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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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LEGACY, PLANNING & MORE
My Cabinet of Curiosities

The following story is based on a true story shared with us by a member of the Arti Community. We’ve altered some details to protect their privacy. We hope their experience helps you feel less alone in the tough choices you make as times change, your way of life changes, and who you live that life with changes, too.

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When my father passed away, my mother was truly on her own. But she was not physically or mentally healthy enough to live on her own. My parents had been married for 63 years. Solitude and independence were foreign to her. I know that in many families the open question in this scenario is, “Who will take care of Mom?” If that’s the story you are expecting, you can stop here. That is not our story.

For my family, when it came time to settle the estate, my siblings and I sat down together in our childhood living room and spoke very frankly. All in our 60s and 70s, we knew our own minds and we knew each other well enough to hash it out together fairly quickly.

My brother said he wanted the house. He had no desire to leave the local area, so taking over the family home was his top wish.

My sister wanted my mom. You read that right. Her one request was that Mom move in with her so she could take care of her and ensure she had constant familiarity and companionship. This suited Mom perfectly, and so she moved into my sister’s home where she spent the final 10 years of her life.

Are you now wondering what it was I wanted? One thing: a cabinet that had sat in our family’s living room for as long as I can remember and surely longer. It contained the most glorious accumulation of ‘stuff.’

As a child, I wanted nothing more than to open the doors and explore all the knickknacks inside. I’d ask my mom about everything, driving her crazy as she was trying to get on with other tasks around the house. To me, a burnt casserole in the oven was just fine if I got to hear the story of Grandma’s crystal bowl one more time. 

The Cabinet of Curiosity Lives On

This cabinet of curiosities now sits in my home, filled with some heirlooms from my mother and my grandparents too. But over the years it has taken on the personality, interests, and lives of me, my husband, our children, and our grandchildren. It’s filled with stories, stories we tell as often as we may. The reality is, we have so little time together with our family that I don’t think there will ever be enough time to share them all. 

When I use the dishes and glasses, I think of the relatives who owned them. For example, one of my dear mother-in-law’s beautiful wine glasses has a nick on the edge. When I wash and dry the glass, and feel the edge, and I remember how she dearly loved her family despite our flaws. 

We have a silver bowl awarded to my husband for outstanding geological research, always in need of a polish, and seldom out on display (shame on us!).

Woman's hands holding an engraved silver bowl

Buried among the crystal pieces you’ll find a decanter we bought in Prague in 2012. It’s leaded crystal, so we couldn’t actually store the port we'd drink in it. We needed to decant only what we intended to drink. And, with that level of practicality, can you really blame us for letting it fall into disuse?

We also have the baking dish that Grandpa Art used for his freshly caught fish. And two glasses that our wonderful Uncle Lawrence and his friend created as they practiced their glass etching skills. Oh, and the vases from our travels in China. I’ll stop there, because it truly is my cabinet of curiosities.

Various items inside the cabinet

My hope for you all is that you will discover the joy that is Artifcts. There are stories I want shared with my immediate family only. Other stories are for my siblings, my church friends, and others. Artifcts offers me a safe place to record and share them. 

Artifcts has become a lovely addition to my day, sitting down to create a few Artifcts, reflecting on my life, sharing with loved ones, and feeling like I’ve done my bit to ensure my family’s history is passed on. I know one day I’ll leave behind a cabinet of curiosities and memories to cherish.

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We know that maybe your story is not about a cabinet. Maybe your story and the messy memories of lives lived are decorating your shelves, packed away in boxes, or adorning every square inch of your home.

Whatever it is you collect, whatever items you choose to hold onto, do yourself, your stories, and your loved ones a favor, and record what these things mean to you. You may be surprised by the fun you’ll have in the sharing and telling, too!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Insurance & The Art of Artifcts

Creating an Artifct is often a joyful experience, sometimes it is also cathartic, and for many Artifcting has become their preferred means of planning for their today and for their future. Insurance fits into that final category of Artifcts: preparedness. 

