What do you think?
Rate this book
Kicking the Bucket List: 100 Downsizing & Organizing Things to Do Before You Die
The Ultimate Bucket List
Every single day, approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 from now until 2029 (They comprise 26% of the U.S. population). Eventually, 100% of them will die, leaving their possessions, financials, and funeral plans in the hands of their spouse or kids – if they have them. Yet less than 30% of U.S. adults have done any end-of-life planning, and that’s a problem.
How can this Silver Tsunami generation avoid leaving a disorganized mess? KICKING THE BUCKET 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die helps adults clear their clutter, firm up their financials and leave the world a better place.
KICKING THE BUCKET LIST shows you how
•Tackle downsizing without being overwhelmed
•Evaluate what to keep, toss, donate and recycle
•Creatively remove excess goods from your home
•Manage your finances for today and tomorrow
•Organize your funeral and create your legacy
The 128-page book, to be available in paperback and eBook formats, is a quick, easy read, with colorful photographs and bonus online information. Each of the 100 Bucket List items include links to helpful internet articles that expand on each point. The book, the eighth title in the Bucket List series, supports the work of the nonprofit National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Hospice Foundation.
Author Gail Rubin, CT, is a Certified Thanatologist (a death educator) who uses humor and funny films to help teach about end-of-life issues. She wrote the award-winning A Good Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and Hail and Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips. She also writes The Family Plot Blog at www.AGoodGoodbye.com.
Every single day, approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 from now until 2029 (They comprise 26% of the U.S. population). Eventually, 100% of them will die, leaving their possessions, financials, and funeral plans in the hands of their spouse or kids – if they have them. Yet less than 30% of U.S. adults have done any end-of-life planning, and that’s a problem.
How can this Silver Tsunami generation avoid leaving a disorganized mess? KICKING THE BUCKET 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die helps adults clear their clutter, firm up their financials and leave the world a better place.
KICKING THE BUCKET LIST shows you how
•Tackle downsizing without being overwhelmed
•Evaluate what to keep, toss, donate and recycle
•Creatively remove excess goods from your home
•Manage your finances for today and tomorrow
•Organize your funeral and create your legacy
The 128-page book, to be available in paperback and eBook formats, is a quick, easy read, with colorful photographs and bonus online information. Each of the 100 Bucket List items include links to helpful internet articles that expand on each point. The book, the eighth title in the Bucket List series, supports the work of the nonprofit National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Hospice Foundation.
Author Gail Rubin, CT, is a Certified Thanatologist (a death educator) who uses humor and funny films to help teach about end-of-life issues. She wrote the award-winning A Good Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and Hail and Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips. She also writes The Family Plot Blog at www.AGoodGoodbye.com.
- GenresNonfiction
231 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2016
14 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Gail Rubin
12 books5 followersGail Rubin, CT, is the author of the award-winning books A GOOD GOODBYE: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die; KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die; and HAIL AND FAREWELL: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips.
She is a death educator who uses funny films to help start serious conversations. Gail is a pioneer of the Death Cafe movement in the U.S. and is a Certified Funeral Celebrant. In addition to her books, she contributes articles to funeral trade magazines and writes The Family Plot Blog. She is a breast cancer survivor, a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA).
Earlier in her writing career, she wrote A Girl's Pocket Guide to Trouser Trout: Reflections on Dating and Fly-Fishing. The book was a winner in the Humor Category of the 2004 Book of the Year Award.
She is a death educator who uses funny films to help start serious conversations. Gail is a pioneer of the Death Cafe movement in the U.S. and is a Certified Funeral Celebrant. In addition to her books, she contributes articles to funeral trade magazines and writes The Family Plot Blog. She is a breast cancer survivor, a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA).
Earlier in her writing career, she wrote A Girl's Pocket Guide to Trouser Trout: Reflections on Dating and Fly-Fishing. The book was a winner in the Humor Category of the 2004 Book of the Year Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 24, 2022
As the title suggests, this is an end-of-life bucket list of 100 things to do now that will reduce stress, minimize conflict, and save money for your family after your death. The book is written in a list format with each entry comprising about two paragraphs followed by a link to an internet article with more information. About half of the tips deal with organizing your possessions and the other half deal with planning for the end of your life.
