The Chronicle -

When facing the idea of downsizing, most people instantly think of the amount of things in their homes and wonder first of all "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" Their next question may be "how or where do I start?"

There is a mindset, a way of being, one needs to adopt in order to have success downsizing. And that way of being is to bring as much open-heartedness to yourself and to your partner (if you have one) as you can possibly muster.

What do I mean by 'open-heartedness'? I mean kindness, love, gentleness, curiosity, patience, and being non-judgmental.

No matter who it i...