As you update your policies or renew in the new year, consider: Do you have enough insurance coverage for your valuables? Are you over insured? Do you have the documentation necessary to file a claim if mother nature, theft, or an accident forces your hand? Is an appraisal needed for a valuable item in your collection? 

Ironically, in a 2020 poll from the Insurance Information Institute, fewer homeowners reported having a home inventory than a decade prior, despite increased familiarity with and options for digitization of photos, documents, and more as well as a proliferation of inventory apps for home goods and collections.

In 2020, fewer homeowners reported having a home inventory than a decade prior, despite increased familiarity with and options for digitization of photos, documents, and more as well as a proliferation of inventory apps for home goods and collections.

It’s human nature to avoid the negative, the improbable, and any issues that aren’t about today. But here at Artifcts, you’ll not only be able to create a record of items that are of greatest value to you, but in the process, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy reliving and sharing your stories and passions with others and document irreplacable items, too!

Artifcts to Support Insurance 

When you create Artifcts with insurance coverage in mind, there are a few best practices to guide you. 

      • Photos and video. Take advantage of the five photos and/or videos you can add to each Artifct. Take a picture of the object as a whole, take another picture of a maker’s mark, if any, and then photograph the item from other angles. We also strongly encourage you to record and include a short video of the object, showing it from multiple angles. 
      • Documentation. Take a moment to find the receipt, appraisal, certificate of authenticity, or, if nothing else, a credit card statement that can help validate the original market price paid and the authenticity of the item. Attach it to your Artifct. When you acquire new items of value or collectibles, we recommend you Artifct That on the spot, when everything you need is at hand. This is a habit that will serve you well! 
      • Provenance. Where did it come from? Why do you have it? What does it mean to you? Even if you have only family lore of where an older item came from, record that in the “Description or story” of the Artifct.  

If you purchased it, describe where and when you were when you acquired the item and what makes it valuable to you. No, sentiment is not a qualifier in appraisal or replacement value, but it will be important to helping you get the right coverage and setting your own expectations for items you value.  

      • Add optional details. In your Artifct, click to view the “Full Form” and include how old it is, when you acquired it, and the marketplace or artist it’s from to facilitate an appraisal and any future insurance claims. We also strongly encourage to add its current physical “location.” And tag the item, e.g., #insurance, to easily sort your Artifcts by items you have, or want to have, added to your policy.  

Determining the Value of Your Belongings 

If you’re not sure of the value of an item in your collection, but suspect it’s valuable and want expert insight, you can Artifct That and then click “What’s it worth?” to share the Artifct and its supporting documentation privately with Heritage Auctions. They will assign your Artifct to the appropriate expert to review.  

You will receive a notification automatically in a few weeks when the free valuation is ready. You’ll find the valuation report in the documentation section of your Artifct. With the information from the valuation in hand, you can decide what to do next.  

Here's an example: You inherited a clock from your grandfather. You love it because it reminds you of him, always positioned on the bookcase next to his favorite reading chair, and you know he brought it with him to the United States from his homeland, Japan. The free valuation from Heritage Auctions informs you that that clock, in that condition, from that maker, in today’s market would go for between $18,000 and $22,000.  

You may think to yourself, “I better get an appraisal and confirm that it’s covered by my insurance policy.” Or you may think, “I loved Grandpa, but that clock is not that valuable to me. I’m going to sell it and use that money for {whatever you like}.” 

Before you sell a family heirloom or anything you value, you should consider these tips from Lark Mason, an expert in Chinese art and antiquities and frequent host on Antiques Roadshow. Read now! 

Insurance: Fact or Fiction 

We’ll close out this focus on Artifcts for insurance by revisiting our popular “Fact or Fiction?” discussion we had last fall with Howard Insurance, a private insurance advisory and risk management firm, about how to protect your ‘stuff’ from the chaos and mayhem that is life.

We invite you to test your knowledge with our "Insurance: Fact or Fiction" quiz, and then see what the experts have to say. (Hint: Answers are below.) We hope each point will build your confidence to take the necessary steps to protect all you cherish! 

