Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Linda Hetzer (Author), Janet Hulstrand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2004

Filled with tips on how to make the task more manageable, this book shows how you can declutter and bring a sense of order and harmony to your living space.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LINDA HETZER is an editorial consultant and freelance writer whose work has been featured in Good Housekeeping, Cuisine, Food & Wine, and House Beautiful. She is the author of several books, including The Simple Art of Napkin Folding and Rainy Days and Saturdays. Reader's Digest, Time-Life Books, Roundtable Press, and the National Audubon Society are among her clients. She lives in New York with her husband and two children. Editor and writer JANET HULSTRAND'S clients include the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the National Audubon Society, and Workman Publishing. Her work in interdisciplinary arts education has been featured in Humanities Education, and "Paris Through The Eyes of Travelers," the literature course she created in conjunction with Hunter College, is offered each summer in Paris. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang; illustrated edition edition (April 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584793236
• ISBN-13: 978-1584793236
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Downsizing Your Life, June 1, 2004

By 

Terra Wellington (A Syndicated Columnist) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home (Paperback)

These days, a groundbreaking theme is the need to rid yourself of excess and get to substance. Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home by Linda Hetzer and Janet Hulstrand is an excellent resource book for those wanting to move from a bigger home to smaller surroundings, what to do if you're a couple whose children have recently left the nest and you want to downsize, how to clear out the house after a death in the family, or the best way for an elderly parent to get ready to move in with a son or daughter.

In every case, you have to know what to do with the stuff of life, like accumulated family possessions, unneeded household items, and family heirlooms. Moving On has terrific checklists, planning tools, and how to avoid squabbling among relatives.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I'd had this years ago, July 21, 2004

By 

Susan Toth (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home (Paperback)

If only I could have used this book several years ago when my sister and I had to move my mother out of her home of 40 years! Linda Hetzer and Janet Hulstrand are warm, witty writers who get right to the point in this short, concise, and immensely helpful book. Now I'll save it to use myself when it is time for me to move to smaller or different quarters, and I'll advise my daughter to consider it her handbook. This is a much-needed addition to "how-to" books.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coping With Life Changes, February 1, 2006

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home (Paperback)

I was really glad to discover this book. Several friends in their fifties and sixties are coping with clearing out Mom's stuff so she can move into an assisted living facility. Quite a few also have to clear out a lifetime's accumulation of their own, so they can retire and relocate.
Here's the topics covered in chapter one (Planning Ahead, Remembering Who's in Charge, Preparing for the Day, Agreeing on a Family Plan, Dividing Up the Belongings).
Chapter two covers Sorting It Out, Getting Started, Considering Storage, Making It Work. In chapter three it handles the emotional part of downsizing (Preserving Family Heirlooms, Finding Archival Materials, Preserving the Memories Themselves).
Chapter four tells how to turn some of it into cash (Yard Sales, Estate Sales, Auctions, On-Line Auctions, Secondhand Retailers, Selling Direct). Getting rid of the rest is covered in chapter five (Giving It Away to Friends or Family, Donating and Recycling, Throwing Out the Trash).
The book also lists
*Helpful Books and Websites
*Organizations (Professional, Trade, Consumer, & Support Groups)
*Suppliers of Archival Materials
*Donation and Recycling Directory
*A Checklist of Questions to Ask