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Exclusive articles, interviews, and insights covering downsizing & decluttering, genealogy, photos and other media, aging well, travel, and more. We’re here to help you capture the big little moments and stories to bring meaning and order to all of life’s collections and memories for generations.
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Three Things I Discovered by Curating My Photos

We’re at a point in history and culture when normal social discourse means conversations may include topics like minimalism, decluttering, and made-up concepts like ‘stuffocation’ and ‘stuffidemics.’ And while we might think about going room by room through the bulkier tangible things we keep to declutter our lives, you know what else threatens to bury us? Photographs.

Historically, photographs were the domain of professionals who we posed for and who captured beautiful artistic photographs. We didn’t have a lot of them. It was a lot more expensive, so each one tended to mean more to us.

Now we’ve gone from photos being treasured moments and memories to a proliferation that started back in the 50s and 60s and vastly accelerated with 35mm film—remember all those double and triple prints you’d get so you could distribute them to all your friends and create albums that are now decaying? Maybe you don’t remember who is even in them and half are blurry or badly composed anyway.

And now DIGITAL photos! We take an estimated 5.3 billion photos daily worldwide. Think about that! This is where we’ve done ourselves a disservice because we’ve lost the story thread – why any one of those photos matter. Regular folks like us don’t want to sift through “metadata” on a photo to understand why it matters to us, when we took it, where we were. This is not a pleasant experience.

Digital photo statistics

And the ease of digital also undermines us as we declutter and organize our homes, where if you follow the advice of old, “Take a photo, and let the stuff go,” now that means that photo is very quickly 20 back, 140 back, 1,000 back on your phone. You’ve totally forgotten you took the photo and never shared the story or done anything to remember why it mattered to you.

You may also be interested in A Virtual Impossibility: Keeping Up with All My Digital Photos.

Artifcts and Curating Your Photo Collection

Today when we tell people to clean up and curate their photo collections to something meaningful, we have a truly daunting and growing task in front of us. Even for those photos from the 60s and 70s this is a problem.

While many people won’t have a lot of photos from that time, the photos they do have are very likely housed in shoe boxes, photo albums, or scrapbooks. One day, when our co-founder Ellen Goodwin was working through one of her parents’ scrapbooks, “Because it’s falling apart and needed to be digitized,” she paused to take a picture of a black and white photo of her mother playing tennis. “I took the photo because my immediate thought was, ‘My mother does NOT play tennis.’ It might as well be a Halloween costume.” Ellen’s daughter caught her taking the picture and was confused, “Why are you taking a picture of that? Who is it?”

Woman in white tennis outfit, swinging a racket

So here we go – one generation removed, and the story is gone; a second generation removed, and it’s become someone’s genealogy project or fodder for an AI-powered facial recognition tool. Who is that in the photo?

One generation removed, and the story behind the photo is gone; a second generation removed, and it’s become someone’s genealogy project. Who is that in the photo?

Your Three-Step Photo Curation-to-Story Formula

We know we can do better than to store our photos and cross our fingers that they stay safe and stay relevant. We can curate our photos, the best of, seminal moments, works of art. We can marry those photos with their stories through Artifcts, because a picture is NOT always worth 1,000 words. 

Ellen often shares an example of this based on a subset of photos of her daughter. “I literally have more than 1,000 photos of my kid swimming. She’s been at it for more than half of her lifetime, on three different club teams and now a high school swim team, too. But there’s that ONE picture where she’s flexing her arms and smiling up at me in the stands because she just got her first USA Swimming BB time.”

First USA Swimming BB Time, Artifcts

It’s one of the favorite photos she’s Artifcted. It includes a video of the swim from that day and the story. Ellen acknowledges, “My daughter being 14 years old may not appreciate it now, or even in another 14 years, but she will someday, and it will be here in Artifcts, easy to share, and in a bite sized story format that is within our ever-shrinking attention spans.”

Use this formula to simplify your photo-to-story process so you, too, can make progress on capturing what matters most – the stories behind those photos.

1 - CURATION. You guessed it, start with curation. We live in a bite-sized world with bite-sized attention spans. This is reinforced by research, too. Miller’s Law says that that short-term memory is limited to seven items, plus or minus two. Hedge your bets and go with five items, like the five photos and/or videos you can include in a single Artifct to tell a story.

Besides, achievable goals support habit formation. If you want to make progress in culling through those digital photos, do not try to boil the ocean. Pick a few, Artifct them with a story, and call it a day. Don’t take on an entire memoir at once!

2 - CONTEXT. To avoid getting twisted in knots over what to say about a photo, simply start with something true, e.g. who took the picture?

If you move on through the five Ws like they taught you in grade school, one W, one memory, will unlock others. For example, true story of asking a mom about a wooden cat that’s a piece of decoration:

Mom: “Oh, well, that’s a cat.”  

Daughter: “Thanks, Mom, I can see that. Where did it come from?”  

Mom: “I carved it. I was 16, and it was part of a wood shop class I took.”  

Daughter: “Wood shop in the 60s? For GIRLS?!”  

Mom: “Yes. And actually it was the first year the boys’ and girls’ schools were combined. There was a boy who was jealous of my cat and stole it. It took a while to get it back.” 

And on and on it goes! 

3 - SHARING. Myths, legends, fireside tales, they live on in the sharing. And sharing a story is not the same as telling a story. Telling is unidirectional. Were they really listening, were they ready to hear it, and will they then take on its meaning and value?

Artifcts definition of story sharing

You may also be interested in Storytellers, Beware!

Curating Your Photos Often Delivers Unexpected Insights

Now, don’t get us wrong, just because we do not want to look at metadata on a photo to try and remember why it matters or to share the story behind it, does not mean that we think metadata is useless. Quite the opposite. Your own phone can instantly sort and search your collection.

And through sorting your photos quickly, you can then more easily move on to curation. And that’s where the insights begin to flow. We asked Ellen for three things she learned about herself when she paused to sort and curate her digital photos. Here’s what she said:

Swimming is life. Well, this one was not a surprise exactly, I knew I had a lot of swimming photos. But I was surprised I didn’t have more. I discovered an extreme dropoff in volume once Artifcts existed because my habits changed. While sitting and waiting at swim meets, I almost always (a) cull swim photos I don’t want and (b) create relevant Artifcts.

My feet have been places. I had to laugh at myself when I realized just how many photos I have taken of my own feet, wearing shoes, standing in some place I thought was interesting. Thankfully, with metadata, I know where some of those places were when I cannot otherwise remember or figure it out from the picture. And it makes for a great series to share with friends for a laugh.

Collection of photos of shoes, Artifcts

Inspiration is everywhere; I want to be inspired. More than any other theme I can discern from the pictures I take is the magic of finding inspiration in just about anything. Do you pause to take pics of interesting patterns and shapes in nature? What about beautiful color combinations in a random mural on the street? Lines in a book, art on a cover of a magazine, a setting in a TV show?

Inspiration can come from anywhere, and it’s amazing that digital photography makes it possible to keep it all close at hand.

For an extra boost in your photo-to-story efforts, download our free checklist for photos here.

Happy Artifcting!

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Need help wrangling massive volumes of photos, digital and analog?

Consider hiring a professional photo manager! Check out The Photo Managers to learn more.

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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What is Deinfluencing? A New Word for Well-Known Good Habits.

We wrote today’s ARTIcles story months ago to save for a rainy day or lightning bolt of inspiration that would say now is when the Arti Community needs it most. As we now watch the mayhem of all things trade tariffs unfold, and we wonder about the future cost of our favorite electronics, sneakers, cars, toys, and 1000s of other products, we seem to have arrived at the perfect moment to take a hard look at our buying habits and reconsider how we spend those hard earned dollars. We hope this exploration of the concept of deinfluencing inspires you.

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Last weekend my husband trekked to IKEA of his own volition to buy an abundance of clear plastic bins with lids to use in our garage. As far as “love languages” go, this is one of his love languages in action.

Our garage is a mishmash of random bins of various materials and colors, cardboard boxes—a no-no in Texas because the many evil bugs here like to eat them—and uncontained stuff overflowing onto shelves. Being in our garage for more than a few minutes causes me something akin to physical pain, and it’s not just because it feels like it’s a 120-degree sauna 9 months of the year. The visual chaos overwhelms me.

Why Buy Storage Bins Instead of Getting Rid of Stuff?

Storage bins are a consumer product phenomenon of concern for many who worry that the more bins we buy, the more stuff we give ourselves permission to keep. And maybe with these bins we even lessen our need to routinely declutter if items are “out of sight, out of mind.” Arguably there’s less social pressure to declutter, too, if visitors to your home won’t even notice. Right?

Maybe. Maybe not. 