      1. I need an appraisal to insure an item separate from my homeowner's policy.
      2. My homeowner's policy will pay to replace items even if my jewelry, antiques, silver or fine art has appreciated in value.
      3. All homeowners' policies are the same and include the coverage for everything in my home.
      4. Coverage for my personal trust is automatically included in my homeowner's policy.
      5. All homeowners' policies include coverage for mysterious disappearance.
      6. My personal property coverage is worldwide.
      7. Coverage for my personal property includes water damage, hurricanes and floods.
      8. There is no deductible for losses to my personal property.
      9. Filing a claim for my personal property will not impact my homeowner's premium.
      10. Mysterious disappearance coverage is included automatically on valuables policies. 

As the fact-fiction quiz reveals, picking the right policy or combination of policies is critical to protecting your ‘stuff,’ and worth a conversation with your agent. Watch the video replay with Howard Insurance for the full details behind each of these fact or fiction questions. 

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Can Chocolate Chip Cookies Be Your Legacy?

I always seem to have the funniest and yet profoundly moving conversations with my teenage daughter while stuck in traffic in our nation’s capitol. Yesterday was no exception. After a difficult conversation with a series of family members (all on speaker phone), my daughter turned to me and said, “Mom, I think your legacy is chocolate chip cookies.” 

I’ll spare you the details of the family conversation, but suffice it to say legacy, death, and dying were discussed. Not necessarily the happiest of topics, but topics that needed discussing nonetheless.  

Leave it to my daughter to come up with a one-liner that not only made me laugh but also made me think. You see, here at Artifcts we talk a lot about ‘stuff,’ legacy, family history, and stories. And although I have Artifcted my chocolate chip cookie recipe, I don’t think I ever would have lumped it into the category of my “legacy.” 

 

 
 
 
 
 

How Do We Define Legacy? 

Legacy is a complicated word. For some legacy may mean a name on a building, a patented invention, or other grandiose, broadly recognized achievements. For others, it may be the small moments, memorable stories, or favorite “isms” that made that person unique.  

Regardless of ‘what’ legacy is, all of us are busy creating, living, and building our legacies every single day. Each action we take, each ‘thing’ we make, all becomes part of our collective journey through life.  

So, although the Oxford dictionary defines legacy as either, “the amount of money or property left to someone in a will,” or “the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past, or of a person’s life,” we at Artifcts think “legacy” is so much more. It’s the stories, memories, and small moments that others will remember long after we are gone. It’s the things that made us laugh and maybe even the things that made us cry. It may be our habits, traditions, and favorite things.  

We’ve tried to capture the essence of all things legacy in our Legacy Checklist and know there is bound to be a thing or two that we missed. Why? Because we are all different, and we all lead different lives. One legacy is not like any other legacy.  

 

How Will You Define and Preserve Your Legacy? 

Seeing as October is Family History Month, and this week is National Estate Planning Week, we want to ask how will you not only define but also preserve and share your legacy? Take a moment this week to ponder this question and then take action. There is no time like the present to preserve and share the stories, moments, and yes, ‘stuff’ that make you, you! 

Will valuable assets and charitable donations be part of your legacy?  

If the answer is yes, ensure those assets are documented, and your directives are recorded in your estate plan or will. Our Artifcts “In the Future Field” can help you denote what happens next to those assets, creating a roadmap for your family or executor, including if the asset is to be donated or bequeathed.  

Do you find yourself thinking, “I have no children, but I have all this ‘stuff.’ I don’t think anyone will want it, and I don’t think anyone cares about my stories.”  

So often we undervalue our own life experiences. But we have to think more broadly: They are personal history, family history, and even world history. We’re members of communities and are valued. It’s also true that by linking a story with an item, you can increase its value, such that if you were to sell-off your estate one day, your stories may mean you can boost the ultimate value of the estate you might leave to a charitable organization in your community! 

Remember the “softer side” of your legacy, all those stories, memories, and small moments.  

Give yourself a goal of creating one Artifct a week that highlights some aspect of you that you want others to know about. Like me, it could be a favorite recipe that you’re famous for, or perhaps its tied to a memorable trip with an equally memorable souvenir, or a family heirloom with the family history you intend to pass down to the next generation. Sometimes those small moments mean just as much if not more than the big ‘stuff.’ 

Part of my legacy is indeed those chocolate chip cookies, as my daughter pointed out. The ones I bake before every cross-country meet, the ones the older kids hope for when coming home from college, and the ones I first baked (and delivered!) to my husband’s office when we were dating. The original recipe was my mother’s, although I have altered it over time to include salted butter and chocolate chunks rather than chocolate chips.  

Had you asked me, I would have said they were my mother’s cookies, and part of her legacy; she did teach me to bake them after all, seated on our old butcher block countertop. My daughter, however, has a different viewpoint. And isn’t that the whole point about legacy? Our legacy is what we will one day leave behind for others to remember about us.

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This October, go BEYOND the balance sheet of life and capture the legacy that is you and the stories of your life. Grab that favorite item from your desk, your kitchen table, your living room shelf, and tell its story as only you can, because you lived it!

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Use Artifcts Timelines to Enrich Your Family History

We live in a world of information overload, and if you’re digging into family history, that overload threat is potentially multiplied by generations.

Some of us organize our research and learnings in folders, and folders within folders. Nothing other than the name of each folder provides us a clue as to how everything inside relates or where gaps in the content may exist.

Others of us rely on hardcopy photo albums and scrapbooks, often missing the contextual details and stories to bring those books to life when the creator of those books is not there to talk you through them. And how do you modify them once complete?

Whether you’re just getting started with fleshing out your family history or focused on closing gaps, we think timelines are a powerful tool to have in your corner. Dive in with us!

Enriching Family History with Artifcts Timelines

Digital timelines can be hit or miss. Many applications, from Google Photos to specialized genealogy software to Facebook, offer timelines, but they often are rigid in terms of editing and lose the context for each entry. That’s because those timelines simply place photos, for example, in sequential order or display SOME information while leaving other information (documents, photos, ...) in separate, disconnected albums or galleries.

We view the Artifcts timeline as the ultimate way to future proof your history by, first and foremost, revealing gaps in the life moments you've captured with your Artifcts. True story: When our co-founder Ellen first looked at her personal timeline, she realized she’d never Artifcted anything about her wedding! Oops.

Once you know your gaps, you can then create new Artifcts to enrich your history with the stories and memories that have been left out. Another approach would be to start with Artifcts you’ve already created and add in videos and audio and/or supporting documentation for more color and context.  

Here's a great example of enriching a family history. It's one thing to know who created this painting:

Painting of a horse drawn carriage on a prairie

It’s another to hear first-hand what the artist was trying to capture and what the painting means, a generation later, to the artist’s son. Listen in -->  

Sharing family history in bite-sized mini-stories via Artifcts means you make feel-good progress a bit faster and family are more likely to tune in and listen to the whole story.

Steps to record audio or video inside the Artifcts app

 
 

Put Timelines to Work for You!

As you Artifct, we create your timeline automatically.

Assuming you have created a few Artifcts already, you will find your timeline by visiting your homepage and choosing "My Artifcts." You'll see the timeline option marked with a yellow "New!"

If your timeline is a bit sparse right now, check out the public Artifcts in our founders' timelines for inspiration - @Heather and @Ellen have shared many Artifcts over the past few years. 

Snippet of an Artifcts timeline, annual view_Heather

As you explore Artifcts timelines and think about your family history, test out the built-in timeline features, because you never know from where inspiration may spring:

      • Switch between annual and decade views.
      • Flip your Artifcts from newest-to-oldest and oldest-to-newest.
      • Drag and drop to move any Artifct to a different year.
      • Add time period notes, per year, about key events or family history research gaps.

