ARTIcles by Artifcts

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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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"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?

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 ‘stuff’ 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.

- - International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) - Hoarding
  - Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD)
  - National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO)
  - BetterHelp – Online mental health platform connecting individuals with licensed professionals

by contributors Melissa Autry and Matt Paxton

March 26, 2025

DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING, HEALTH & AGING

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!”

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!

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.

“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

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.”

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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March 15, 2025

THE ARTS

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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March 12, 2025

DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING

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!

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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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March 06, 2025

PRODUCT UPDATES

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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March 05, 2025

GENEALOGY & FAMILY HISTORY

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!

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

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

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

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.

###

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

February 26, 2025

DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING

        
                            
                    
    

            
                Estate Planning & The Art of Artifcts
            
        
Have you ever stopped to wonder, “What is going to happen to all my ‘stuff’ one day when I’m gone?” We’re going to hedge our bets and say probably not. Given that only 32% of us even have a will or estate plan, the finer details of all that ‘stuff’—cherished mementos, valuable collections, travel keepsakes, old photos and more—are often overlooked. But that’s the crux of the problem. Our ‘stuff’ becomes the proverbial elephant in the room, and someone, somewhere is going to have to deal with it one day.  
Our co-founder Heather discovered this the hard way when her mother passed away unexpectedly seven years ago. Heather had all her ‘stuff,’ but what she didn’t have, or even know, was what on Earth would her mother have wanted to happen with all that ‘stuff.’ Donate? Sell? Keep in the family? Bequeath? Her mother was the only one with the answers, and sadly, her mother was no longer there. 
For those of you who are new to Artifcts, and may not know our founding story, this is what led Heather to partner with Ellen to create the platform that you see today.  
We all have stories, we all have ‘stuff,’ and chances are our ‘stuff’ is going to outlive us one day. We should learn from the best of the best - museums! Just look at your favorite museum—it likely has more ‘stuff’ than you can imagine, safely enclosed in glass display cases, with descriptions, dates, and the like to help tell the story and give it context. 
Today’s ARTIcles story though is not about death, dying, or even museums. No, it’s about our ‘stuff,’ the items we love—the things that make us smile, the mementos we keep reminding ourselves of good times—and how to use Artifcts in your estate planning to ensure that all our ‘stuff’ doesn’t end up in an unwanted pile somewhere, or worse yet, in a landfill. Bad for our legacies, and bad for the environment.   
Estate Planning of Things Years back we published an ARTIcles story titled, The Estate Planning of Things. The premise was simple—use Artifcts to populate your tangible assets memorandum (that’s a fancy way of saying a list-of-stuff-who-gets-it-next-and-why).  
Over the years we’ve gotten questions from estate planners, executors, and families on how to do just that. We get it! Estate planning and thinking about our own mortality is a stressful, no-fun way to spend a weekend. But avoiding a protracted probate process and lessening the grief and cost to your loved ones may be just the motivation you need. 
Let’s dive into the nitty gritty details of how to use Artifcts to ensure you and your family, friends, or executor have a roadmap of what happens next to all your ‘stuff.’ Why you may ask? Because we’ve yet to meet an Artifcts member who has said, “It’s okay, all of my ‘stuff’ can go to a landfill when I’m gone.” Our ‘stuff’ and stories matter.   
...we’ve yet to meet an Artifcts member who has said, “It’s okay, all of my ‘stuff’ can go to a landfill when I’m gone.” 
Five Easy Steps to Estate Planning with Artifcts 

