There’s something about growing older that inspires one to downsize. When I was looking around my home recently, it occurred to me that I did not really need to keep every book I’ve ever read, clothing I haven’t worn in two decades (OK, leg warmers did come back in style!), three muffin tins, two cheesecake springform pans (hands up for anyone who has ever seen me bake a cheesecake), and five pairs of black boots.

So I’ve decided to lighten my load, but even more importantly, not to restock!

I started by looking at the things that have sentimental value. OK, there were my great grandmother’s dishes. In a box. In the basement. Meanwhile, I ate off a matching set of Target dishes. Grandma’s dishes came out of the box in the basement, the Target dishes went to a perfectly good home of someone who needed dishes, and every time I eat I marvel at my beautiful, mismatched dishes.

Further, other sentimental pieces are on their way to my sister-in-law, along with some special treasures for my nephews and some things I plan to give to friends for their birthdays and holidays. Hopefully, they will treasure them and think of me for years to come!


Clothes. I made a rule years ago that every clothing purchase was to be greeted with three departures. Whether sharing them with young staff at work or taking them to thrift stores, I’ve held true to this philosophy and am delighted with my smaller yet happier wardrobe!

Oddly, with less stuff, my life seems more substantial. There’s something about coming home to a tidy house adorned with precious and few belongings that makes one feel settled and happy.

Did you know you can find a happy home for all your “stuff,” from pet supplies, printer cartridges, and prom dresses to wine corks and computers?

In honor of Earth Day, check out this cool website, stuffyoudontwant.com,  and see how you can lighten your load and thus the planet’s!

Create a Wildlife-
Friendly Garden

Spring is the perfect time to create a garden that attracts and helps wildlife! Just be sure to include these key ingredients:
Food: Native forbs, shrubs, and trees will provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds, and nuts that many species of wildlife need to eat. Bird feeders will add choices to the menu as well.
Water: Wildlife need clean water sources for drinking and bathing. This might be a natural feature such as a pond, lake, stream, or wetland, or a human-made feature such as a bird bath or rain garden.
Cover: Shrubs, thickets, brush piles, and even dead trees will give wildlife places to hide in order to feel safe from people, predators, and inclement weather.
A Place to Raise Their Young: Many places for cover can double as locations where wildlife can raise young, such as bushes where butterflies and moths lay their eggs. To attract birds that nest in boxes or bats that eat mosquitoes, search the web for an appropriate house design that you can build.
To learn more about native plants and how to turn your yard into healthy wildlife habitat, visit the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Program at www.nwf.org.