My husband certainly trimmed down and cleaned out his stuff as he filled the bins. And the clear bins he bought will happily end the visual chaos that bothers me. Plus, in this case, they are extremely practical. My husband spends a lot of time in the garage building his bikes—road, mountain, and cyclocross—as well as tinkering with his golf clubs and more. He even has as t-shirt, "I'll be in the garage." Knowing what he has in his inventory and easily spotting things he needs matters. 

Continue reading as we explore our reliance on bins from a different point of view: “deinfluencing.” Have you heard of it? Deinfluencers are out there in the social media sphere and want you to buy less stuff and put less pressure on the planet when you change your mind, forget you even bought it, or trends fade. While it may be a popular social media hashtag and buzzword we think it has valuable lessons to offer as we all take a fresh look at what we collect, accumulate, and inherit. Before you store it in those bins, before you even buy it, ask yourself: What is it, why does it matter, and what will I do with it next?

Deinfluencing Defined

The general idea of deinfluencing is to consciously choose to buy less and to better educate ourselves on the products we purchase. For many, this might include an eye toward more sustainable and ethical supply chains. For others it could be about product testing and safety above all else. Priorities vary.

The deinfluencing concept has apparently been dictionary-worthy for at least 5 years and may be just what saves you from your own worst buying habits. Or that’s the promise of it, I suppose.

Dictionary definition of deinfluencing

The deinfluencing concept only went viral in early 2023, with an especially large presence in all things beauty and lifestyle.

According to a December 2023 article by Vogue, “TikTok content creator  @sadgrlswag  helped to catapult the term into virality in January 2023, posting a video in which she railed against a long list of trendy accessories, devices, and even books. ‘I’m here to deinfluence you. Do not get the Ugg minis. Do not get the Dyson Airwrap. Do not get the Charlotte Tilbury Wand. Do not get the Stanley cup. Do not get Colleen Hoover’s books. Do not get the AirPods Pro Max.’”

Even mainstream media like Vogue, Time, NPR, The Today Show, and Business Insider picked it up from TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and elsewhere and broadcast to the likes of me, who tends to shun social media.

As I pondered this deinfluencing concept and the dilemma of plastic bins and my own buying habits, I asked my 14-year-old daughter, “Have you heard of deinfluencing?” And I got an immediate, “Yeah. You mean videos like, ‘Deinfluencing a Girl’s Favorite Products?’”

Yup, that’s EXACTLY what I mean.

Deinfluencing is Just a New Word for Well-Known Smart Habits

Deinfluencing is a concept that should transcend generations and sociodemographics, because it fits right in with a lot of smart habits as well as new year “new you” type goals:

      • Want to avoid overspending and/or stick to your budget? 
      • Find it challenging to control impulse buying?  
      • Feeling guilty about your own consumerism? 
      • Seeking to become a more conscious consumer?  
      • Skeptical of influencers, which added up to be a $16B industry in 2022, and perhaps think everything about influencers is artificial?

These are the underpinnings for the “deinfluencing.”

Ready to “Deinfluence” Yourself? Check Your Vulnerabilities First!

Try to deinfluence yourself by being more aware of what drives you to buy new bins, new stuff, or even hold onto the old stuff. And if any of the following resonates with you, grab a sticky note, and pop a note onto your laptop, tablet, or other obvious spot in your workspace, to help remind you of what traps you’d need to avoid when making your next purchase.

AESTHETICS SWAY YOU

You follow a certain well known interior designer, organizer, or other lifestyle guru, and love the fresh look they achieve with just a few new products. If you are going for a certain look, and this means swapping out old for new or just adding more, you’ve likely fallen into a consumer trap.

Now, as mentioned, sometimes containers are not doing their job well and create risks. In other cases, like the pain you might feel like I do when I’m in my garage, some sprucing up may make the space more usable and is well worth the conscious, well-considered choice you make to update or upgrade. 

COMFORT IN INVENTORY

How much inventory of anything do you actually need? We all got spooked by COVID and its disruption of usual supply chains but move back to thinking more practically. Maybe you only need one at a time and can replace it when it’s gone. Inventory can also be risky if the item has a limited shelf life. This risk factor applies to everything from plastic components of bikes to cosmetics. Even my 3M hooks are now trash because the sticky foam lost its stickiness before I used the whole pack. 

DRAWN TO "COLLECTIBLE" AND "LIMITED EDITION"

Watch out for those special editions and collector sets, brilliant marketing strategies because they work. Just ask Taylor Swift and her many iterations on the releases of her albums, some of which if combined create art for your wall. But if you’re trying to control spending on ‘stuff’ you really don’t need, claims from companies that something is an instant collectible or must-have limited edition may lead you astray. Make both no-gos or at least see a flashing yellow light in your mind to slow down and think again before purchasing.

“NEW!" IS ENTICING

I recently met a woman who told me that in her family, they have made buying secondhand as well as clever upcycling into a game. It’s a challenge. There’s no pride to be had in simply going online and buying it new. They scour locally at estate sales, consignment shops, and vintage stores as well as online in common marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace.

And here, I feel them. I recently bought salvaged industrial signs from a shop on Etsy and genuinely loved my purchase and felt happy that those signs didn’t just go into a landfill.

When In Doubt, Check Your Clutter

If you’re doubtful you fall into these clutter trappings, common fashion and beauty targets of influencers are not your thing, here’s one final strategy that might work for you: Scan your home to see what’s literally taking up space. And do not skip over the storage bins tucked in a closet or sideboard or out in the open on display on an overflowing shelf.

Let’s pick on candles. Popular enough that some people buy them like candy. And shops know it. You can now find small candles in under $5 sections as well as in the traditional candy section of checkout lanes. Being small, consumable, and available at a relatively low price point, candles are an easy add-on to your tab. Suddenly your collection is 20, 30, 40 strong, you never get to the bottom of any of those soy-based, take you back to Hawaii, feel-the-calm candles, and collectively they take up a lot of space!

Don’t scoff if you think your collections are somehow more valuable, less frivolous than candles. At least they help you get your om on! Last week at the airport, we overheard a man on a call saying, “I have a Redskins jersey. That’s going to be worth some money someday.” How many of you collect random stuff with this idea that one day it might be worth money?

Check your clutter, check your collections. All of it stands to be sneaky and consumes space and money.

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Ready to rethink your space and what's taking up room in it? We think these ARTIcles by Artifcts can help.

108 Objects to Declutter From Your Home

Collections of Dubious Value

So Much 'Stuff:' How They Suck Us In and How We Can Resist!

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Use #Hashtags to Organize Your Artifcts. Use @ to Connect the Moments and Collections.

Last week, we received a fabulous compliment: 

“Artifcts is so easy to use. And every time I think, “Oh, I wish it could do {this}, then suddenly I SEE that I can, because now that I’m looking for it, I realize that feature is real. Other products are so cluttered with buttons and widgets, I never know where I’m supposed to look. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

This glowing feedback was about something seemingly so small and inconsequential: the hashtag (#).  

Hashtags are used everywhere online, so us including it at Artifcts as an option to help you stay organized seemed intuitive. And yet when people use the hashtag and see it simplifies their Artifcting, they are grateful. We’re grateful, too. We’re grateful to all members of the Artifcts for their continuous feedback and accolades. 

If you’re wondering what you’ve missed, why hashtags as well as our @ feature are so valuable, keep reading!

 
 
Want to skip ahead with a short video showing how to use #hashtags and the @ feature at Artifcts?
 
 
Watch our short video.

Embrace the #Hashtag

Every object, every story, every moment you capture at Artifcts is instantly organized by design. Your #hashtags can be 100% custom to you, or you can select from a drop down of the most popular to-date among Artifcts community members. And by tapping on any #hashtag, you can view all other Artifcts with the same tag.

The Artifcts mobile app with Artifcts searched with #decor

You can learn a lot about yourself and your life as you start seeing these tags accumulate, too. 

Our co-founder Heather’s top three most used #hashtags are:  

      1. #ThatsMyGirl, for all things created by her daughter 
      2. #MomsEstate, for the items she kept from her mom’s estate 
      3. #FavoriteRecipes, because she hates flipping through dozens of cookbooks to find THAT recipe.

Our co-founder Ellen’s top three tags are:  

      1. #Violet, her daughter  
      2. #ArtifctsVideo, which is added automatically to any Artifct that includes a video 
      3. #décor, because her 'stuff' has stories! (#MoreThanAnObject would be a great tag, too.)

drop down menu on Artifcts showing top tags used

 
 
Check out your top tags, and all other tags you’ve used, from your homepage.

Artifcts “Categories” Work like #Hashtags

Categories are required for each Artifct because they are important for structure and sorting as well as for providing ideas for what you may want to Artifct next.  