Pick an item you want to Artifct. It sounds obvious, but sometimes that is the hardest part. You may choose something financially valuable or something that has a lot of “heat value.” There is no wrong way to start.  
Add a short or long story, and any important details you want to include with the Artifct. If you get stuck, we have an entire list of questions that may help you get started! We strongly encourage you to always include the why, as in, why is this item important or valuable to you?
Attach documentation. This is especially important for financially valuable items. If you’re working with an attorney or an estate planner, they may specifically ask you to attach receipts, valuations, appraisal reports, and the like to document the provenance and current market value for gifting and tax purposes.  
Fill out the “In the Future” field. This step is critical as it creates the roadmap for your family of what happens next for each item you Artifct.  
Click the image to view our ArtiTips video!
Click save! Congratulations, your Artifct is now ready to be privately shared with your attorney or exported to your estate planner. You can easily export your entire Artifct collection, a single Artifct, or any combination of Artifcts. Some members even opt to send their estate planners their Artifct QR code to incorporate into their tangible asset memorandum.  


Details to Consider When you Artifct for Estate Planning As the title of this ARTIcles story suggests, Artifcting is an art. And we’ve learned a lot about the ins and outs when it comes to Artifcts to support your future plans. Here are our top tips: 
Want to avoid conflict among your heirs? If you suspect sentimental or valuable items you own will become a source of conflict, provide your reasoning for why a certain item will go to one person and not the other down the road. Doing so may help assuage the concerns and sadness of those left behind.
Do not send your loved ones on a scavenger hunt looking for items you no longer own. That means using that "location" field in your Artifct if you do still own it and indicating "Too late, enjoy the memory" in the 'In the Future' field if you have parted with it already. And if you have parted with it, be sure to update your tangible assets memorandum, too!  
While you're at it, fill out your Legacy Contacts for your Artifcts account, because we think your Artifcts are valuable and in estate planning, you need to also account for your digital assets. At Artifcts, you can choose primary and secondary Legacy Contacts, ensuring the time and effort you put into creating your Artifcts are never for naught. Your Legacy Contact(s) will be able to access your Artifcts after you are gone (although they won’t be able to edit the details; your Artifcts, your voice!) 
Simply go to Account Settings >> Manage My Profile >> Security and Longevity and click “Preserve My Artifcts.” Your future heirs will thank you.  
Have additional tips when it comes to Artifcts and estate planning? We’d love to hear from you! You can reach us at editor@artifcts.com. 
###
Estate planning on your mind? You might also be interested in these ARTIcles: 
Gift Your Loved Ones a Why
Your Future Family Heirlooms
Insurance & The Art of Artifcts
A Family History in Five Artifcts
© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                February 19, 2025
            

                            
                    LEGACY, PLANNING & MORE                
                    

            
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                I Love My Stuff: Home Office Edition
            
        
We’ve all heard the saying, “A man’s home is his castle,” but is that really the case? In my experience, our home has long been the domain of my wife, children, and four-legged family members.  
My wife has a simple, Scandinavian inspired home aesthetic honed after her time living in Denmark. My children tend to embrace the “leave-it-where-you-left-it-until-you-have-to-move-it” approach to home decorating, or rather cluttering. And where or what exactly does that leave me in the equation? I get my home office. The one room in our house that is unequivocally, unabashedly 100 percent me. My stuff, my stories, my memories, and yes, even my clutter, although it’s not clutter to me. It’s my stuff, and I love it.  
Shelves, Shelves, and More Shelves! When I say I love my shelves, what I’m really saying is that I love the items that are displayed on my shelves, and coincidentally behind me during every one of my Zoom calls. Three shelves and as many decades (if not more!) of stuff that tells my story and highlights the places I’ve been and the things I’ve done.  
Let’s start with my technology shelf. Yes, I am a geek at heart, having been an electrical engineering student at Virginia Tech back in the day. As we used to say, you can’t spell “geek” without a double “EE.” I have a shelf dedicated to all the tech 'stuff' I have used over the years—my original 1992 Motorola flip phone, a Walkman (remember those?), a few Gameboys, a GPS tracker, and one of my most prized possessions, a Microvision Blockbuster gaming device. Our youngest stares wide eyed at this shelf wondering how on Earth we used to function “back in the day” absent smart phones, tablets, and the like. The older kids however love the shelf and always have a “remember when” story to go with the less ancient ‘stuff.’ 
 