We have great FAQs about timelines and a quick video ready for you as well.

Share with Us 

We’d love to hear what you learn about your own history when you look at it anew as a timeline. Had you skipped key life events? Are there whole decades missing? What inspires you to fill in any gaps? You can write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com  to share!

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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How a Simple Act Saved One Man’s Most Valued Memory of His Dad

His father was an advertising executive back in the 70s and 80s. Think Mad Men style. He was a bit of a wild man, a creative entrepreneurial sort that had a habit of building and losing fortunes, hustling, taking risks, and living and loving life.  

When he won the contract to shoot a Tiffany & Co. catalog, he was on the spot. He had to deliver on everything from art directing to photography on a dime to get the stunning results Tiffany & Co. expected. When time came for payment, his eye was not on a cash payout that his family needed but instead on a trade: Services rendered for a single Tiffany ring. And the good folks at Tiffany & Co. obliged. 

The Onyyx Stone Vintage Signate ring set in a simple 14k gold band is eye catching. It’s a manly ring. Bold in its simplicity. His Dad wore it everywhere.   

Matt and his father; his father's wearing the black onyx ring

Many years later, on his death bed, he gave this ring to his son Matt to carry a piece of him and his spirit forward. It’s the sort of dramatic gesture you usually only see in the movies.  

Like his dad, Matt wore the ring every day, everywhere, an omnipresent touchstone to his roots.

Then one day, Matt took it off. Out one evening for a dinner meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, Matt removed the ring, placing it in his pocket, to avoid a potential mess while enjoying an exceptionally juicy burger at his favorite local restaurant.

Only later when Matt returned to his hotel room did he realize the ring was missing. No hole in his pocket, but no ring either.

What Happened Next 

What do you do when you lose something?

You retrace your steps.

You picture what you’ve lost, and you try to describe it to those who might help you find it.

You hunt through photos on your phone hoping to find one that shows the ring clearly. But come to think of it, how often do you take a photo that clearly shows a ring you wear unless you’re newly engaged? 

Matt was lucky. He may have had the stress of this lost family heirloom, but he did not have the stress of how to describe this invaluable piece of his father. Matt had Artifcted that ring.

 
CLICK THE IMAGE to view the Artifct and listen to Matt tell you about his father and the ring in his own words.

Artifcts to the Rescue

After Matt discovered he’d lost the ring, he did two things next: 

      1. He shared the Artifct with his insurance company. His Artifct of the ring included photos with the ring clearly pictured along with the story of its provenance. This is every insurer’s dream. Instant notice from a client of a lost item, multiple photos of the item, and details about its provenance. Far fewer emails and calls back and forth to process the claim, less concern about fraud, and a lower stress, more likely to be satisfied, policyholder. 
      2. He shared the Artifct with the restaurant where he had taken it off. The restaurant owner shared the ring photos with his staff to begin the search. Not everyone can easily imagine a ring generically described. Photos help.

Two days later

The restaurant staff came through. They found Matt’s ring in two days later in the parking lot. Dented a little but found! Matt raced back to the restaurant hours before his flight home to recover his father’s ring.  

Matt then shared the Artifcted ring a third time. This time he shared it with a local jeweler in hopes that the ring could be restored to its former glory. Spoiler: It’s good as new!

If You Love It, Artifct That! 

There's simply, truly, we beg you to understand, no time like the present.

We share this story with Matt’s permission as further evidence of how taking all of one minute to create Artifcts for items that you value most in this life can have many returns to you in the future.  

This was never just a ring. This is the ring his father gave him. This is the ring that belonged to the man that Matt wanted to keep alive for his own children to know. This is the man whose actions taught Matt that you must always get paid for the work you do.

This story is not about the ring, not really. It’s about a wild man, a creative, a hopeless entrepreneur and the life lessons he passed to his son, and that his son now will pass to his children.

