Fostering the right solutions & connections
for more than 33 years
for more than 33 years
Join us for a live & interactive discussion with Lisa Geraci Rigoni, a professional organizer, move manager and the author of 17 Spatulas and the Man Who Fried an Egg. Lisa has contemplated why we keep accumulating and holding on to objects and at what point stuff becomes clutter. She will share the culmination of decades of lessons and conversations with her clients, with the goal to make letting go less stressful and more insightful.
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Questions Asked:
Chat Transcript
12:13:07 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Positive Aging Community Champions that can help with moving and downsizing https://www.retirementlivingsourcebook.com/search_results?sid=31&tid=15
12:13:25 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Get Your Copy of
17 Spatulas and the Man Who Fried an Egg
Reclaim Your Space Mentally and Physically https://theorganizingmentors.com/book/
12:13:29 From Cheryl Henderson : Will the recording be available? If so, where? Thanks.
12:14:06 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Recording chat and podcast will be available this afternoon at https://www.retirementlivingsourcebook.com/
12:14:19 From Jan Brito to Hosts and panelists : Jan Brito, Capital Senior Solutions, a division of Brito Associates of Compass, specializing in helping older adults make late in life move decisions through free monthly seminars on topics of interest including Tax, Legal & Financial Issues, Downsizing Made Easy, Communicating with Adult Children, Leaving a Legacy and more. capitalseniorsolutions.com. 301-646-5774 jan.brito@compass.com
12:14:30 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From Jan Brito to All Panelists 12:14 PM
Jan Brito, Capital Senior Solutions, a division of Brito Associates of Compass, specializing in helping older adults make late in life move decisions through free monthly seminars on topics of interest including Tax, Legal & Financial Issues, Downsizing Made Easy, Communicating with Adult Children, Leaving a Legacy and more. capitalseniorsolutions.com. 301-646-5774 jan.brito@compass.com
12:17:57 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : The LITL System
STEP 1: Let It Go | What items can you let go of? Start with what you know you don’t want or need anymore.
STEP 2: Intentional | This is the step that can stop you in your tracks – the part where psychology comes into play.
STEP 3: Transform Your Space | This is your moment to reflect on what you’ve accomplished.
STEP 4: Love It / Live It! | The space surrounding you will be a truer representation of who you are, and living within that space becomes uplifting and empowering. You’ll love it, and you’ll love living in it!
12:23:18 From paula david to Hosts and panelists : We are day 8 in our kitchen gut and remodel. I really need this. I spent 6 weeks packing the kitchen and "library". I threw away a lot and donated a lot and still have a lot.
12:24:24 From paula david to Hosts and panelists : Funny, I found one of our original spatulas (our family household is almost 40 years) so I took a picture of it. It looked a lot like the book cover.
12:24:50 From Linda Perretta : please show the book cover again
12:25:11 From Tiffany Benton to Hosts and panelists : My friend and I just talked about yesterday was this topic. The tension between hanging on to what we think is valuable, either due to the history, or the monetary value, or because it can be used for something/someone one day, and the freedom that comes from letting those things go.
12:25:12 From Kathleen Steed to Hosts and panelists : Can you explain the meaning of “The Stuff About Your Stuff Is Not About Your Stuff.”
12:25:30 From Lisa Cook to Hosts and panelists : Hi Lisa, my parents accumulated very unique German antique furniture from the 1800’s and from a castle. It’s very nonfunctional and uncomfortable. Any advice on how to sell it or give it to an org that would appreciate it? The German embassy does not want it - they have modern furniture there. Thanks!
12:26:28 From Irene Hantman to Hosts and panelists : My late physician husband collected more than 1000 doctor figurines over the course of his 40-year career. I would like to find a better, more useful place for them. Any ideas? Do you need any for your own mantlepiece?
12:27:33 From Lisa Cook to Hosts and panelists : PS - our family has had this furniture 60+ years so it does have emotional strings attached. Thanks again!
12:27:44 From Susan Albert : Advice to handle the psychology of getting rid of mother's and grandmother's stuff that I just don't want, but it breaks my heart to get rid of it.
12:28:25 From Shanti Subramanian to Hosts and panelists : Can you send Lisa’s website again please
12:29:42 From Barbara Tourtelot : Oh, Susan, yes!
12:29:45 From paula david to Hosts and panelists : Yes, yes, packed some "junk". I had a trip to Iceland in there so yea, not continuous packing kitchen. I labeled very well so if I can throw/donate an entire box without opening.