We started building and blending our unique categories list with the types of items you’d see at auction or in collectors groups. We then customized our categories further to include all of the life stuff we tend to collect and/or accumulate around our homes, in our workshops, and with the passing of loved ones, too. No auction house has the need for a category of “Life’s Moments,” with items like cards and letters, awards, memorabilia, and photographs. But you certainly have need for this category at Artifcts. 

Fall in Love With the @ Feature 

Whether you’re writing a text, email, or social media post, typing @ unlocks the ability to link to other people and groups. It’s an efficient way to loop in and alert others. 

An Artifcted self-portrait of a young red-headed girl 

Our @ feature respects your privacy, too. If you use @ in your story/description to link to another Artifct that is private, no one will see even so much as the title of that Artifct unless you’ve shared it with them. They can click to request access, which you can review and accept or decline.

At Artifcts, we evolved the @ feature a step further to meet our community's needs. We wanted @ to help us all to weave others into the stories we tell about the objects that pass through our lives. We also wanted to be able to link one Artifct to another. Maybe the Artifcts are part of a collection or one is simply part of a much bigger story. 

“The @ feature is hands down my favorite boost for any Artifct I create. I love being able to lead people down the rabbit hole from one part of a story to another without having to write an essay,” said Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin. “And it saves me time, too. If I use @person then the Artifct is automatically shared with them. Done and done!”

And with these tips in mind, we wish you happy Artifcting!

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Did you know we publish short tips videos on YouTube? Subscribe to our channel and dive into our Tips Playlist.

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Wall Calendars: Should They Still Win a Spot on Your Wall?

As ubiquitous as it has become to gift someone a candle, back in the day of trudging a mile uphill in the snow to and from school, it was just as common to gift someone a wall calendar, especially during the winter holidays. Wall calendars were fun to pick out and available practically everywhere you shopped. They could feature stunning art, humorous scenes and quotes, or shots from nature. Some even provided fundraising dollars for causes you valued.  

But how often do you see a physical calendar on a wall in someone’s home anymore? And do wall calendars even have a place in the digital era? What does a wall calendar offer that its desktop or virtual version does not?  

Well, for one thing, the wall calendar never moves on you. It is a reliable source of ground truth as to what is going on and when in your household. Wall calendars also have a number of other advantages you’ll read about in our story today. 

As our focus for Around the House, With Artifcts this month shifts to everything that goes on your walls, we took a look around to gather some perspective on the value of wall calendars in modern times. We found some interesting and relatable perspectives that may just shift your own. Enjoy!

What Do You Want From a Wall Calendar?

As with nearly everything in life, when it comes to a calendar for your home life, you have to understand your own habits and needs first, and from that starting point you can choose that right calendar. What could you want from a wall calendar? Glad you asked: 

      • Memory boost. The physical task of writing something down has been shown to help us recall the things we’ve written more effectively than when we type them, according to Scientific American. Maybe this is why Post-it notes and now writable tablets are so popular, too. Writing activates a broader field of activity in our brains. 
      • Mood boost, too. If you love the art or subject of the calendar—majestic mountains or cute kittens, anyone? —every time you walk by you get a little boost. 
      • Design infusion. If your space needs a pop of color or additional visual interest, you can surely find a calendar theme and size that will fit your style. 
      • The BIG picture. Your life is hectic, and you want to ensure everyone is marching to the same beat with a visual and accessible master calendar. Monitor multiple schedules, coordinate major events, and keep track of important dates, holidays, and horizon moments—like family trips—with one giant calendar, a.k.a. your lifeline. 
      • Accountability. For some, the wall calendar helps with accountability as you tick off dates and you accomplish certain tasks and work through to-do lists.

What else might you want from your wall calendar?  

Millennials, being nearly tech native from their earliest years, can offer an interesting perspective on this throw back from a simpler, non-digital time when wall calendars hung in every home. We ‘listened’ to some millennials sound off via a few reddit threads and found these additional perspectives on the wall calendar: 

There’s too much going on already on our mobile phones, so a lot of that noise gets ignored. It’s harder to ignore a wall calendar.  

      • A way to see the passage of time, especially during COVID 
      • Finding enjoyment in the process of updating the new calendar with birthdays and anniversaries 
      • Remembering loved ones, human and pet, through the images chosen for personalized calendars 
      • When you work on a computer all day, it’s nice to step back from your laptop or mobile when possible.  
      • When you have young children, a physical calendar helps them learn about time. 
      • Somehow physical calendars and planners feel cozy.  

We then flipped that on its head and asked a few boomers in our lives about their affinity for wall calendars. Here were a few responses we received: 

      • Using a wall calendar ensures caregivers going in and out of our home have the same information. 
      • My kids laugh, but I still keep track of big things in their lives and our grandkids’ lives, too, so I need a big wall calendar. 
      • This isn’t about my age, but about my job as a farmer. It’s helpful to see our schedule laid out in a large format so I can visualize cycles for the crops and animals. 
      • We’ve always had one, we always will. And we still have decades worth in the closet if you want to see them. Some years there’s no white space left. Life was busier then. Editor’s note: Artifct those old calendars! They can be treasure-troves of events and memories past. Keep reading for tips on how to Artifct your calendars.

Could You Go Digital With Your Wall Calendar? 

You could go digital for your wall calendar, even pocket sized on your mobile, but is it right for you? 

Digital offers several advantages. The primary benefit is probably obvious: accessibility from anywhere. You’re at the grocery store, you’re at an event, whatever it is, you need information that is tucked inside the squares of that wall calendar. If you don’t get that information, it’s a deferred decision or another to-do added to your life. 

You might also lean on a digital calendar for the benefit of reminders. You can set them by default (one month, week, day, hour). Technology is also evolving to offer smart reminders. For example, it’s likely that before long if you add a trip overseas to your calendar, the calendar will ping you well in advance to make sure your passport gets renewed, if necessary, on time. That’s efficiency and less stress all in one. It can also remind you about prescription refills and more. 

Where can you find a digital wall calendar? We only know of one so far with size and features options that we’re eager to explore, and it’s from a well-known manufacturer of digital photo frames called SkyLight, a very logical product expansion from frame to calendar. If you have experience with the Skylight wall calendar or another digital wall calendar, we’d love to hear from you!

Traditional Wall Calendars: Before You Save that Old Wall Calendar, Consider Your "Why"

In an amusing thread on reddit, a discussion unfolded when a poster shared a website that would tell you when the dates on your calendar would align again in a future year. One commentor passed on that idea, claiming they would end up at the dentist office on the wrong day. Ha! Another felt this was a stretch too far to upcycle and leaned toward hoarding behavior. (But does it? Learn more about hoarding disorder.)  

Historically, many people have treated calendars like journals, the ephemera of life, a record easily shared with others to remember what consumed our days, big and small, “back then.”  

Some calendars these days are designed to be upcycled based on the beautiful, high-quality printed images on each month, which are easy to slice out and frame or even affix to cardstock to create a greeting card. Some large wall calendars like those created by School House (and pictured in the banner at the top of this story), are designed to be flipped over to enjoy the design on the back when the year is over.

Clock, calendar, and stepping stool, situation in a home

 
 
Wall calendars work hard! They fill space, keep everyone walking by informed, and give you a sense of time and structure for your year.

Artifct those calendars!

Now that we can simply take digital photos of the calendars and/or digitize them, we suggest going back through that particular collection and considering whether it’s time to ditch the hardcopy. Consider Artifcting the calendar before you recycle to keep the memories and for reference back to potentially important dates. If it’s a monthly calendar, choose a month or two or three for the photos to feature in your Artifct and attach a scanned copy of the complete calendar in the documentation of your Artifct. Done!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Evenings with Artifcts, Spring 2025 Series Recaps

We're delighted to bring back our Evenings with Artifcts series with topics hand picked by members of the Arti Community. When surveyed, our community had some very strong ideas on what topics mean the most to them. Topping the list, to our delight, was the art of pairing stories with 'stuff.' While not surprised, we were delighted and we love breaking down the reasons why researchers find story telling is so valuable, useful strating points and structures, and most importantly, how we can help you here at Artifcts to tell your stories, your way!

But joining us this spring will be a wide collection of professionals who will deliver insights that will leave you better prepared for all life brings us, surprises and all. Stay tuned and join in!

Mark your calendars for Tuesday evenings at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET from April 8th through May 6th. We send out RSVP details each week in our e-newsletter and on our social media channels (Instagram and Facebook). And please share with friends, family, and others you meet. The more the merrier!

If you missed any of our past Evenings with Artifcts, catch up now!

 
 
 
 

ENJOY A RECAP OF EVENINGS WITH ARTIFCTS, Spring '25

 

Evenings with Artifcts: Stories + 'Stuff'

Week 1: Stories + 'Stuff'

STORYTELLING, RESEARCH INSIGHTS

 

Related content: 

- Watch the replay on YouTube ->

- Download a summary of tips and resources from ARTIcles by Artifcts on the art of stories.

Evenings with Artifcts: Better than Binders & Videos from the Grave

Week 2: Do Better than Binders & Videos From the Grave

PREPAREDNESS, ESTATE PLANNING

 

Related content: 

- Watch the replay on YouTube ->

- Learn more about digital vaults and selecting the best one for you.

If you'd like to suggest a topic or speaker for future events, share with us at Editor@Artifcts.com.

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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If Walls Could Talk

Hello April, and hello to our fourth installment of Around the House, With Artifcts. This month’s focus? Our walls, and all the ‘stuff,’ photos, mementos, art, and more that make their way into our hearts and eventually onto our walls.  

So Many Frames! 

There is no precise figure on how much Americans spend annually to frame their photos and mementos, but the global picture framing market was valued at $9.3 Billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $14.67 Billion by 2031, according to the team at Straits Research. Entire companies, such as Framebridge, Frameology, and Keepsake Frames exist with a singular purpose: to frame your ‘stuff,’ from photos to kid-art to travel mementos. They are hoping to cash in on the custom framing market, once dominated by established brick and mortar chains such as Michaels.  

Adding to the myriad of choices you can now make as to what you’ll frame is the complexity of framing itself. You have dozens of choices and endless combinations including types of wood, mattes, and glass. Do you know the difference between museum glass and conservation glass? It gave our co-founders pause! Conservation glass blocks 99% of UV rays, whereas museum glass does that AND provides less than a 1% light reflection. This can dramatically change the view, so to speak, depending on where you intend to hang your piece. 

So many choices. So much money. That said, we’ve yet to encounter a frame that can tell you the story or history of the object under that optimal museum quality glass. Why is THAT photo in a frame? Better yet, who is that in the photo? And what are they doing? What’s the story behind the ticket stub or hotel room key so lovingly matted and preserved for all to see? Oh, and that’s a cool pennant! What’s it doing in a frame?  

Stories and Frames Go Better Together 

Our co-founders LOVE looking at ‘stuff’ in frames (and they love framing ‘stuff’), but they also love the stories, histories, and memories often captured within those four wood-bound sides and UV protective glass. It should come as no surprise that here at Artifcts, we think stories and frames go better together. 

A couple of years ago Ellen was in a home in New Mexico concierge Artifcting with a bachelor in his late 70s who had a collection of really old documents and currency framed in his stairwell. His passion in sharing the history was captivating and they were top of his list to Artifct. “It’s not like I can get my great nieces and nephews to stand still to learn this history.” 

So how do you ensure that the story, history, or memory that prompted you to invest in a frame in the first place lives on for generations to come? Our co-founders share their favorite tips below to help you get started as you tell the stories that live on your walls, one object at a time! 

 

One of Ellen's favorite moments on her walls. Click to view the Artifct! 
  • Heather has a rule that if it goes into a frame (and on a wall), it must be Artifcted first. Her husband and daughter know the drill, and thanks to the Artifcts, all the stories and memories hanging on their walls (even the ones her daughter is too young to remember on her own!).  
  • Don’t let the perfect story trip you up! Sometimes simply stating a fact, like what the item is and how it came into your life, is a great starting point for an Artifct. You can always add details or favorite memories later.
  • Add an Artifcts  QR code sticker to connect the physical item with the digital Artifct. Heather’s second rule for anything that goes on her walls is that once it’s Artifcted, it’s stickered, ensuring that if anything happens to her or her husband, their children know what’s what (or in the case of framed photos, who’s who!), and why it mattered to them. Bonus! Fill out the 'In the Future’ field in your Artifct, and your family will have a roadmap for what happens next to all your ‘stuff.’
  • Add audio or video to really bring photos, art, and other framed mementos to life! Ellen and Heather are not shy about asking others to record a short audio or video snippet if they gift them a hangable item. Heather’s husband was put on the spot to share his story after gifting her a print from a trip to Chile. That's love! 

 

Got a favorite framed future Artifct hanging around your house? (See what we did there?) Take a moment to Artifct That and share with us at editor@artifcts.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming edition of our curator’s choice series.  

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Looking for more tips to get started? You might enjoy these ARTIcles as well!

How To Artifct Art

How To Artifct That Photo

Memories At Home Checklist

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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"My Parent is a Hoarder"

Audrey and her mother have always had a tricky relationship. While some people talk about the teenage years being strained, their relationship was strained from the very first sleepless nights when Audrey was a baby. Beyond the love lived a mix of frustration, embarrassment, and distrust that only worsened as Audrey grew older.

At the heart of it all, in Audrey’s view, is a legacy of too much stuff. She never invited friends to her home because she was embarrassed by the chaos of her mother’s clutter throughout their home. She didn’t even enjoy spending time there unless she stayed in her room, behind a locked door, where her mother’s stuff could not invade.

Now as an adult, she and her children visit her mom several times a year, and in each visit her mom attempts to gift her boxes of things she’s been saving for her. But in Audrey’s words, “I am going through boxes of nightmare. Nightmare! She’s blocking me with a bunch of s***.”

I am going through boxes of nightmare. Nightmare! She's blocking me with a bunch of s***. - Adult child, boxes of childhood memorabilia, at mother's home 

And there you have it – for Audrey the stuff creates a barrier between her and her mother, depriving her of the relationship she wants for herself and her children.

And who can blame her? Don’t we all want more than a cardboard box of memories?

a sun porch with boxes and boxes of "stuff"

So many boxes. What is it all? When did anyone last open them? What will become of them next? Photo credit: Janet Wilson.

As adult children begin looking at their parents’ homes with fresh eyes, they wonder: Is it safe? Is it healthy? And, someday, will it fall to them to clean it all out and decide what goes, what stays, and who gets it next? What was once their parents’ problem may soon become their own.

And guess what? The adult kids are not having it. We hear from them every week at ​Artifcts​, when they express with a dose of disbelief the fact their parents are in no rush to downsize all that ‘stuff.'

Of course, the sense that a parent is a hoarder, “But not really, or maybe just a light hoarder,” is just a broad brushed way of saying it’s too much to deal with and they need help. And not all stories are as negative as Audrey’s story.

Patrick wrote to us to share that he was raised by two parents who loved him unconditionally and taught him to appreciate what it meant to be a collector. This passion sparked an interest in the arts that has carried through to his career as a museum curator.

But as his parents aged and declining health became a more pressing issue, Patrick told us, “What once appeared to be connoisseurship soon looked more like hoarding as I started sifting through their pieces.” He went on, “It was TRAUMATIZING, having to figure this all out for them, let alone do so at the age when most of my peers weren’t even remotely close to being confronted with these types of issues.”

Join us in today’s ARTIcles story as we peel back the worry and fear of adult children who have parents who have enjoyed collecting and accumulating ‘stuff.’ We’ll explore hoarding disorder in more detail and share strategies to help adult children navigate their parents and themselves to safer ground.

What is Hoarding? (And What is It Not?) 

Much as nostalgia historically was misunderstood, so too has hoarding gone through an evolution in science and the mainstream.

Hoarding has been clinically studied for decades, but public awareness only surged after the TV show Hoarders premiered in 2009. Until then, most people had never witnessed the severity and dangers of hoarded living spaces. Academic research—particularly work by Dr. Mary E. Dozier and Dr. Catherine R. Ayers—underscores how object attachment intensifies as we grow older, further emphasizing the profound emotional and psychological factors that drive hoarding behaviors.

DSM-5 CRITERIA FOR HOARDING DISORDER

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the reference guide mental health professionals use to support diagnoses of psychiatric conditions, classifies hoarding disorder (HD) under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. The DSM describes a person who has “persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and to the distress associated with discarding them.”

Importantly, the DSM-5 states that hoarding impairs a person’s ability to use their spaces and the items within as they intended. As Audrey’s earlier story illustrates, it can also cause “clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupation, or other important areas of functioning (including maintaining a safe environment safe for oneself or others.)” What does this look like in real life? It ranges from health hazards like vermin infestations or blocked exists, to emotional stress and family conflict.

Studies show that hoarding behaviors worsen over time, particularly as older adults develop stronger attachments to personal belongings (Dozier & Ayers, 2020). By the time a family member recognizes the problem—by the telltale overwhelming accumulation of stuff—the condition has deepened and evolved and may be linked to other conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

If you suspect hoarding disorder, experts recommend seeking a mental health evaluation. Professional help can involve therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), sometimes combined with medications to address any co-occurring conditions, such as depression or anxiety. Resources for help are provided at the end of this article.

