*The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler and Scout Productions* A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.
A warm, heartfelt memoir of family, loss, and a house jam-packed with decades of goods and memories. After almost twenty years of caring for elderly parents—first for their senile father, and then for their cantankerous ninety-three-year old mother—author Plum Johnson and her three younger brothers have finally fallen to their middle-aged knees with conflicted feelings of grief and relief. Now they must empty and sell the beloved family home, twenty-three rooms bulging with history, antiques, and oxygen tanks. Plum thought: How tough will that be? I know how to buy garbage bags. But the task turns out to be much harder and more rewarding than she ever imagined. Items from childhood trigger difficult memories of her eccentric family growing up in the 1950s and ’60s, but unearthing new facts about her parents helps her reconcile those relationships, with a more accepting perspective about who they were and what they valued. They Left Us Everything is a funny, touching memoir about the importance of preserving family history to make sense of the past, and nurturing family bonds to safeguard the future.
*The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler* Dostadning, or the art of death cleaning, is a Swedish phenomenon by which the elderly and their families set their affairs in order. Whether it’s sorting the family heirlooms from the junk, downsizing to a smaller place, or using a failsafe system to stop you losing essentials, death cleaning gives us the chance to make the later years of our lives as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Whatever your age, Swedish death cleaning can be used to help you de-clutter your life, and take stock of what’s important. Radical and joyous, eighty-something Margareta Magnusson’s guide is an invigorating, touching and surprising process that can help you or someone you love immeasurably, and offers the chance to celebrate and reflect on all the tiny joys that make up a long life along the way. Dostadning was previously published in hardback as The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.
In Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success, author Meg Selig guides readers through a step-by-step process that will help them achieve any habit change goal. Whether the reader wants to break a hurtful habit like smoking or overeating, or build a healthy habit like exercising or speaking up, Changepower! provides a springboard for change. Selig helps habit-changers move beyond willpower and succeed with changepower - the synergy that comes from combining willpower with other resources, useful outside supports, and wise strategies. In Changepower!, she shows habit-changers how to beef up both their willpower and their changepower to achieve habit change success. The key is revving up motivation. Selig reveals the most powerful motivators for change - pain motivators, the Eight Great Motivators, and even not-so-noble motivators. Research has shown that most changes take place in stages rather than overnight. Selig provides a step-by-step plan for each stage, leaving plenty of room for flexibility depending on each person’s needs. First-person stories, pithy quotes, and how-to exercises provide inspiration, humor, and encouragement as readers embark on their habit change journeys.
Why is it that even the most disorganised person never seems to lose their toothbrush? How can this simple fact solve all our clutter problems? The Toothbrush Principle is a simple yet inspired approach to de-cluttering your home. Whether you live in a mansion or a bedsit, this book will show you how to: organise according to the unconscious blueprint that naturally tidy people have, so that getting and staying organised is easy; know what to throw away with confidence; set up your wardrobe so you get much more use out of the clothes you have; work from home productively in a clear, designated space; tame your inbox! Step-by-step, room-by-room, you'll soon find that you hardly ever lose things, massive clear outs become a thing of the past and you never spend more than 10 minutes a day tidying up. So stop drowning in piles of clutter, learn how to be organised and start creating space to live out the life of your dreams!
