, have to plan for this latter stage of their lives.