NO, THAT’S NOT "HOARDING"

You might be wondering then, where is that line between disorder and, well, not!

It’s important to recognize that hoarding is not the same as collecting, even if that means multiple and/or large, usually well-organized, collections throughout a home.

Notice the word “organized” inserted there? That’s because collections are further distinguishable from clutter. According to the DSM, clutter is “a large group of usually unrelated or marginally related objects piled together in a disorganized fashion in spaces design for other purposes (e.g. tabletop, floor, hallway).”

Collectors often systematically organize and proudly display their collections (e.g., stamps, vinyl records, or figurines). These items may have monetary or sentimental value, but they typically do not obstruct the normal use of living spaces.

In contrast, hoarded items are often:  

      • Randomly piled or disorganized 
      • Kept “just in case” but rarely accessed/used 
      • Spreading into spaces needed for daily living (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms).

In addition to collections being organized, the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) highlights the importance of the location of the collections as opposed to clutter, too. Clutter accumulated in your basement and attic is commonplace, as both locations are the typical catchalls and storage solutions in homes.

The key questions are:

      • Does the stuff interfere with daily life and cause distress, for the individual and their family?  
      • Are they able and willing to part with items, whether through giving them to a loved one, selling, donating, or disposing of them?

Hoarding Disorder and Insights for “Non-Hoarders”

"Well, my parents aren't hoarders but nearly!" Generally adult children who describe their parents ​offhand ​as “hoarders” do not mean it. Rarely do their parents actually have hoarding disorder, and they know it. But the fear of all that ​‘​​s​​tuff’ is real​.

Finding a foothold in the chaos is important as is a path forward. We spoke with experts in hoarding disorder to elicit strategies and lessons for those adult kids ready to take steps toward a better future for their parents, however defined, and feel less like Don Quixote in the process. While we are talking about adult children, these strategies are adaptable to all with a little imagination.

Insights from 25 Years in the Field, with Melissa Autry

Melissa Autry, CSA, CPO, CPO-CD, is a Hoarding Remediation Expert and industry advocate who has been working with people who have HD for more than 35 years. It makes one wonder, who was her mentor back then, when awareness of never mind specialization in this disorder was surely lacking! And sure enough, she told us she had to invent her own job title.

Melissa specializes in safety and habitability, often working in extreme environments. She reminds families: 

"Every case is different because every person's relationship with their stuff is different." 

“It’s not only about the amount of stuff or the loss of use of the home. It’s about a person’s emotional equity with their possessions. Nine times out of ten, they’re not working with a mental health professional. Sometimes, the safety issues outweigh the mental health need—ask any firefighter! According to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, hoarding was a factor in 24% of fatal residential fires between 1999 and 2009. While both matter, a compromised structure takes priority when there is an immediate risk of loss of life.” 

Hoarding remediation is hazardous work, often requiring hazmat suits to handle biohazards, mold, pests, and toxic materials. But Melissa believes that every case is an opportunity to improve someone’s quality of life—and sometimes, even save a life (people and pets). 

She also emphasizes that while health and safety come first, personal contents matter, too—especially irreplaceable items like photos, letters, and memorabilia:

“There may be some really happy, healthy stories out there—and I love those. But our phone rings when nothing else has worked, when families are overwhelmed, and when they don’t even know how to start the conversation.” 

“We tell stories through our stuff and experiences. I look at personal belongings like the gift shop at the adventure park—Our Life!"

Here is Melissa’s top advice for all of you adult children and families, distilled into 8 key points:

1. Every adult child is like an only child. 
No two siblings experience a parent the same way. Each child has a unique relationship with their parent based on individual experiences, personalities, and past interactions. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another. 

2. The parent-child dynamic evolves—sometimes painfully.
To a parent, you are always 12 years old—frozen in time. To an adult child, your own life experiences have shaped who you are, making it difficult to fit back into old roles. As your parent ages and needs help, the roles can slowly reverse—where you find yourself parenting your parent. This shift can be emotionally complex, especially if the original relationship was strained. 

3. Delayed trauma responses and emotional triggers are real.
If your relationship with your parent was unhealthy or complicated, stepping into a caregiving role can be extremely triggering. It may stir up old wounds, unresolved conflicts, or memories of neglect and emotional distress. Yet now your parent needs help, and navigating these emotions can be really rough. 

4. Understand the emotional attachment to items.
Ask about meaningful objects before pushing for decluttering. Building trust is the goal—not forcing change.

A personal den, curated with furnishings and memorabilia

A curated collection, a curated life, some items valuable, some items sentimental, all items honoring a life lived. Parting with them can be complex and emotional. Photo credit: Janet Wilson.

5. Appraisals can shift the conversation.
Assigning a monetary value can help separate financial worth from emotional worth (emotional equity) and clarify whether an item should be kept, sold, donated, or discarded. 

6. Avoid “overhelping.”
Pushing too hard can backfire, making your loved one more resistant instead of more willing. Overhelping is a lose/lose scenario—both parties end up frustrated. 

7. Recognize shifting roles.
The evolving dynamic between parent and adult child can feel unfamiliar and unsettling. You may no longer have anything in common other than the fact that you were both present during your childhood. Understanding this shift helps manage expectations and reduces emotional strain. 

8. Practice self-care.
Decluttering a loved one’s home can be emotionally exhausting. While the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” may ring true, caregiver fatigue is real. Everyone involved—parents, adult children, and professionals—benefits when a structured plan is in place with both a Plan A and Plan B. 

  • Mental Health Support for Adult Children 

Melissa also encourages adult children to consider their own mental health as they support parents who are downsizing their lifetime of belongings. “It’s a stressful and emotionally taxing experience. Adult children often benefit from speaking with mental health professionals, not just for the parent’s well-being, but also for their own emotional resilience.”  

Melissa recommends online platforms like BetterHelp or in-person therapists who can provide coping strategies, stress management, and guidance for navigating complex family dynamics. You can find these and other resources at the end of this article.

Lessons Beyond the TV Show Hoarders, with Matt Paxton

We also sat down with someone who came into the HD specialty with a more public flare, so to speak. Matt Paxton, best known for his 15 seasons on Hoarders, has spent nearly 25 years helping families declutter. His philosophy? 

“Keep the memories, lose the stuff," which happens to also be the title of his book.

In Paxton’s newest venture, Clutter Cleaner, he trains professionals in practical strategies drawn from his extensive field experience, including his work individuals with hoarding disorder and their families. He emphasizes the following lessons: 

Start Small. 
Overwhelming someone with big demands will likely cause them to shut down. Smaller, more manageable steps are far more effective in building trust and momentum. It's not about what you get done, it's about getting started and keeping going.

Prioritize Safety. 
Clear pathways, remove fire hazards, and focus on habitability first. A safe environment is the foundation for any further progress.

Use Humor. 
Hoarding can be emotionally heavy. Lightening the mood at appropriate moments keeps everyone engaged and reduces tension.

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection.
Any step forward—no matter how small—is a significant victory. Perfection is neither realistic nor necessary for positive change. “Focus on what you have achieved, not on what is yet to be completed. Mindset is everything,” says Matt.

Encourage Mental Health Support. 
Professional help, such as therapy or support groups, is key to lasting success. Forced cleanouts without psychological support fail to address the root causes of hoarding disorder and are never successful. “In my 20+ years of cleaning out hoarded homes,” said Matt, “if the client doesn't receive some sort of therapy, the clean-out fails 100% of the time.” 

Remember, you need not be alone in this work, parsing through the belongings of a loved one. Resources abound to help you from these tips to the linked resources below.

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HOARDING DISORDER AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT RESOURCES

Ultimately, knowledge, compassion, and structured professional intervention remain the most powerful tools to transform a household overrun by possessions into a home that fosters well-being for everyone involved. By recognizing the clinical realities of hoarding disorder, seeking professional guidance, and approaching loved ones with empathy, adult children can create a pathway toward safer homes and healthier relationships.

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Inside Look at One Woman's Journey Into Quilting

Sunny Morton may be best known for her public speaking and writing in the world of genealogy, but she is also a self-taught quilter. And while she credits YouTube with her skills, the creativity, technical prowess, and perseverance this craft demands really suggest her quilting skills say more about her than any online video.  

We love origin stories and now having watched Sunny Artifct and share quilt after quilt on Artifcts (@SJM), we were excited on this National Quilting Day to give you all a glimpse into one quilter’s hobby and the heart and story behind her craft. No artist’s journey is like another, and you’ll discover below the heart connection in every quilt she makes. 

The Origins of a Quilter

“I got started six years ago with a t-shirt quilt for my oldest son when he graduated from high school. Well, not just t-shirts, I suppose. I worked in his varsity school letters, too. He loved it and took it away with him when he moved out,” Sunny recalled, before smiling and offering a self-critique. “I used the wrong kind of stabilizer, so the shapes turned out a bit wonky. But I’ve gotten better, way better!”  

a t-shirt quilt

With three kids to practice creating those t-shirt quilts, Sunny had plenty of t-shirts to experiment. The second one was for her son Alex’s high school graduation.

“He is an engineering student with an artistic mind, so he helped design his quilt,” she said. “He played on the same soccer team for years, so he made the repetition in the quilt blocks more interesting by making those blocks smaller and lining them up together. He has variously gone by his first and middle names—John and Alex—so one clever block combines three different shirts to spell out his entire name. And I definitely did a better job on the quilting.” 

In Sunny’s most recent t-shirt quilt for her youngest, her daughter Seneca, not only did she get the stabilizers right, phew, but the materials she had to work with made for a unique design, too.  

“It’s all a single-color scheme because my daughter wanted me to use only the shirts and skirts from her school uniforms. I integrated the woven plaid skirt pieces and sewed down the pleats to add texture. It’s gorgeous.” 

We agree!

a pleated skirt square in a t-shirt quilt   messages on t-shirts in a quilt

And thus, in just three quilts, you’ve learned a bit about Sunny and what connects her to her art. But why quilting? Read on! 

An Artist Emerges to Meet Life's Challenges

Let’s face it, YouTube videos will only get you so far in your artistry. Hands on instruction and comradery fill in critical knowledge gaps for any artist. Frankly, that’s true across professions. Can you imagine a surgeon who has never laid hands on a patient under the direction of an experienced surgeon?  

In Sunny’s case, her hands-on training came through quilting retreats with women who were generally much older than her and, notably, retired.

A quilt for myself: Denim buffalo check

“They’d look at my work and say, ‘Um, let’s try that differently,’” said Sunny with a laugh. “They were so generous with their knowledge and opinions, for better and worse.” 

For Sunny, quilting became a way to connect with her family and other quilters as she’d slowly gather the materials for her quilts and dream of future designs. But it also became an outlet to manage the many stresses in her life, a life with complex health challenges surrounding her and her loved ones, as well as her grief for those she’s lost.   

“When my brother passed away unexpectedly, I holed up in my house for a year, creating two quilts for his daughters. It was cathartic. I needed that tangible outlet for my grief and to feel connected to him and to my nieces.” 

Remembering Sam McClellan quilt   Remembering Sam McClellan quilt  

Sunny was quick to point out that it’s not only the cathartic nature of quilting that drives her. She also treats her time quilting as a reward in a busy season of life.  

Sunny works as a professional genealogy educator and content creator, in addition to being a wife, mother, and caregiver. So, when she’s working a lot of hours—never in her craft room—quilting is the reward waiting at the end of the day. With piles of textiles lying in wait, she can sink into her passion and emerge from the other side refreshed and with something to show for it, too.

A Family Honor: The Fundraiser Quilt 

Sunny’s quilting life is still in its early innings and yet it already has a happy interlude. Her family has a unique enduring tradition that’s all about THE quilt. For decades, her husband’s grandmother crafted a quilt each year to raffle off at the family reunion every Labor Day weekend. The proceeds help fund the following year’s gathering.

In the summer of 2023, Grandma announced her retirement. And she decreed that Sunny would be the future family quilter. “It was a ‘gasp’ sort of moment,” recalled Sunny, “Intimidating but what an honor. I thought long and hard about what this family would want. They are very patriotic and with a lot of veterans in the mix. Ultimately, I chose to quilt a compilation of American flags.” 

Flag of American quilts with the quilter posing next to it

This quilt was unlike any other Sunny had created. Maybe it was the intense desire to win over Grandma (and the rest of the family), maybe she was ready for the challenge, or maybe it was both of those combined with an artist’s eye for something truly unique.  

No matter the motivation, the result was beautiful. “One of the family’s veterans, Nathan, bought so many tickets, he was sure he would win. At the very last moment, a cousin’s wife who had arrived late purchased her tickets—and she won! She is also a caregiver for a loved one with special needs, and I admire her. It was both funny and touching to see her beat out Nathan.” 

“And then when I got home, I made Nathan a smaller version and sent it to him as a surprise.”  

What will Sunny create next? You can follow her on Artifcts (@SJM) to see for yourself! 

Happy Artifcting! And happy quilting.

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Aspirational Clutter & Your Closets: What is Aspirational Clutter, and What Will You Do With It Next?

Have you heard of aspirational clutter? It’s the stuff you buy, collect, or otherwise hold onto with intention of some future use. Or maybe it's for some future version of you and the life you plan to lead.

Aspirational clutter can exist anywhere and everywhere in your home. Take the kitchen, for example. How many cookbooks, special pans, unique spices, and gorgeous serving vessels do you keep with the intention of expanding your cooking repertoire and hosting more events in your home?

For others, many many others, the bedroom closet is an absolute magnet for aspirational clutter. For this reason, you even commonly find references to this sort of ‘stuff’ in popular books. For example, the NYC-dwelling lead character in best-selling author Jodi Picoult’s book, Wish You Were Here, lamented her inability to let go of her shoebox full of art supplies when she pivoted to a career in art sales with Sotheby’s. But it was not only art supplies.

“The shoebox came with me, still unopened. I set it on the highest shelf of my closet, behind sweatshirts from college I no longer wore but couldn’t bear to donate to Goodwill, and the winter hiking boots I bought but never used, […]”

(By the way, Artifcts is a perfect digital shoebox for the valuable and sentimental items you collect alike.)

Here are more examples of aspirational clutter that find cozy homes in our closets:

      • Clothing that ties us to a special moment in our own story or we’ve outgrown or matured beyond, but we tell ourselves maybe one day we could wear again.  
      • Accessories, like gorgeous silk ties and cufflinks, clutches and stilettos, and more for fancy events that we never attend. 
      • Everything for the wrong climate. If you live somewhere in which winter’s scarcely a month long and snow is a once in a lifetime event, how many sweaters, sweatshirts, mittens, snow boots and spare down comforters do you actually want to make room for?  You may dream of vacations or a return to cold living, but is storing this all for years if not decades practical? 
      • Kits and crafts, maybe you bought them, maybe they were gifts, but you’ve never picked it up or kept it up. Maybe it’s time to let go in favor of a hobby that is you?

Closet Tales from Texas & Wisconsin

Our co-founder Ellen who lives in the heart of Texas recently emptied every single thing that belonged to her from her master bedroom closet. Her goal was simple: LESS. She reported that she felt depressed by the end by what she saw as so many aspirations unmet as well as waste, articles of clothing barely or never worn, “Because I just never felt good in it or never had the right occasion for it. It's no different than buying framed art for a wall or a pillow for a couch because you love them and then you realize, you really have no space for it.”

As depressing as it was, there were nice moments, too. Ellen saw in her items so many lives she’s lived.

“I literally found a maternity shirt I wore when I was pregnant with my daughter 14 years ago. Ha! I also realized I still owned the suit jacket I wore to my first interview at the CIA nearly 20 years ago. I really thought I had already gotten rid of it.”

When we asked what one tip she has for anyone undertaking a rightsizing of the contents of their closet, she said it was important not to let yourself off the hook. “I was smart to lay it all out on and around our bed because it put a clock on my work. We couldn’t sleep if I didn’t get through it.” Her sorted piles ended up looking like this:

      • Sell 
      • Donate, “But first you can bet that I Artifcted that suitcoat from my CIA interview!” 
      • Wash and/or repair (and then keep)
      • Keep 
      • Trash 
      • Give to my daughter/neighbor/friend 
      • Recycle, “Especially all those hangers! I was able to return some to my local dry cleaners and the rest to Goodwill. I also marked a bag ‘Textiles for recycling,’ that could not be sold and gave that to Goodwill, too.”

More than 1,000 miles away from Texas, tucked in their new home away from home in chilly Wisconsin, a member of the Arti Community undertook a similar closet downsizing effort recently. But her efforts were precipitated by a change in career and a move from DC to Wisconsin.

Her biggest challenge? What to do with all those formal work clothes! They still fit, that was not the issue, but would she need them now? Suits, heels, and designer handbags, oh my! They meant enough to her to make the move, but now that she was staring at the ever-shrinking space in her new closet, did they warrant the space?

Her silver bullet was unexpected: her husband! Weeks of hemming and hawing, combined with a healthy dose of “do-you-really-plan-to-wear-that-up-here" questions from her husband helped her decide to sell the pieces that were sellable (thank you, The RealReal!) and donate the rest, but not before she Artifcted them. She now has the memories of the clothes, and what they meant to her, safely stored in Artifcts, AND a lot more closet space for all those cold weather necessities.

Before we conclude this ARTIcles edition, we want to know, what items are the tough stuff in your home, the hardest to let go? Please let us know at Editor@Artifcts.com. We'll update you next week on the results!

Which category of stuff is the tough stuff for you to declutter

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Trio of New Features | March 2025

Today we’re excited to share a trio of new Artifcts features with you.

Over the course of eight in-person conferences during 2024 and approximately 80 hours of interviews, we discovered ways to fine tune your Artifcting experience to support you even more both during and after you’ve created those Artifcts.

As always, we placed ease-of-use and privacy at the heart of each new feature.

Thank you for being a part of the Artifcts journey. Let’s explore the latest!

Private Notes 

As it turns out, sometimes you want to share your Artifcts with others, but you want to include details in your Artifcts that you’d prefer to keep to yourself. So, what’s one to do? 

Now at Artifcts you have an optional field titled, 'Private notes.' It’s exactly as it sounds. Whatever you type there will not be visible to others if you share the Artifct. The exception of course is if you give someone “Full Control” over your Artifct (versus the default “View” access or other “Edit” access).

This new field is on the “Full form” when you create or edit Artifcts, directly after the “Story or Description,” making it a natural extension of what you have to say about anything you Artifct. 

private notes field on Artifcts

Customizable Reports  

It was professionals in appraising and estate management who first approached us about downloading customized reports on Artifcts. Later, this request was seconded by professional home organizers and move managers. Finally, individuals, several of whom were working on their wills, asked for the same. 

Now you can create custom reports, no matter your “why.” When you click 'Download,' you’ll be prompted to select the fields and related files you want to download, too, ensuring you can download only the information you need, when you need it.

As shown below, we’ve simplified matters by choosing the Artifct title and description by default, offering a "Select all" option, and reducing your download size by allowing you to exclude photos, videos, and documentation when you do not need them. 

pop up window providing options for which Artists details you want to download

Artifcts Up Next Report 

We consider this saving the best for last: the new Artifcts Up Next report.

The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, digitizing the stories and financial value by creating Artifcts addresses one set of needs, but you still must deal with the physical stuff in the room, sorting it and often re-homing it, too.

When you Artifct, there’s just one optional field we show you on the 'Quick form' because we think it’s that important. It’s called 'In the future.' As the name suggests, we urge you to consider what’s next for everything you Artifct. Your options are: 

      • Sell. You can even set a custom reminder and Artifcts will email you.  
      • Bequeath. Adding details to whom is optional. 
      • Donate. Here, too, adding details is optional. 
      • Keep in the family. We hope your “Description or story” offers a compelling reason. 
      • As you wish. Meaning, “I won’t haunt you. Don’t keep it in storage for the next 30 years on my account.” 
      • It’s too late. Enjoy the memories. I already got rid of it. Do not go looking for it. 

When you download the new Artifcts Up Next report, it will give you a checklist of all your Artifcts, sorted by the ‘In the Future’ category. You can then work through the list yourself, with family, or with an organizing, estate, or move management professional to get the ‘stuff’ where it needs to go next.

example report showing items to bequeath to loved ones

 
 
This is just a snapshot of a sample report, showing the Bequeathed section, guideline, and the type of Artifct information you'd find listed.

 

We have an open door!

Is there something you wish Artifcts could do or help you with? Is there a feature driving you a bit crazy or confusing you in any way? You can write us a Support@Artifcts.com. And be sure to catch up on past product updates, too!

button to jump to past product updates with Artifcts

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Helpful resources as you get started and continue enjoying Artifcting:

Quick Start Guide

Inspiration Lists

FAQs & Videos on YouTube

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Storytelling Guide for Your Family Heirlooms

If you want to elevate an item to heirloom status, Webster’s dictionary says pass it down, generation after generation.  

definition of heirloom

But solidifying an object’s place in your family history requires a little more tender loving care than that alone.

For every heirloom, we recommend you: 

      • Preserve essential facts. What is it? How did you come to possess it? And closely related, where did it come from? Which side of the family?
      • Be specific. Why should anyone care about this object? The why is critical. Why does it matter to you and your family? 
      • Create awareness that this object even exists. If you’ve tucked it away or added it to a shelf or cabinet, never pausing to share its origin or story, no one will be able to raise their hand to say, “Yes, I want this” when the time comes to pass it down. Instead, it will easily slide into the discard pile. 
      • Provide and/or transfer relevance and context. When @Grandmom’s rolls recipe from the early 1900s was reborn and brought out for everyday enjoyment engraved in her mother’s handwriting on a cutting board, a whole new generation took interest in the recipe’s origin.

These points all build up to a key conclusion: You need a story for the heirloom.

Your story might be a poignant 5 words, “My father gave me this.” And knowing you, and that your father passed away when you were only 9 years old, your family understands a lot in those 5 words.

Or your story may be much longer and follow a beginning-middle-end story arc, pulling in the reader as you evoke in them the emotional or sentimental value and appreciation for the item that you feel.

Here are two very different examples of family heirlooms and their stories, one a traditional family heirloom, the other a modern heirloom, an object acquired now that the owner hopes will last for generations more.

The knitting needles with no story

Elizabeth is a passionate genealogist. Her globetrotting, history and life loving self has seen a lot and collected even more. While her home and the mementos within may be a living testament to her fascinating life, she is also a family keeper.

Artifcts' Definition of Family Keeper

Despite being a genealogist, she’s inherited heirlooms without necessarily giving much thought to their origins or their futures.

Case in a point: her beloved knitting needles. Elizabeth brought her knitting needles to an Arti Afternoon, an event with one of the founders of Artifcts during which participants share items show and tell style. Elizabeth volunteered to go first.

view of the ends of a pair of whale bone knitting needles

“I brought these, because I love them, but they don’t really have a story.”

Our co-founder Ellen nodded, encouragingly. “Objects don’t have to have deep stories to share them and Artifct them. It’s enough to let your family know you love them and what you want to do with them one day. But I have a question: What are those?”

You see, Ellen didn’t even know what the objects were that Elizabeth was holding. 

With a startled laugh, Elizabeth replied, “Oh, they are knitting needles.”

“Knitting needles?” Ellen said with a questioning look.

“Yes. They’re made of whale bone.”

“Whale bone,” repeated Ellen, thinking to herself she was starting to sound like an echo.

“Yes, my Yankee grandmother lived in Connecticut and was an accomplished knitter. Hers was a whaling village. I’ve had family in that area since the early 1600s.” Elizabeth went on, “I love how the needles feel in my hands, so much nicer than plastic.”

With a smile, Ellen turned to the group, “Who here thinks these needles have no story?” 

Smiles and laughs returned all around. These needles have a great story and are a sweet family heirloom and dose of national history all in one. 

a woman using her cell phone to photograph a pair of knitting needles to Artifct

A 50-year-old Yugoslavian stool

From the Artifcts collection of our co-founder Ellen Goodwin.

You know the stools that students used to sit on back in the day - four fixed metal legs, a circular wooden top that spins? Picture them in a chemistry lab. Picture them in Yugoslavia, built from iron and native oak, handmade, and in the "brutalist style."

What style is that, you ask? You know brutalist style from many government buildings in the US, your travels through Eastern Europe and the former states of the USSR, and the movies. Think large cement minimalist buildings, the opposite of beautiful aesthetics. If you have a home with a lot of personality already, a splash of simplicity in the "brutalist" fashion may be just what you need. Or at least that’s how I think of it. 

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that's the case here. I think it’s more fun to sit on a stool with history than a modern, lighter weight, less durable replica or alternative. You get to feel connected to another time and culture. That's what the stool means to me, a collector who is curating my home to feel uniquely us.

an oak wood topped stool with medal frame, on wheels

And if you think it’s strange to fixate on the charm or design of a stool, blame my mom. She had this really cool antique stool in a corner that always had one type of draping plant or another perched on it. I wanted something like that, that felt homey and less ordinary, I guess.

And that makes this 1970s Yugoslavian creation a keeper. Will my daughter want it ever in her home, transforming it into a modern family heirloom? Maybe. For now, it’s a stool with a story that Mom picked out.

(By the way, the fact that the company reselling the stool has an icon that's a laughing grandma smoking a cigarette amuses as much as mystifies me. And that, friends, adds further charm to my 50-year-old Yugoslavian stool.)

Ready to tell the stories of your heirlooms?

Quote from Jeff Greenwald

If you need some prompts to get started telling the stories of your heirlooms, we always recommend what author Jeff Greenwald taught us: Start with something true.

In the story of the knitting needles, simply answering “What is it?” was enough to unravel a story that the owner had never recognized was there all along. And now, with the story known and Artifcted, it’s exponentially more likely those needles will stay in the family.

