Downsizing: How Decluttering Graces Your Heart and Home

by Susan Rohrer

Want to Simplify Your Life?

It happens to the best of us. Purchases, paperwork, gifts, and keepsakes accumulate. Before we know it, we've amassed a mountain that seems too massive to move. We upsize to accommodate sentimental items we can't bear to part with. Bills read like our possessions own us, rather than the other way around.

Are you swamped by stuff? Clobbered by clutter?

Tired of budgeting excess housing and storage? Would you like to simplify, minimize, or lighten your load? Need tips on helping a parent or elder downsize? Want to trade the "stuff of life" for a more abundant lifestyle?

Maybe you've tried to simplify on your own. But you need more than moral support. You need help from the Holy Spirit--divine guidance for your specific situation. If you're looking for a Bible based approach to what can be a decidedly spiritual journey, this book is for you.

Partner with God to:

Unpack your connection with sentimental things Conquer clutter Decrease household contents, debt, and stress Create a budget that will serve you for life Free up space, time, and resources Get out of storage for good Reinvent and revitalize your home Redecorate with resonance

Find freedom from the material ties that bind. Explore the spiritual foundations to your relationship with things. Discover the liberation of letting go. Catch God's vision for simpler, joyful Christian living. Less really can be more!

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 8, 2019

About the author

SUSAN ROHRER enjoys wearing a variety of professional hats as a writer, producer, director, and author specializing in redemptive entertainment.

Rohrer's TV credits include: 'God's Trombones'; 100 Episodes of 'Another Life'; 'Never Say Goodbye'; 'Terrible Things My Mother Told Me' and 'The Emancipation of Lizzie Stern'; 'No Earthly Reason'; 'Mother's Day'; six episodes of 'Sweet Valley High'; 'Book of Days' and 'Another Pretty Face'; 'If I Die Before I Wake'; 'About Sarah'. Most recently, Rohrer directed and co-executive produced the entire first season of multi award-winning drama series 'These Stones' in addition to co-writing the season finale.

Awards won: Emmy, Film Advisory Board Award, Christopher Award. Additional award nominations: Emmy (3), NAACP Image Award (3), Humanitas Prize finalist (2). (Photo by Jean-Louis Darville)

Rohrer has authored a number of inspirational nonfiction books (including The Holy Spirit - Spiritual Gifts: Books 1 & 2, accompanying Workbook, plus numerous other titles on biblical topics. Novelizations of Rohrer's screenplays include: Merry's Christmas, Merry's Christmas Wedding, Virtually Mine, Bright Christmas: an Amish love story, Gifted, What Laurel Sees, Bridle My Heart, Grace Dawns, and The Beautiful World. These novels are all part of Rohrer's Redeeming novels series, a collection of stand-alone, inspirational love stories.

Reviews

[Cheryl Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invite God to be your downsizing partner

This book spoke to my heart and soul in addition to my mind. Gently, yet powerfully. Encouragement, not condemnation.

God cares about all aspects of your life, including your home, and He desires to do life alongside you as your truest Friend. You couldn’t possibly ask for a better Helper, especially in an area as emotionally charged as decluttering and/or downsizing. (So thankful to Susan for these and many other encouragements!)

[Carol Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book

This is by far one of the best books I have read, the author spoke right to my heart, and even though the decluttering ideas were well written, the spiritual perspective was life changing, thanks so much for a God given perspective.

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes.

[Robin Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout my journey of trying to be a good Christian woman that I began at the age of 69 by beginning to write my Christian blog that got inspired by the publication of my first two Christian fiction books shortly before that birthday, I've learned a great deal about the Lord. All of the marvelous things He does daily for us. One of the things I would never have expected from the Lord was His acute capability of being an interior home decorator, a home financial adviser, and a housekeeper until I read this book.

I retired from working for the City of New York as a civil servant over 12 ½ years ago after 33+ years. Working at the city hospitals, I had several job titles. One day my better half decided to come to work with me, and when my dear saw the several piles of patient account folders on my desk, the dear asked if I could use some help in putting those folders in order. I replied no since if I did, I would not be able to find anything; it was then that someone came and asked if I had a certain folder. I reached over to one of the piles and gave it to the individual; a minute later, it happened again. I turned to my dear and said, I love my orderly state of confusion, to which my dear laughed.

I've mentioned this since this is how I've kept our home neat but still in an orderly state of confusion to anyone seeing it, as I had a sense of comfort having things this way.

Ms. Rohrer's book has been a real eye-opener for this Christian homemaker as it has removed the rose-colored glasses I must have been wearing all these years. Looking at what I once thought was, I now realized were merely emotional ties to the items. I realized with those glasses removed that items I'd kept for handy future reference I realized were useless junk that I could quickly find again on the internet. Nick-knacks I kept around our apartment that I thought added something to our living space, I realized, were mostly junk that I got rid of by donating them to the Salvation Army. With all of the ideas the book has given me, our home has been revitalized with a greater sense of the Lord's presence being there.

For helping to transform our home from being a mere humble abode to one that could resemble a showplace, I've given Ms. Rohrer 5 STARS.

I read this book via an Amazon KU [KINDLE Unlimited] download.

[Beatrice Lindström · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting take on minimalism by incorporating scripture from the bible. If you are not a Christian believer this is not for you, as the scripture and words from the bibel is central in this book.
There are some good tips for how to help a family to deal with the aftermath after a loved one has passed away and also how to help an older relative to downsize. There isn't anything new for anyone who has some understanding of minimalism and how to declutter, but nonetheless interesting how the author drew parallels to the scripture about downsizing and living with less and how that is a righteous path according to the scripture in the bible.

[Marja Verschoor-Meijers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rohrer proves that the practical and spiritual work together... quite well and effectively. It is truly a joy to read how the author uses Biblical principles to help us clean up stuff and organize our closes space. I like her practical approach, and especially the chapter about having to move a parent to an, often much smaller, elderly home and how to prepare everyone in the family for the challenges such a move will bring. I highly recommend this book if you seriously want to learn how to live with less!

[Susan Lyttek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but

Loved the Scripture connections to why downsizing is healthier. Had several practical pointers, too.
It's just that a lot didn't apply to our situation... trying to downsize within our current home. So, skipped over moving, planning a new layout, moving parents and more.