My technology shelf, remember when?
I have a shelf dedicated to my more active flying days, when I had my own plane. (That however is a much longer story for another day, although I did document it in Artifcts for safe keeping!) 
I also have a shelf (and a windowsill!) dedicated to the places I’ve been and the mementos I’ve picked up along the way. Incense burners from my time in India, and sound bowls from Kathmandu. 
 
Mementos from multiple trips across southeast Asia. 
You can tell a lot about me by what’s on my shelves. And although my shelves may look cluttered to some and I have occasionally heard on Zoom calls, “wow, you have a lot of stuff,” I know what each and every item is and, more importantly, my family knows why I have the stuff that I have and what it means to me. What do your shelves say about you? 
What do your shelves say about you?
What Good is an Office Without Books? Another corner of my office is dedicated to my book collection. As my wife likes to note, I was never much of a reader until I met her; she introduced me to the joy of reading and now I have a bookshelf that is a literal time capsule of the years we’ve been together.  
There are travel books for the places we’ve been, and biographies and autobiographies of the events we’ve attended and the notables we’ve seen speak. There’s also a healthy dose of fiction and non-fiction. I haven’t gotten around to Artifcting all my books yet, and I may not at the rate I’m going, but I have Artifcted the ones that mean the most to me. The ones I want my kids to know mattered to me and why. You can check out some of my favorites, including The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip Williams in my most Influential Books Artifct.   
And Don’t Forget the Walls! Some of my favorite ‘stuff’ doesn’t fit neatly on the shelf—a tapestry from my travels in southeast Asia, framed concert posters, and even children’s artwork. If the walls could talk, my office walls would continue to tell my story. 
One of my favorite framed moments? My business card from the first company I founded. It’s a long story and a private Artifct, but having that card framed and readily viewable to all who enter my office is really important to me. It reminds me of my father, and my desire to make him proud of me given all the sacrifices he and my mother made for us growing up. It’s a testament to hard work and determination, and a reminder to all my children that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. 
Yes, I really do love my ‘stuff.’ And although I may not have much say over what the rest of the house looks like most days, my office is my castle, my domain, and the ‘stuff’ in my office is much more than ‘stuff.’ It’s my story, my memories. 
I hope this piece has inspired you to tackle your office and add to your story, one object at a time. Oh, and once you Artifct your stuff, check out the timeline view where you can visualize your life and why you’re wired like you are! 
###
You can also read previous ARTIcles Matt has written, including Father, World Traveler and Now Downsizer and Stuck In the Middle With Stuff. 
© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                by Matt Ramsey: Father, Entrepreneur, World Traveler
            

                February 12, 2025
            

                            
                    GUEST CURATOR                
                    

            
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                What is a Digital Vault, and How Do I Pick the Best One for Me? 
            