When creating an Artifct, click the lightbulb icon in the story/description field to get other prompts and our downloadable worksheet.

Here are some other tried and true heirloom storytelling prompts from genealogist and author Deborah Holman:

      • The first time I saw this object, I felt ________. 
      • This object reminds me of ________. 
      • If this object could talk, it would say ________. 
      • This heirloom is important because ________. 

And we have a special bonus for you. Deborah has shared with the Arti Community her Heirloom Storytelling Worksheet. Download it free now.

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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108 Objects to Declutter from Your Home

If you want to simplify your life and maybe enjoy some of the reported benefits of a minimalist lifestyle without adopting a minimalist lifestyle, you may be asking yourself (or Google): “Where do I start?”

Inspired by an article from the LA Times published in March 2024 in which professional organizer Regina Lark claimed that the average US household has 300,000 items, we thought the easiest place for some to start is there – with the excess, the unused, the damaged, the forgotten, the just-in-case from 20 years ago. We think this approach is valid even if in all likelihood your home, like ours, has far fewer than 300,000 items inside.

The relevant point is finding simplicity in less. From the clutter and chaos, you can gain clarity as to what 'stuff' matters to you, a theme near and dear to us here at Artifcts. You can reduce time-consuming decisions you make every day, too. If you have 5 pairs of pants to choose from, how hard can it be for you or your kids to get dressed in the morning? And just maybe you’ll also stop yourself from spending money on things you already own but can’t find, like items number 78 and 83 in our list below.

We invite you to take a stroll around your home with this wildly varied home decluttering list to see where you find opportunities to simplify by reducing the volume of stuff that’s claimed a place in those drawers, closets, and shelves. Here and there we’ve added some commentary where we simply couldn’t resist. Like anything, decluttering takes practice, like building up a muscle. Enjoy, and good luck! 

Previews of three checklists from Artifcts

If you’re looking for a Decluttering or a Collections Checklist from Artifcts—or any of our dozens of additional checklists—to inspire you as you also seek to capture the stories, CLICK THE IMAGE. Our checklists are free to download with a free Artifcts.com account. 

108 Objects to Declutter from Your Home

Why 108 objects? Author Jeff Greenwald, in his book 108 Beloved Objects: Letting Go of Stuff, Keeping Our Stories, explains, “The number is deeply significant in Eastern spiritual practice, and beyond… the number of prayer beads on a malla (a Buddhist rosary), the number of yoga postures in a full cycle,” and so on. Because of the deep global resonance of this number and the efforts here at Artifcts to help change our relationships with our ‘stuff’ and each other, we think 108 is the perfect number for our decluttering list.

 
 
 
Enjoy some story telling from Jeff Greenwald, who shared with us some of his 108 beloved objects.

We’re breaking away from a room-by-room approach with our list. In doing so, we hope to unleash creative and unexpected freeform association of items that might help you declutter items that did not make the list or have been very much “out of sight, out of mind.” 

Ready? Here we go!

1.     Lightbulbs – You don’t even have a socket for that one anymore! 

2.     Boxes, the cardboard variety; and no, it doesn’t matter if it’s a “really nice box” 

3.     Bins, the plastic kind this time

4.     Rugs 

5.     Fidget gadgets 

6.     Suitcases – If your kid isn't even a teen yet, and you think they are packing up for college in those, reconsider how else you could use the space.

7.     Picture frames 

8.     User manuals 

9.     Candles

a collection of candles

 
 
Candles are wickedly easy to accumulate because they are easy to gift and even available in end caps at grocery stores!

10.   Cookbooks 

11.   Party decorations 

12.   Pens and markers – Do they work? How many 100s do you need? 

13.   Remotes from gadgets you no longer own 

14.   Pots for plants 

15.   Decorative pillows – Well, maybe keep the pillow, rehome the case?

16.   Baseball hats 

17.   Pads of paper / notebooks 

18.   Cleaning supplies and tools 

19.   Retired and retirement-ready linens 

20.   Bottle openers 

21.   Koozies 

22.   T-shirts and sweatshirts 

23.   Chapsticks 

24.   Coasters 

25.   Glassware 

26.   Scrunchies – If you know, you know.

27.   Old sports equipment 

28.   Ice packs 

29.   Rubber bands – Beyond the fun aesthetics of a rubber band ball, how many do you need? And you know they will become brittle and break.

30.   Shorts (or other clothing) long out of style, stained, or otherwise in disrepair 

31.    Belts 

32.   Coins – Cash it in! 

33.   Musical instrument lesson books 

34.   Fine silver, you never use 

35.   Fine china, you also never use 

36.   Pottery 

37.   Bookmarks 

38.   Greeting cards 

39.   Business cards, too 

40.   Rechargeable batteries, because they stopped holding a charge 

41.   Regular batteries in sizes you haven't used in decades 

42.   Foam rollers and massage devices

43.   Coffee making apparatus, including pods that are long-since stale 

44.   Coffee mugs 

45.   Hygiene products (spares and expired, from consumables like cosmetics to tools like toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and combs) 

46.   Socks

mismatched socks laying on a white bed sheet

 
 
A friend of Artifcts kindly shared this picture. Can you relate to her dilemma?

47.   Keys 

48.   Craft supplies, the should’ve, would’ve, could’ve never started, unfinished or dried up

49.   Handbags 

50.   Fishing tackle 

51.   Nail polish 

52.   Aprons 

53.   Magazines and pages torn from them 

54.   Dog toys 

55.   Pet beds 

56.   Lamps 

57.   Baby blankets 

58.   Spare buttons and thread 

59.   Kitchen appliances you never use and utensils, too – What’s jamming that drawer?

60.   Spices, so old they may not poison you but they certainly won’t add the flavor you’re expecting 

61.   Travel-sized everything 

62.   School report cards  – Scan and Artifct them first! 

63.   Awards, professional and childhood 

64.   Games and/or pieces left from them 

65.   Take-out containers and utensils 

66.   Blankets

67.   Stuffed animals

white stuffed animal, a cat with a pink bow

 
 
CLICK THE IMAGE to read about why you should declutter stuffed animals with care, according to research.

68.   Boxes of tea – Added to this list, with love, on request of both of the husbands of the cofounders of Artifcts.

69.   Holiday stuff, the one off, the past it's prime, the "when did we celebrate that?" 

70.   Kid artwork 

71.   Magnets 

72.   Unmatched socks 

73.   Décor 

74.   VHS and cassette tapes – Say it with us: digitize, digitize, digitize.

75.   Miscellaneous workshop scraps (wood, metal, wire, etc.) 

76.   Miscellaneous home repair and renovation materials (tiles, bricks, etc.) 

77.   Books 

78.   Blenders – True story, our cofounder Heather found SIX of them at her dad’s house.

79.   Record player 

80.   Reusable shopping bags 

81.   Plastic shopping bags 

82.   Costumes 

83.   Reusable water bottles 

84.   Windshield wipers, for the car you don’t even own anymore 

85.   Vases

collection of vases

 
 
Collections can take on a life of their own. What's in yours? One of these vases pictured is not like the others. Take your guess, and then click here for the answer on Artifcts.

86.   Watches 

87.   Travel pillows 

88.   Gift bags 

89.   Costume jewelry 

90.   Placemats, tablecloths, and chargers 

91.   Extension cords - Who are you, Clark Griswald? 

92.   Eyeglasses 

93.   Old computers 

94.   Postcards 

95.   Cutting boards 

96.   Key chains 

97.   Dried (and dusty) flora 

98.   Membership cards 

99.   Cameras 

100.  Cords, cables, and chargers  

checklist of technology items to Artifct and rehome

 
 
CLICK THE IMAGE for more tech inspiration from our Tech Detox checklist.

101.  Swag from your employer

102.  Paint 

103.  Travel mementos from who-remembers-where 

104.  Sunglasses 

105.  Cake pans of all varieties 

106.  Shoes 

107.   Covid-era face masks 

108.  Ticket stubs, playbills, brochures – ephemera of life 

Artifct That logo with QR code to take you to Artifcts.com

Your reward for reading all 108 is this free download to take with you around the house. As always, if you’re having trouble letting go, "Artifct that!" to keep the memories. You can download our DIY checklist to jot down all the items you want to Artifct as you declutter, too.

And please remember to recycle, upcycle, rehome! Download Artifcts' Going Green guides to inspire and support you. Depending on where you live, you may have a reuse center where you can donate goods in addition to traditional charities.

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You may also enjoy these related ARTIcles by Artifcts in our decluttering & organizing theme:

Do You Know What You Own?

What to Do with All That Sport Stuff

Letting Go of Sentimental Items: Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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