Although it’s marketed toward the older adult who may be thinking of getting their affairs in order before the end of their life, there are plenty of tips that can be utilized by anyone looking to downsize and clear out clutter. It’s a great resource for people who don’t want to just throw stuff out, but are looking to donate or otherwise find new homes for perfectly good items. Got old eyeglasses stashed in a corner of a drawer? Consider donating them to the Lions Club Lions Recycle for Sight eyeglass recycling program. Vintage clothing or old furniture might be put to good use with a local theater group.
There are great tips for the paperwork side of things too. One nice reminder was not to forget your online accounts and to have a plan in place for someone to handle your digital affairs. From canceling online payments to shutting down email accounts, your online life is something to be considered when planning for the inevitable.
Remember, you can’t take it with you, and you don’t want the remnants of your life to be a burden for someone else. So take action now to get your life and your death in order.
Although it’s marketed toward the older adult who may be thinking of getting their affairs in order before the end of their life, there are plenty of tips that can be utilized by anyone looking to downsize and clear out clutter. It’s a great resource for people who don’t want to just throw stuff out, but are looking to donate or otherwise find new homes for perfectly good items. Got old eyeglasses stashed in a corner of a drawer? Consider donating them to the Lions Club Lions Recycle for Sight eyeglass recycling program. Vintage clothing or old furniture might be put to good use with a local theater group.
There are great tips for the paperwork side of things too. One nice reminder was not to forget your online accounts and to have a plan in place for someone to handle your digital affairs. From canceling online payments to shutting down email accounts, your online life is something to be considered when planning for the inevitable.
Remember, you can’t take it with you, and you don’t want the remnants of your life to be a burden for someone else. So take action now to get your life and your death in order.
August 30, 2016
What an amazing little book (121 pages). Gail Rubin provides 100 suggestions to not only get you ready for the end, but will get you so organized you'll be totally shocked. Here are my favorites: #86 Sort your stuff using the Ohio Rule (Only Handle It Once), #74 Regift Gifts, #71 Mix old meds with kitty litter or coffee grounds, #63 and #62 Sell or give your stuff away online, #51 Stop Junk Mail, my wife is working on this right now! Some of these suggestions are common sense, but there were some even I never thought of and I'm very organized. This is an excellent book for a person of any age to read and to live by.
September 16, 2017
Not so much a book as an assemblage of content.
Not necessarily a bad thing. What's frustrating here is that so much of this material either refers back to the internet or was taken from the internet, which begs the question, why not just use the internet? Print books, of course, make it easier to collate said internet information, and for people who need this particular kind of advice, having it in one place will definitely be helpful. Still, this is a personal purchase rather than a library add, as the same material has been covered adequately elsewhere.
Now, ALL THAT being said, this really is a useful little book if you're serious about getting your act together before the final curtain falls, and don't feel like reading a big-old book. Bite-sized chunks of advice in list order help you go step by step through the long, uncomfortable process of tidying up your estate so your poor heirs won't be left with a hot mess. The sections on how to find appraisers for things, for example, are tasks most people either don't think of or haven't a clue how to start. The heavy lifts -- funeral planning and will/medical directive writing -- are covered at length, but tiny details are given sufficient care as well. I'm giving Rubin bonus points for the section on how to plan for your pets, including the very sage advice not to adopt another furbaby if there's even a ghost of a chance you might outlive it. Anyone looking out for the critters is all right by me.
Ahem. There's a nice bibliography of internet resources to explore at the back, plus a checklist for executors, just in case you get stuck with that duty on the way to your own funeral, of course, but it's also helpful in giving you a glimpse of what your family and friends will have to deal with, and will hopefully motivate you to get your butt in gear. If you just want something quick and dirty and you don't mind the look of an obviously self-published book, this is a fine choice. Recommended for small libraries with small budgets, as a gap-filler.