12:30:36 From Tiffany Benton to Hosts and panelists : I felt tremendous guilt getting rid of my deceased grandmothers collection of lace doilies, and all the handmade items from my mother that she sent me from Germany over the years. But when I finally was forced to downsize to 200+ sq ft, it was the most freeing thing. My mother was more understanding than I thought, and the truth was that she din’t want the items either, but didn’t have the heart to get rid of them, so she passed them on to me. They burdened me sitting in boxes in the closet. I just didn’t know it.
12:31:16 From Laura Kane : Yes, Susan. That's one of my huge barriers.
12:31:59 From Elizabeth Magallon Fleury : Thank you so much for this.
12:31:59 From Adele Logan-Galen : Susan: your parents wouldn't want you overwhelmed with their stuff. They would want you to be happy. I am currently working with a woman who has a huge storage unit filled with boxes of her parents' belongings. We are donating most of it and giving away to relatives most of the other items. Feel free to call me. Adele Logan-Galen, Smooth Move Managers, 571-230-5702, www.smoothmovemanagers.com. Good luck!
12:32:50 From Adele Logan-Galen : Susan, ask Lisa this question. She'll have a lot of excellent feedback!
12:33:08 From Susan Albert : I'm hoping Steve asks her.
12:33:21 From Louisa Horne : Yes but... the beautiful china etc that NOBODY, even donation places, want. What alternatives are there to the dump?
12:34:15 From Laura Tressler : Are there any resources on the Eastern Shore?
12:34:23 From Adele Logan-Galen : Refugee groups or shelters may need the china. Battered women homes?
12:34:41 From Laura Tressler : For this type of organizing, mentoring?
12:34:46 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : Also recommend donating china and such to charities such as A Wider Circle, Society for Prevention of Blindness thrift shop, etc.
12:35:02 From Janet Gritz : My husband is a coin collector and could help people determine value of coins.
12:35:05 From Louisa Horne : I recently took a truck load to a special Ukraine donation place and they specifically said " we do NOT take buffet/hutch or china!"
12:35:21 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Lisa@theorganizingmentors.com
12:35:37 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : Isabelle Mélèse-d'Hospital, Ph.D.
Owner & Founder, Tournesol Services, LLC
Email: tournesolservices@gmail.com
Phone: 202-306-6900
Website: www.tournesolservices.com
Providing affordable senior concierge and personal assistant services; flexible, non-clinical support for you or a loved one. De-stress your life and "Turn to Tournesol!"
Visit Tournesol Services on YELP, FACEBOOK and LINKED IN!
12:35:54 From Carly Schwartz to Hosts and panelists : We are also a senior move management company called Labor of Love in the Montgomery county, DC, Anne Arundel county area! 301-717-1747 or sendtokathy@gmail.com
12:36:16 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL to Hosts and panelists : Project Restore (Habitat for Humanity)
12:39:07 From Elaine Honig : Resource to donate/sell Yamaha upright piano?
12:39:16 From carol loewecke to Hosts and panelists : Is the book in paper form?
12:39:27 From Nancy Napolitano : Donate to a school
12:39:44 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : OMG, pianos are SO hard to offload!! Any suggestions y’all?
12:39:44 From Anna Lieber to Hosts and panelists : I have trouble getting pick ups from charities in NYC for my clients as Salvation Army & Goodwill no longer pick up here. Housing Works will only pick up antique or midcentury furniture of value. But you can bring in a shopping cart full to Goodwill or Housing Works. I often help clients with this. You can call me 718-930-8111 or email me annalieber@gmail.com for ideas of other places to donate.
12:39:57 From Gloria Levin : The book is available via Hoopla. Check your public library's website.
12:40:22 From Kitty Janney to Hosts and panelists : I also think it’s a control issue - when we were downsizing, my husband put my practically new bread maker in the car to donate and when I said STOP, WAIT, I am going to make bread today - he said that if I let him take it to donate then he would buy me a brand new, top of the line bread maker the next time I wanted to make bread - that was 3 years ago - and still no interest in making bread. Just knowing that I could get a new one made it easy for me to let it go.
12:40:28 From Beth Barnett to Hosts and panelists : Piano - give to someone who will pick it up. Post on neighborhood listserv. Likely it will go to someone whose child is learning to play piano.
12:40:51 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Artifcts is where ‘stuff' and stories meet, because otherwise stuff is just stuff. Our web and mobile app make it easy to capture the meaning of any object in a private collection, freeing you to decide what’s next: share, store, preserve, insure, sell, donate? It’s up to you! Your stories. https://artifcts.com/ use proaging for a discount
12:41:14 From Mary McCullegan to Hosts and panelists : I love the idea of recycling the love!!
12:41:30 From Martha Cooper to Hosts and panelists : Pianos can be donated to some piano movers. I can’t remember the name. But was relieved for the future.
12:41:30 From Laura Quigley : Recycling the LOVE! What a wonderful expression! Thank you
12:41:38 From Julie Cramer : Even schools, churches around here will NOT take pianos.
12:41:47 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Our previous discussions https://www.retirementlivingsourcebook.com/videos?q=moving+&+downsizing
12:41:52 From Adele Logan-Galen : Lisa: do you have a list of charities you donate to, on your website?
12:41:54 From Cynthia Taylor : Take pictures & tell the story
12:41:59 From Susan Albert : Thanks!
12:43:03 From Kathleen Steed to Hosts and panelists : How about “Buy Nothing” or “FreeCycle?” People seem to take everything.
12:43:10 From Lisa Cook to Hosts and panelists : Can you please tell us how to find organizations that will take things that are hard to get rid of like unique antiques that Habitat’s Restore or Salvation Army won’t take?
12:43:32 From Lisa Cook to Hosts and panelists : Several have asked this question - thanks.
12:44:39 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From Tiffany Benton to All Panelists 12:30 PM
I felt tremendous guilt getting rid of my deceased grandmothers collection of lace doilies, and all the handmade items from my mother that she sent me from Germany over the years. But when I finally was forced to downsize to 200+ sq ft, it was the most freeing thing. My mother was more understanding than I thought, and the truth was that she din’t want the items either, but didn’t have the heart to get rid of them, so she passed them on to me. They burdened me sitting in boxes in the closet. I just didn’t know it.
12:45:13 From Dixcy Bosley to Hosts and panelists : Folks are truly burdened by their love of their possessions which does not love them back. The excessive wealth and pathologic consumption of this region is real. Homes are expanding in size and storage companies are on every block. What is this really about???
12:47:19 From Irene Hantman : Any ideas? My late physician husband collected hundreds of fascinating doctor figurines over the course of his long career. I would like to find a better place for them.
(Do you need any for yourself?????)
12:48:09 From Cynthia Taylor : HI Sadie
12:48:22 From Kitty Janney to Hosts and panelists : I work for Ararity Services and we offer Auction services
12:48:28 From Beth Barnett to Hosts and panelists : What is resource for women? Lisa mentioned it as a place to donate.
12:48:31 From Kathleen Steed to Hosts and panelists : If a single item is worth more than $5,000, an organization such as Sotheby’s will consider it for auction.
12:49:07 From Sandra Burford : Check with Replacements.com - they help people fill in their collections
12:49:08 From Elaine Honig : Goodwill will take china.
12:49:13 From paula david to Hosts and panelists : China....my daughter works as activity director at an assisted living and has tea parties regularly
12:50:07 From Dan Bennett to Hosts and panelists : Post on Facebook market as make offer if you don’t know what the value is
12:50:46 From Beth Barnett to Hosts and panelists : Someone advised me to give nice china and serving pieces to faith communities that serve refugees — they have given up all of their possessions to come here.
12:50:53 From Mari Anne Hamilton : Crafters and artists can sometimes use old china, jewelry and doilies. A friend connected different doilies together and used a tree branch as the hanging rod to have a window “screen” that lets light into her living room. I bought an outdoor side table with mosaic china.
12:50:56 From Anna Lieber to Hosts and panelists : Some antique shops take better china. Also check flea market vendors in your area.
12:51:27 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : FaceBook MarketPlace can be dangerous….especially for seniors. Please be CAREFUL!
12:51:39 From Mary McCullegan : Event planners or B&B's may be able to use nice china, etc as well.
12:51:44 From Anna Lieber to Hosts and panelists : Doyle Auction House in NY told me recently that quality brown furniture is back.
12:52:16 From Anna Lieber to Hosts and panelists : Also sterling silver is saleable.
12:52:42 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : I like to use my neighborhood listserv and Buy Nothing Facebook Group. Smaller and more personal than FB Market or Craigslist, somewhat safer.
12:52:45 From Cynthia Taylor : There are professionals that do everything if you want to sale on eBay
12:54:33 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL to All Panelists 12:36 PM
Project Restore (Habitat for Humanity)
12:55:01 From Leslie McTyre : Careful with anything on the internet: scammers will offer to pay for your mailing costs with either stolen or false checks which yu then get in trouble for with your bank.
12:55:03 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From Anna Lieber to All Panelists 12:52 PM
Doyle Auction House in NY told me recently that quality brown furniture is back.
Also sterling silver is saleable.
12:55:27 From Janet Gritz : We donated our player piano to a nursing home or to a senior center
12:55:30 From Tiffany Benton to Hosts and panelists : Or partner with the piano teachers, so they can refer the student’s parents who are looking for their kids
12:55:38 From Nancy Napolitano : Need to jump off but THANK YOU! I needed this today.
12:56:05 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From Kathleen Steed to All Panelists 12:48 PM
If a single item is worth more than $5,000, an organization such as Sotheby’s will consider it for auction.
12:56:49 From Adele Logan-Galen : Great webinar!! Thanks Steve and Lisa. :)
12:56:57 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : Mid-Century Modern is super popular…
12:58:19 From Kathleen Steed to Hosts and panelists : How abut a medical school for their library or archives?
12:58:32 From Sandra Burford : Doctor figurines - check with the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia
12:58:48 From Mari Anne Hamilton : There are medical museums and libraries that might be interested in displaying.
12:58:52 From Jan Brito : Great info. Thanks Lisa and Steve!
12:59:05 From Irene Hantman to Hosts and panelists : Brilliant!
12:59:34 From Lisa Cook : Anyone have any ideas who might want 1800’s antique furniture from a German Castle? We checked the German Embassy - they have modern furniture. Thanks.
12:59:43 From Anna Lieber : As a NYC organizer, I work with my clients to donate. Contact me for ideas. Anna Lieber 718-930-8111. annalieber@gmail.com
13:00:02 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : From Dixcy Bosley to All Panelists 12:45 PM
Folks are truly burdened by their love of their possessions which does not love them back. The excessive wealth and pathologic consumption of this region is real. Homes are expanding in size and storage companies are on every block. What is this really about???
13:00:45 From Mari Anne Hamilton : I donate Hummel, Lladro and other collections in single or lots to many silent benefit auctions and raffles and they are much appreciated.
13:00:56 From Leslie McTyre : Thanks - always great!!
13:01:13 From Steve Gurney - ProAging Community : Cynthia Taylor 01:00 PM
storage facilities are a 70billion $ industry
13:01:32 From Anna Lieber : Sterling silver is saleable & I’m told by Doyle Auction House that quality brown wood furniture is back in style.
13:01:38 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : What about the emotional emptiness we are trying to fill with material objects?
13:02:23 From Elaine Honig : I have a theory that you spend the first 50 years of your life collecting stuff and the second half of your life getting rid of it!!
13:03:55 From Dixcy Bosley to Hosts and panelists : Appreciate your thoughtful , nonjudgmental response to a very serious problem
13:04:14 From Anna Lieber : I’ve worked with many people who have too much stuff. If you have the space & can find everything it works, if not evaluate to keep the best.
13:05:08 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : Interior Designers - may be able to guide someone with eclectic items like German castle furniture, etc.
13:05:18 From Tom DeMuth : Thanks Lisa and Steve - great discussion!
13:05:22 From Maryann Rozzell : Want to pass along several 3gallon BPA free water bottles but don’t know where to donate them!!
13:05:24 From Beth Barnett to Hosts and panelists : Thank you Lisa
13:05:50 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL : Excellent webinar, thanks Lisa and Steve & Everyone!!
13:05:51 From Sandra Burford : Absolutely!
13:05:54 From Dixcy Bosley to Hosts and panelists : Excellent idea Steve…
13:06:28 From Victoria Hathaway : Yep re: storage units. Rip the bandaid off whenever possible. My poor dad had 12 years of 12 months of storage payments…what we kept out of it did not fill the back of my SUV. What a waste.
13:07:41 From Barbara Marple to Hosts and panelists : Session started slow but finally got to the meat of the challenge nearly half way through. Thank you Lisa and Steve
13:07:42 From Kitty Janney to Hosts and panelists : Thank you Steve and Lisa!
13:07:44 From Kathleen Steed : Terrific!
13:07:44 From ISABELLE MELESE-D'HOSPITAL to Hosts and panelists : Silver Spring Village would probably love to have Lisa!
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