        
Reading time: 4 minutes 
Paper clutter and digital clutter can transform minor nuisances to major problems when you have a critical need for access to your important life documents. Today we want to flag the evolution well underway to declutter and organize all of life’s essential information so can you find what you need, when you need it, via what’s commonly referred to as digital vaults. 
Bottomline: These modern tools can help you and your loved ones to get organized and be better prepared. 
How many email, banking, shopping, entertainment streaming, and even cloud storage sites are you using? Apps exist to help you keep track of paid memberships to ensure you remember to resubscribe or cancel, helping you keep an eye on costs and control the chaos. Check out this story from US News: Money for information on a few. 
And what about true life essentials, like the paper copies we keep of everything from warranties, tax filings, and receipts to insurance policies and mortgage documents. Sometimes we keep these because we aren’t certain where the digital version exists or if a paper copy is somehow legally required. We may even have digital duplicates floating around in our email accounts. 
Digital vaults can manage it all, your car title, mortgage information, passport and drivers license, and banking and investment details as well as life’s daily resources (memberships, online accounts, contact lists, and more) to be better prepared for everyday life, the aftermath of natural disasters, and deaths in the family. Vaults have a different scope than home inventory apps, the latter focusing on the tangible stuff. And vaults offer more features than file storage, like Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive, where you can nearly endlessly amass files without rhyme or reason.
The Early Days of Digital VaultsSome of the first companies in this space emerged following the 2011 tsunami in Japan, others have steadily followed.  
At stake is everything we rely on to make our lives function. And when major calamities strike, we may lose access to important documents, including insurance policies, property deeds, and more, without which a return to any sort of normal is impaired and/or prolonged. A digital solution was needed to help people through these life altering events with less stress, cost, and loss. 
Why go digital? Because files in a cabinet or box are vulnerable. Period. Add to that the fact that more and more of our lives have gone digital, there’s no reason to create a paper trail for loss and misuse when robust and affordable digital options are now available to help us tackle it all securely. 
The Digital Vault Industry TodayThe digital vault industry has emerged to not only securely store critical information but to also offer built-in planning tools. How’s that for efficient!  
Avoid getting distracted by bells and whistles, however. Review each vault’s listed features, and ask yourself: Does it meet my core needs? No one vault is exactly like another. Pick the one you’ll actually use and will work best as you work with financial services, insurance, estate planning and other professionals, too. At a minimum, as you review each vault consider: 


Security of the system, how you will sign in and grant others access, and how any of your personal information is being used by AI tools to generate personalized recommendations. 
Export options if you terminate your subscription and want to take your assets back out. 
Adding new information, meaning is this a tedious manual endeavor or is there support from smart instant scanning and sorting (generally AI-assisted). 
Price for the trial period, annually, and lifetime plus any add-on features you “need.” If there is a free model, always try before you buy, and then upgrade if you like it and free is insufficient for your needs. 
Unique features. As we’ve said, no vault is exactly like the other and your needs are not identical to others’ either. Trustworthy Certified Experts™ offer customized 1:1 guidance whereas Motivity Care provides a suite of concierge care management services and GoodTrust is supporting estate planning. 
Ease of use, because beyond different features each offers, the vaults each look, feel, and organize your information a bit differently as is the ease with which you can securely share information with family and professionals. Don’t forget to test your vault out on the device you will use to get the work done, e.g. desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or phone.


Here are a few examples of digital vaults on our radar, each with an array of unique features, offerings, and specialties.
Artifct Here are a few examples of digital vaults on our radar, each with an array of unique features, offerings, and specialties.
(In alphabetical order; with company tagline.)


Everplans: All the pieces of your world in one place. 
GoodTrust: Estate planning made easy, affordable, and secure. 
Keylu: Life is chaotic. Keylu brings order. 
Motivity Care: Redefining how you manage caregiving. 
Prisidio: Your digital vault. For life.™ 
Trustworthy: The Family Operating System®


You’ve Signed Up to a Digital Vault: Now What?If you’ve taken the step to set up your data within a vault, be proactive to ensure your time and money are well spent. Here are a few tips to make the most of your digital vault from our personal experience: 


Block time to your calendar over the next few weeks to input your critical accounts, memberships etc.; if you have a filing cabinet or box, start by digitally migrating those contents. Email is another great source to migrate docs you’ve received. 
Turn on any available options for reminders so you keep information updated and fill any gaps you might leave;  
Add an annual refresh date on your personal calendar; of course, if you have a major life event (birth, death, sell a company, etc.), or you move, you should also update your vault information; and, 
Set alerts in your search engine of choice, such as Google Alerts, for announcements from your vault company about events, new or retired features, and policy and price changes in case you miss an email or alert from the vault.
Send feedback to your digital vault of choice. It only makes the product better (for you and for all) for companies to receive feedback. Screenshots and videos are amazing bonuses to include in your email to the company. Don't forget to mention what type of device you are working from (e.g., smartphone, tablet, desktop), if applicable.