Not necessarily a bad thing. What's frustrating here is that so much of this material either refers back to the internet or was taken from the internet, which begs the question, why not just use the internet? Print books, of course, make it easier to collate said internet information, and for people who need this particular kind of advice, having it in one place will definitely be helpful. Still, this is a personal purchase rather than a library add, as the same material has been covered adequately elsewhere.
Now, ALL THAT being said, this really is a useful little book if you're serious about getting your act together before the final curtain falls, and don't feel like reading a big-old book. Bite-sized chunks of advice in list order help you go step by step through the long, uncomfortable process of tidying up your estate so your poor heirs won't be left with a hot mess. The sections on how to find appraisers for things, for example, are tasks most people either don't think of or haven't a clue how to start. The heavy lifts -- funeral planning and will/medical directive writing -- are covered at length, but tiny details are given sufficient care as well. I'm giving Rubin bonus points for the section on how to plan for your pets, including the very sage advice not to adopt another furbaby if there's even a ghost of a chance you might outlive it. Anyone looking out for the critters is all right by me.
Ahem. There's a nice bibliography of internet resources to explore at the back, plus a checklist for executors, just in case you get stuck with that duty on the way to your own funeral, of course, but it's also helpful in giving you a glimpse of what your family and friends will have to deal with, and will hopefully motivate you to get your butt in gear. If you just want something quick and dirty and you don't mind the look of an obviously self-published book, this is a fine choice. Recommended for small libraries with small budgets, as a gap-filler.
September 17, 2018
I don't buy many books, but I've decided to buy this one. It is a short concise checklist of things to do...not just before death, but as we age. It includes downsizing, appropriately dealing with items which we no longer need/want/or have room to store. Appraising valuable keepsakes, writing the "story" of them, and listing who should inherit them. Updating wills/trusts. Designating a person to be the computer password keeper in order to access on-line accounts. Digitizing photographs and labeling them. Writing family ancestry log, family medical history, a personal memoir, and one's own obituary. Having the "talk" with family about end-of-life preferences. Get these 100 things done and they will no longer be nagging in the background. Instead, there will be time to live life!
I have made a good dent in the list, but I would like to complete it before my 70th birthday! Better buy the book today, I am 69 and the months are flying by!
I have made a good dent in the list, but I would like to complete it before my 70th birthday! Better buy the book today, I am 69 and the months are flying by!
November 5, 2017
This is mislabeled in my library system. Technically this is a book I put on hold, even though it's not a book I wanted -- the book I thought I was putting on hold doesn't exist. Ersatz as this was, I read it anyway, and enjoyed an epiphany about death dealings that I would not have had were it not for the particular way this was mislabeled!
Serendipity. :)
Serendipity. :)
June 20, 2019
This is a book about getting organized and decluttering everything before you die so others don't have to go through all the clutter you have collected. It also encourages to make your own bucket list of things you want to accomplish. It is a good idea book for everyone.
June 22, 2019
Extremely helpful list with one page for each of 100 tasks, each ending with a web address where one can find further help. The book concludes with a 4-page list of fifty jobs one's executor may need to do.
November 14, 2016
2.5 stars.
Very short, quick read - 1 or 2 paragraphs per page. It is an uncomfortable subject for most of us so the simple format of this book might make it more appealing and less intimidating. But several of the 'tips' seem redundant to me. Her big message is to downsize and deal with stuff (this is a good tip regardless...) and then a few practical tips and resources regarding funeral and end-of-life planning. I do appreciate the author's emphasis on how important it is to talk and deal with death BEFORE it happens. But this book doesn't help with the emotional aspects or the very important (and personal) process of grieving. There are other books that deal with the topic with more depth and direction.
Very short, quick read - 1 or 2 paragraphs per page. It is an uncomfortable subject for most of us so the simple format of this book might make it more appealing and less intimidating. But several of the 'tips' seem redundant to me. Her big message is to downsize and deal with stuff (this is a good tip regardless...) and then a few practical tips and resources regarding funeral and end-of-life planning. I do appreciate the author's emphasis on how important it is to talk and deal with death BEFORE it happens. But this book doesn't help with the emotional aspects or the very important (and personal) process of grieving. There are other books that deal with the topic with more depth and direction.
June 5, 2018
Good advice.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews