Top 40 Lisa J. Shultz Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “A paradigm shift of viewing palliative care or hospice as a gift instead of seeing it as giving up has the potential to change the way we experience advanced age.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

2. “For me, decluttering and downsizing has caused shifts in my thinking and my habits. I don’t have to declutter; I choose to declutter.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

3. “I believe that no matter what situation in life you find yourself, there is room for you to take control of little things, which ultimately adds up to big things.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

4. “Minimizing can be exhilarating. If you continue decluttering, you just might find a zest for life that you didn’t know existed under all that stuff!”

— Lisa J. Shultz

5. “We all have a million things vying for our attention. If you tell yourself that you don’t have enough time to clear out your junk, you might be delaying the well-being and relief you could experience by tackling it. If not now, when?”

— Lisa J. Shultz

6. “If we want more healing and peace in the world, let us each start with our homes, our relationships, our mindsets, and ourselves.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

7. “Without guidance and support for patients and families approaching death, there may be unnecessary conflict, confusion, and trauma that linger long after the passing of a loved one.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

8. “My new deliberate and slower pace has created a higher quality in my experiences.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

9. “As I enlarged my vision to see the bigger picture of my dad’s full life, I was better able to let go of being stuck in memories of its end.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

10. “I am becoming better at releasing the “what-ifs” that clog my closets.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

11. “Clutter may rob us of the life we imagined or prevent us from creating a new vision for our future.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

12. “I am not knocking advances that provide a healthier life and alleviate suffering or unnecessary premature death. I am advocating inclusion of education on end-of-life matters and the promotion of understanding, conversation, and planning.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

13. “When I reflect on the stories of death supported by hospice care and contrast it with our story depicting an absence of support, I find myself dealing with envy and anger. I have channeled those emotions into this book with the hope that hearing our story might give someone else a chance to create a better ending to the life of a loved one.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

14. “It behooves me to remember as I advance in age that death is an inevitable part of the life cycle rather than a medical failure.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

15. “What would I have wanted to say if I had had the opportunity to see him one more time? I would like to think that I would have kept it simple and said, “I love you,” then just held his hand in silence, letting that thought linger in the space of the time we had left together.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

16. “If the push towards life sustaining technology were balanced with options for comfort care in both medical school training and the healthcare culture, more people would have the chance to transition to death with dignity and grace.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

17. “When I own less, fewer things go wrong and need to be fixed. I have more space: openings in my calendar, room in my home, and calm in my heart.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

18. “As I inch forward to embrace my life again by being mindful, writing books, and planning adventures, I sense my dad would approve. I know he would want me to be happy.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

19. “When I eventually moved to a smaller home, it felt cozy, like having a pair of jeans that fit me just right – no wasted living space and no baggy fabric.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

20. “I believe one of the most important reasons I am here today is to practice forgiveness and to learn the power of it as a gift to others and myself. By focusing on forgiveness in my life today, I am promoting my healing and lessening my regrets.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

21. “Instead of thinking I am losing something when I clear clutter, I dwell on what I might gain.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

22. “I now urge friends and acquaintances to have conversations with their aging parents and within their families while their parents are still relatively healthy and of sound mind.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

23. “I asked myself, “Who would I be if I weren’t busy? What would be left of my life and me after I removed excess stuff from my home and allowed my day to have unscheduled open spaces?”

— Lisa J. Shultz

24. “By acknowledging my impermanence, I can consider if there is anything I can do now to help my loved ones who will be left behind cope with losing me and to facilitate healing.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

25. “I entered the picture in the eleventh hour as a guide to the exit of his life. I navigated as best I could the role of end-of-life shepherd – a journey that I had never taken before. I have to forgive myself for what I did not know. And I have to forgive him for the times that he felt unequipped to deal with the unknown.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

26. “Be mindful and prevent possible conflict surrounding your belongings. Aging often produces a waning of energy, and sadly, not all of us will maintain a sound mind. Possible disability, mental or physical, can relegate sorting and dispersing one’s belongings to someone else who might not want the job.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

27. “I decided to break the trend of accumulating stuff sooner rather than later. I moved to smaller homes ahead of my need. I downsized before I was forced to do so. I sorted and dispersed my things while I had the energy and the ability to either donate or sell my stuff.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

28. “Did my dad fool the medical professionals or were we involved with a system that avoided end-of-life discussions? Those conversations might have given my dad the opportunity to focus on last wishes, meaningful conversations, and clarify his needs.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

29. “I believe it’s imperative to bring the light of support and knowledge to patients and families when death is approaching.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

30. “I am certain that I’m not the only one who would like to have a do-over on an interaction with a loved one.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

31. “I felt that days, weeks, months, and years of my life were wasted by the removal of stuff. There were more important things I would rather have been doing. But I continued, and eventually, I felt lighter and freer than I had ever felt in the years of big houses with each room filled to the brim.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

32. “As I declutter and downsize, I gradually discover more of my essence and my purpose.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

33. “The shift from thinking that I must feel forgiveness to the practice of repetitive giving forgiveness has helped me in my healing journey.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

34. “Surrendering to the best of my abilities when the price of life has outweighed its benefit may be a compassionate choice for me and those around me.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

35. “My dad’s life was magnificent, but only if I let myself see and remember more than his years of decline.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

36. “By seizing every opportunity for kindness, forgiveness, healing, and love that crosses my path each day, I hope that my death, although perhaps sad for some, will be gracefully concluded.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

37. “Losing the buffer zone of my parents meant I was next. I had a chance to craft a lighter finale for my future senior years. I didn’t want the final chapters of my life to be about stuff, and I didn’t want to abandon the responsibility of dealing with it myself.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

38. “Decluttering and downsizing before I am forced to do so also means my kids will have less work and stress when I reach old age or suffer an infirmity.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

39. “My clearing has allowed me to rediscover things I stopped seeing and put them into a place of prominence.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

40. “No matter what stage you are in, acknowledging that our possessions, homes, and affairs can be problematic to those we leave behind is the first step toward taking proactive measures to reduce potential chaos and strife among those destined to deal with it.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

41. “In addition to asking myself if something was a benefit or a burden for me to keep or if it was superfluous, I also questioned if it enriched my life now. If the answer was no, I ditched it.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

42. “My choice of a lighter lifestyle has brought me a greater sense of well-being. In a world that often seems stressful and chaotic, that’s a feeling I cherish.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

43. “As I thin out my things and discuss what to do with what is left, I release the expectation that they must be passed down within my family. This openness and acceptance may potentially pave the way for less disputes and resentments in the future.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

44. “I consider minimalism not as a destination but rather as a tool and a mindset to reduce distractions and overwhelm. It is not a competition. You are a winner if you find the amount of stuff and size of your home to be perfect for you and your lifestyle and situation. You only lose if you never consider the potential benefits of decluttering and leave your loved ones with messes and burdens.”

— Lisa J. Shultz

45. “Lightening my load of stuff and responsibilities freed me to look forward to planning and creating a living situation that was sustainable and lessened potential stress in caring for a home and its contents as I aged.”

— Lisa J. Shultz