With a digital vault, you’ll be better prepared for yourself and your loved ones. We hope you find one that fits your needs!
###
You may also be interested in these ARTIcles by Artifcts:
Emergency Go Bag: Don't Forget the Memories
Estate Planning & the Art of Artifcts
Insurance & the Art of Artifcts
© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                February 05, 2025
            

                            
                    LEGACY, PLANNING & MORE,                
                            
                    DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING                
                    

            
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                A Modern Twist on Ancient Craft 
            
        
One of the most unexpected joys of building a company is the other entrepreneurs you meet along the way. Brilliance and creativity, moving the world in a better direction, seem endless. 
Imagine our delight to be introduced to a jewelry designer who loves stories as much as we do here at Artifcts. This Valentine’s Day we’re shining a light on her beautiful work and the stories and art all around that inspire her and motivate her through it all.  
Should you be shopping for yourself, a friend, or other loved one this Valentine’s Day, our guest today is offering Artifcts members a 20% discount* to bring home a modern heirloom with heart. Use the code LOVESTORY at checkout.
With that, we so hope you'll enjoy this special edition of ARTIcles by Artifcts! 
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Tanja Cesh is the type of woman who believes “How it’s made matters.” She’s unwavering in her commitment to preserving heritage craft and helping to lift up the artisan sector where vulnerable people, often women, have been undervalued for generations.
Through her travels, it’s Nepal that captured her heart and her imagination. She’s built her jewelry, apparel, and tabletop brand, Mulxiply, (pronounced “multiply") hand in hand with Nepali artisans with whom she now counts among her friends.
“The Nepali people love their country. Over the decade plus since I’ve been traveling there, I’ve seen a growth in the young energy and the value placed on the “maker” culture.”
Lucky for all of us, we can embrace that cultural movement through the stories and products Tanja creates.
“Stories, whether it’s what the inspiration was, or about the people who wear the jewelry, or how it was made, are so important. It’s exhausting being a modern consumer. AI thinks it knows us, reduces us to data points, but being approached that way is anything but personal or motivating.”
Tanja takes pride in the fact that together, she and the artisans are creating products you want to buy and want to pass down for generations. “This isn’t the type of stuff you buy out of guilt and turns up quickly in secondhand shops.”
While we chatted, Tanja spoke briefly about her art and design background, but it was her stories about her mother, her aunt, and her meetings with other artisans that seemed to truly shape her ethos and designs for Mulxiply. What better way to share her story than through her own words. 
Meet the Creator of Mulxiply, in 5 Artifcts, by @TanjaCArtifct #1: Mom's Embroidered Jacket by Sigrid Olsen
Early learnings in fashion and design
“While this is a photo of our wedding, the artifact I'm highlighting is my mom's jacket... from a designer named Sigrid Olsen [...] I learned so much for Sigrid about how things work in [the fashion and design] business, but also how to keep things truly personal and with a story.”
Artifct #2: Dad's Vintage German Telefunken Radio 
Nostalgia meets mid-century design turned personalized marketing
“This radio has always been in my life. My parents brought it with them when they moved to America from Germany [...] Towards the end of his life, my dad struggled with both cancer and dementia [and] listened to music all the time until the day he died. [...] We used this radio as a prop in my company Mulxiply's Fall/Winter 2024-25 photoshoot.” 💕 
Artifct #3: Polaroid of Mom 
A single vintage photo inspires an entire jewelry collection 
“Years ago, I found this mysterious Polaroid of my mom captured in a moment [...] so stylish in her bob parted in the middle, sitting around a table with friends listening to music, candles flickering, drinks and conversation flowing. This photo became the inspiration for the Mulxiply Fall/Winter 2024-25 Jewelry Collection.”
Artifct #4: Vintage German Book "Sternstunden der Menschheit" by Stefan Zweig 
An eye for good design, even in the hardbound variety 
"I have no idea what this book is about as I've never read it. There is a collection of them — all beautifully bound with handmade paper, each book with a different pattern and color. [...] There is so much intention to how this book was made, and I appreciate the handmade nature of it. [...] We also used this book in Mulxiply's Fall/Winter photoshoot as a prop for the model to hold."
Artifct #5: Gold Bangle from Mom made by Zee Sipantzi 
Cherishing the old, and Artifcting it for always 
"This simple bangle was handmade by jeweler and family friend Zee Sipantzi. My mom had several pieces of jewelry made by Zee. [...] I wanted to Artifct it quickly as I'm not quite sure how much longer it will last. This is one of the cherished pieces I was able to keep after she passed and was the inspiration for the Ridge Collection I designed for Mulxiply."
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We hope we inspire you as always to take a fresh look at the 'stuff' in your life, stuff of old and anything new you bring into your life. Where do they come from? Why do you love them? Artifct to share and preserve it all.
Happy Artifcting!
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ABOUT MULXIPLY 
MULXIPLY was born out of recognition that fashion can be fair, art can be healing, and design can change the world. Working with our artisan team in Nepal, we are able to empower our artists to share their craft, economically impact their communities, and elevate their place in society. In doing so, we are elevating art and artisan. We couldn't do it without you.
* Offer valid until 11:59 pm EST on February 14, 2025. Valid online only. May not be combined with other offers.
© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                February 02, 2025
            