Life is a journey and like most of journeys leaves behind emotional memories as well A LOT of stuffy clutter... Time to get back your living spaces has come! Learn how to free yourself from useless personal belongings by downsizing and organizing your home in just 10 minutes a day per 30 days! Because your happiness is that of your loved ones... How many times entering your house, office or any other living space of your day-to-day activities, find yourself pretending not to see ALL THAT MESS around you? The room just doesn't feel as spacious as it used to, you might think... Would you like to do something (maybe tomorrow?) but the memories (and laziness...) connected to those things will just hold you... Everyone's life, for different reasons, leads us to buy, receive and gather an incredible amount of things. Things, which over time broke, were no longer used and then set aside. This is why these accumulate on the bottom of the wardrobes, in the closets, on the shelves of bookcases and in any corner of our house. But one day someone will have to throw them away...and rest assured that this won't be an easy nor emotionless task to your loved ones... The practice of starting to clean up yours stuff as you approach your later years is quite common in Scandinavia, where it is lived without embarrassment or taboo, but rather as a sign of great civilization. This noble practice, the Swedish Death Cleaning that has come to the forefront in recent years, provides you with a systematic approach and most effective strategies to get rid of your mess by decluttering your life, home and living spaces, making your later stages as smooth and stress-free as possible. Contrary to what one might think, the conceptual framework behind the Swedish Death Cleaning is in itself not limited to a specific age alone, as persons of different ages can also learn from its concept of minimalism and live a clutter-free life. Designed, optimized and arranged in a 30 days challenge, this workbook will provide you with unmatched daily step-by-step guide taking you through the whole process of death cleaning in just 10 minutes a day. You'll get access to easy and proven day-by-day best practices that will exactly shows you the activities and exercises to be carried out, as well as when and how to perform them. All this by helping you with the essential and powerful daily checklists featured in this book to assist you implementing your decluttering process to a healthy and happy life. Here is what you'll learn: Introduction to the noble art of Death Cleaning, what is it and the importance of starting it to a Happier Life regardless of age; The importance of decluttering in the Stress and Financial management; Tips and strategies to declutter your useless stuff overcoming clutter emotions; Stop hoarding unnecessary items and live an essential and happier life; The detailed 30 days challenge that will guide you through a step-by-step process to declutter your life, day by day, week by week, room by room and item by item; Learn and apply mind decluttering techniques; You know it's time to take responsibility for the things you own taking care of them before they become a burden to your friends and family. Always remember that what your loved ones will need are your memories not just piled junks! Are you ready to get rid of clutter once and for all? Don't let things take control of your life! Scroll up and hit the BUY NOW button and join the 30 days Challenge to get back your life!
America’s top cleaning expert and star of the hit series Legacy List with Matt Paxton distills his fail-proof approach to decluttering and downsizing. 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.
Testimonial: Mala and her youthful energy, even though she is a grandmother, is proof that she practices the thoughtful and knowledgeable insights that she has given in her book “Grow Younger”. The book has valuable wisdom and I believe in most of the guidance shared by her. In fact I practice them myself. I think this book is a useful read for everyone, not just those who think they are getting older. - MILKHA SINGH About the book “Age is just a number.” “Sixty is the new forty.” “You are as young as you think.” Everyone has heard these catch-phrases sometime or the other. People utter them to sound cool, and perhaps, younger. But when people say such things, do they know what they really mean? Grow Younger tells the story of one woman who lived and still lives a youthful life. However, this book is not only about her life. It is also about your life; why you should and how you can live a youthful life. Written with an infectious conviction, the book is peppered with practical, sensible and common-sensical advice on how to think, act, feel and be younger. It shows you that counting your blessings matters more than counting the number of candles on your birthday cake.
Gabriel Olsson is falling in love. From the moment I saw Lily Larson—lost in the middle of campus—I knew she was a golden girl. She’s blessed with charm, beauty, and confidence. Yet out of all the guys in this small Swedish town, she chose me. I’m not questioning why because Lily is my sunshine in the dark Nordic night. She awakens a romantic side I didn’t know I possessed. Everything was perfect until the day she left, when my awkwardness made our break-up especially painful. Now Lily won’t even talk to me. My one slim chance to win her back is a hockey try-out in her hometown in Canada. But to get there I’ll have to polish my rusty goaltending skills and—hardest of all—leave the family that I’ve been holding together for five years. Even then, there’s a chance that all my sacrifices will mean nothing. But I must try because Lily is worth it. This global hockey romance is the fifth book in the Vancouver Vice series, but can be enjoyed as a freestanding book.
Do you feel frazzled? Frantic? Fearful you haven't got enough? In a world obsessed with more, where potential is maximised, and busyness is glorified, another reality also exists: we all have limits - and many of us are living at the edge of them. Why Less Means More shows you how saying no to one thing might mean saying yes to something far better. What would it look like to pursue less success and more significance? To live with less complexity and more clarity? To chase less of the 'extraordinary' and celebrate more of the 'ordinary' moments that make up an extraordinary life? Cathy Madavan, accomplished author and speaker, invites you to leave your fear and franticness behind and discover more space, simplicity and the truth that less really can lead to more.
