320 page
Published February 2022 by Penguin Publishing Group
Publisher's Summary:
Your boxes of photos, family’s china, and even the kids' height charts aren’t just stuff; they’re attached to a lifetime of memories—and letting them go can be scary. With empathy, expertise, and humor, Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, written in collaboration with AARP, helps you sift through years of clutter, let go of what no longer serves you, and identify the items worth keeping so that you can focus on living in the present.
For over 20 years, Matt Paxton has helped people from all walks of life who want to live more simply declutter and downsize. As a featured cleaner on Hoarders and host of the Emmy-nominated Legacy List with Matt Paxton on PBS, he has identified the psychological roadblocks that most organizational experts routinely miss but that prevent so many of us from lightening our material load. Using poignant stories from the thousands of individuals and families he has worked with, Paxton brings his signature insight to a necessary task.
Whether you’re tired of living with clutter, making space for a loved one, or moving to a smaller home or retirement community, this book is for you. Paxton’s unique, step-by-step process gives you the tools you need to get the job done.
My Thoughts:
You all know how I'm all about trying to find ways to declutter and organize my home so you'll also know that I'm always on the look out for books that will help me in that process. When Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) recommended this book, I immediately requested it from the library.
Can I just tell you how much I wish I had read this book when it first came out? It would have made such a difference when it came time, in the summer of 2022, to begin clearing out my parents' home of 50+ years in preparation for my dad's move. In fact the big take away from this book is in the title - the things you have are not what's important, it's the memories those things stir that are what matters.
I wish we would have spent more time asking my dad about the memories different things brought up and I wish I would have known about the Legacy List at that time. There's a lot of great information in this book for people who are looking to downsize or people who, like me, have to move their parent(s) out of a home they've lived in for a long time. In fact, there's a lot of great information for anyone who is getting ready to downsize and move for any reason, a lot of information on how to decide what to keep, how to find professionals to help with the processes, a lot of information on what steps to take and what order to take them in and all of it would make a great resource to have on hand.
For me, for now at least, I'm not in the point in my life where this book is as helpful as it might be in another ten years (or, as I said, a couple of years ago). I'm not ready to become a minimalist nor to get rid of 90% of my photos. I have great respect for professionals who can offer valuable assistance in helping others (myself included) reduce the amount of stuff they have. But I sometimes feel like many of them push for a minimalist lifestyle that doesn't suit everyone. Still, there's a lot here that anyone can learn from, particularly those who are making a change in their lives.
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