                            
                    GUEST CURATOR,                
                            
                    THE ARTS                
                    

            
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                Ready to Declutter Your Living Room and Don’t Know Where to Start? 
            
        
It’s January, and we’re focused on the living room in our 2025 series, “Around the House, with Artifcts.” 
Before we dive into today’s ARTIcles story, we want to call ourselves out. There’s been a lot of chatter about something that we hadn’t even thought to address: What is a living room?
In some homes, there may be only one main room where you gather, listen to music, read books, watch TV. In others, you might have a living room that’s distinct from a family room. In these cases, the living room is often devoid of one thing in particular: a TV. It’s meant for relaxation and conversation.
For the purposes of “Around the House, with Artifcts” we’re not picky about whether you’re working with a living room or family room. Both rooms:


Are high traffic, social areas 
Accumulate objects of sentimental and financial value 
Tend to be more about layout and decorating than some other spaces in the home


Okay, with that said, on with the story!
One Process to Rule Them All: Declutter, Artifct, Organize You’re welcome, Lord of the Rings fans!
When we are focused on daily living meets practical habits, in every room, we have the same process: declutter, Artifct, organize.
When it comes to the living room, which has a high propensity to be a major collection point for knickknacks to fine art, this strategy is particularly helpful. So much to Artifct! 
You gain so much clarity when you remove the clutter. You learn: 


What’s accumulating 
Where it’s accumulating 
What’s worn out, in need of an update/upgrade, or simply no longer giving you joy. (Yup, we said it. Forgive us if you are not a joy fan.) Watch out, this clutter could include fixtures like furniture, which often we look right past when decluttering. 
What you need and/or want to make space for going forward.


Every home has its own rhythm and its own natural clutter. We asked some members of the Arti Community about their most common living room clutter. Here were some of their responses:


Catalogs that come in the mail 
Personal items, like eyeglasses, pens and notepads, medicines 
Toys, including for our furry family members 
Technology, including laptops, iPads, and earbuds 
(Seemingly) Random remotes, chargers, charging cords, and other tech items 
Pillows and blankets 
Puzzles and games


This comment about toys from one of our members is too good not to share: “The movie “Toy Story” was on to something, because I could swear the toys get up and walk in there all by themselves. Wasn’t it clean when we went to bed?” Oh, we sure do feel you!
Now that you know what’s accumulating on a regular basis, you can focus on the next step. 
The recent fires in California have put a fine point on what it means to lose everything. You may have memories, you may have some photos, but an Artifct can pull triple duty: ease you through your grief, helping you to re-live happier times; support an insurance claim when you share an Artifct with your insurer; and help you rebuild and re-furnish your favorite spaces when the time comes. 
In the living room, where you have collectibles, decorative items, homemade blankets, art and photographs, books, and more, pause to consider what the items mean to you. The stories they could tell! It’s a great room to start in if you are building your Artifcts collection. It’s likely rich with your stories.  
A few Artifcting tips for the living room:


Valuable items. Remember to include in each Artifct receipts, appraisals, and other items in the “Documentation” section that can support re-selling, estate planning, and insurance. 
Purely sentimental. When you Artifct these items, complete the “In the Future” field to help others know what to do with them one day when you’re no longer here. Make their decisions easier. 
One of a kind. For your one-of-a-kind items, valuable or sentimental, that mean so much to you, consider sharing those Artifcts with friends and family. Everyone loves a good story! 
On the way out. If your declutter included sentimental items that are hard to let go of, Artifct that and the story to remember always and to say goodbye.


You won’t get far with organizing if there’s nowhere to put the stuff. If you have certain items that are constant thorns in your side, items left out and about in passing or because of frequent use, start with those. It’s a great win to remove the clutter and find a long-term solution.
For everything else, here are a few friendly organizing reminders:


Put things in the closest proximity that is practical to where they are used.  
If ‘stuff’ gives you anxiety, intentionally minimize what’s out on display and rotate new objects in by season or on a schedule, like monthly. 
Find a home for your best intentions, like books and magazines you've been meaning to read, craft projects you intend to start or finish, and so on. You can pull them out when you’re actually ready for them. 
Consider carefully if more storage is the answer in your situation. You might need to go back to the decluttering and Artifcting steps if you find yourself filling up and maybe overflowing your existing and/or new storage solutions.


What your your tips for decluttering living spaces and making it easy to let go of items, sentimental and valuable alike? Write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com. 
Happy Artifcting!
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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                January 29, 2025
            

                            
                    DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING                
                    

            
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                Suitcases in the Attic Preserved One Family’s Holocaust History
            
        
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Through the artifacts and stories carefully preserved and shared, we can connect with our shared history and bring forward its lessons to a new generation. We hope you find inspiration in this story, the spoken and unspoken history of a family that has now been brought into the light. We extend our deep gratitude to Deborah for sharing her story.
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Meet Deborah.  
Deborah grew up Jewish, the kind of Jewish that enjoyed matzah but also celebrated Christmas with other kids in her Connecticut neighborhood. Being Jewish, she felt different, special, “even if I didn’t know what being Jewish meant.”
While Deborah knew vaguely of her family’s migration from Austria to the United States during World War II, she knew little of the details that completely relandscaped her family’s lives.
Fast forward many years to 2003 when Deborah asked her mother about family documentation that might exist to support reparation claims for those who had property stolen as the Nazis swept across Europe. “My Mom said, ‘Good luck with that,’ and pointed up, to the attic, ‘Everything’s up there. Suitcases full. Take it.'"
Sure enough, Deborah’s great grandfather, her mother’s paternal family, had squirreled away a plethora of ephemera to document his original Vienna-based hat business, along with letters and other materials of their life. Everything they had departed Vienna for the US with, was all that remained. The rest? The rest was in secure storage at a port in Italy, destined for a ship to the US, and stolen when the Germans overtook the port. 
“It turns out, my mother’s maternal family, having left for the US a few years earlier arrived with practically all of their household items. We’re talking everything down to their 12-piece fine porcelain dinner service.” But of course, they lived in a small apartment in New York and had no need for most of the items. It all sat in storage for decades, wrapped securely in the same 1938 newspaper it shipped over to the US in.
Following are snippets from our co-founder Ellen’s conversation with Deborah in honor of today’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We’re sharing some of the spirit and content behind her discoveries into her own family history and the holocaust. Her Artifcted collection of family artifacts and her book Nothing Really Bad Will Happen provide you, the curious, with so much more historical color and context. We encourage you to explore and take in the themes of resilience, legacy, and survivorship.
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Ellen Goodwin: Where did all these family artifacts come from? You have a hat designed by your great grandfather, a vast collection of mementos and ephemera. Who was keeping them all this time? How has it been preserved?
Deborah Holman: Well, one part of my family lost everything, and the other saved it all.
My mothers’ father’s family essentially lost everything. They moved it into a storage container in Italy in 1941 to ship to the US once they got here. But when the Germans captured the port, everything they owned was stolen. They arrived with a suitcase and 5 bucks. The only reason I have one of the hats from my great grandfather’s hat factory in Vienna is I was able to find one on eBay!
My mother’s maternal family left earlier, in 1938, and they kept everything. They dragged all of it from Vienna and deposited it in the storage area of their apartment building. It sat there until it migrated into my mother’s attic, wrapped, unused, and never spoken of.
    
