Downsizing -- Exactly What Does It Mean?

The word "downsizing" kept popping into my mind today.  I couldn't get it to stay away.  While it was popping in and out, I was sorting through the mountain of books that we have collected over the years.  Not quite the height of Mt. Everest but seemingly close when you compare the relative space we have for storing them and the number of books we have. 

Downsizing over the last decades has meant quietly removing employees from top spots in an effort to cut overhead.  Downsizing could relate to weight loss in some circles.  Downsizing has definitely come to mean to the baby boomers what we want to do before somebody has to help us do it because we've already helped someone else do it and it isn't any fun.  Maybe we've helped grandparents, parents, siblings tote out years of accumulation of household goods and memories as life requires a move to a smaller space.