Goodwin: But your great grandfather’s documents, they were an exception. They made the trip with him to the US, right?
Holman: Yes, exactly. When they confiscated his hat factory, he began immediately to try and get it back. He saved every document, every letter for reparation claims. It was a whole additional suitcase in my mother’s attic I never knew about.
Goodwin: You never knew. You mean your mother never discussed it? 
Holman: Never. My mom was six when she fled here with her mother and grandmother. All she ever said were things like, “I could have been a princess,” and “Maybe I could have had a sibling,” or “We had money, and then we had nothing.” I knew her father had spent 10 months in two concentration camps, my grandmother had all the letters he sent every two weeks, but that’s it. 
My daughter was the only one to ever open a small crack into my family’s holocaust history when she interviewed my mother for a school project in the late 90s. I don’t know how accurate the memories were, but my mother shared more than I had heard before. And then that was it, “There’s no point in talking about it anymore,” were my mother’s final words on it. 
Goodwin: When going through large collections like these you expect to find certain things: passports, travel papers, letters, and the like. Did you find anything surprising?
Holman: As I was writing my book, I was feeling guilty about how I portrayed my great grandfather, the hat maker. He does not come across as a really good guy, so stern. And that’s where the title of the book, “Nothing Really Bad is Going to Happen,” came from. His view of what the Nazis were doing was akin to “this happens to Jews all the time.” He almost blew it, not getting out until ’41 because of his mindset. 
And yet, one day out of the blue, my sister called to tell me she found his wallet in a box in her house. She has no idea how it came to be in her possession. And tucked in the back of the wallet was a newspaper article, written in German. I translated it and discovered it was essentially an advice column, advising against giving your children too much before you die because if you do, they won’t learn to be self-sufficient, and they’ll want you to die prematurely so they can get your stuff.
With that article, I realized, I portrayed him pretty accurately. Guilt gone!
Goodwin: And THAT is why I tell people the things we keep speak volumes about us, what we value, and even our aspirations.
So, you have all this now, and you know more about your family history. What will become of these physical artifacts?
Holman: We’ve agreed we want to donate items of broader interest to an institution where people will get to see it all up close, somewhere more intimate. There are some museums in NYC as well as the Center for Jewish History that we have in mind. 
Goodwin: As we bring our conversation to a close, I’d like to circle back to where we began. You said as a child you didn’t know what being Jewish meant to you. What does being Jewish mean to you now after you’ve done all this family research?
Holman: Being Jewish means strength and resilience. It means “Good luck. Do what you want. We’re not going anywhere.”  
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Let this be your call to action on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Let this family's artifacts of the past and the people and stories they represent remind us always to stand against hate and intolerance in all its forms. We are better than our past, always improving with the lessons of history as our guide.
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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

                by Ellen Goodwin, Artifcts
            

                January 27, 2025
            

                            
                    CONVERSATION,                
                            
                    HOLIDAYS                
                    

            
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