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Swedish Death Cleaning Your Digital Legacy

Reading time: 7 minutes 

Swedish Death Cleaning provides a conceptual framework to encourage us each to organize and declutter our homes to reduce the burden on loved ones who would otherwise need to sift through 1000s of objects one day when we’re no longer here. We might be some of the biggest fans of Margareta Magnusson, who introduced the concept in her book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, that she’s never met.💗 We all can understand and maybe even relate to the concept but having a term for it gives us a starting point to act on it! 

Artifcts is your best-in-class Swedish Death Cleaning app. It’s a big reason why we write on and provide workshops related to this topic. Today we’re considering Swedish Death Cleaning from yet another angle: Your digital legacy.

Defining “Digital Legacy” 

What ARE we talking about, “digital legacy?” 

Good question! Because, no, in this context, it is not about the entirety of your online life or digital assets, e.g. banking, mortgages, insurance policies, investments, or similar. All critical! All should be a part of your estate plan and/or will. You should also invest in an online digital vault to corral it together, benefit from automated and smart reminders, and enjoy the ease of sharing securely or accessing it yourself in an emergency.

What we are talking about with "digital legacy" are the digital items that reflect our lives and personal histories as well as who we are as members of families and communities. 

What makes up your digital legacy depends in part on your age as well as your personality and views. Some of us have chosen not to adopt certain aspects of digital life or have intentionally created the smallest digital footprint possible. Others of us go big online for personal and professional reasons. 

Below we’ll provide a framework to help you get started as you organize and maybe declutter your own digital legacy to ensure its best chance of meaning and survival!

What: Take Inventory 

Literally pause, grab a piece of paper or digital notebook, and start jotting down your digital footprint. Yes, you might need to wander your home, pull out some bins, open some drawers, but this is the easy part. We’ll help you get started.

Do you or other household members have any of these? 

      • Digital music and/or movie libraries, including media that’s digitally native and any you might have digitized when you, oh, let’s say, “decluttered” that VHS, DVD, or CD collection. 
      • Photographs, again, digital native photos from your phone, most likely, and those pics you have scanned or otherwise digitized over time. 
      • Social media posts, and before those, your blogs 
      • Academic and professional research, including publications, patents, and even genealogy, family history, and DNA information.  
      • NFTs and other digital works stored, for example, in your digital wallet(s).

Where: As Tech has Changed, Storage has Changed 

Before cell phones were our go-to video recorders, there were small handheld versions that were wow’ing, because they had great quality and storage for the time, and were many times smaller than those you held with a strap in one hand or the ones that were so big that they sat on your shoulder. Did you ever download all the videos on your digital handheld camera? Treasures untold may be waiting. 

Think creatively through all the digital tech you’ve used and held onto through the years when you consider where your files may be resting, and in some cases, actively degrading. 

Bulk stashes via old and new hardware.

As time has gone on, we’ve been able to more cheaply and conveniently store massive volumes of data on those things and yet you might be surprised how little you actually saved to some. One of our Arti Community members told us she has 15 thumb drives that each contain three songs her daughter recorded during her spring and fall piano recitals.

Dig out those thumb drives, memory cards that may still be in old cameras or spare cases, disks (floppy, hard, and otherwise), and flash drives. Environmental implications aside, harvesting and storing those digital files together, and backed up in a second location, is a relatively easy, cheap, and fast undertaking. Hurray! 

Desktop and laptop hard drives. 

Hopefully before you donated or recycled old computers, you saved the contents somewhere else, a flash drive, your preferred cloud environment, or your new computer, perhaps. Wherever it went, take stock. And watch out if your employer is okay with you using your work device for personal use, too, as you may have some gems on those devices. 

“The Cloud,” e.g. Google Drive, Box, Drop Box, and Permanent, among others. 

You may have gotten on a kick and started storing stuff within a particular environment because a friend or family member was sharing stuff with you there and you followed suit. But what are you using nowadays? Consider if your habits have changed and you need to rescue files from various cloud locations and move to one central archive for storage. 

Memberships, especially apps and websites you love or loved once upon a time.

If you are worried you might not remember them all, you have some options.  

Option A. Checking billing statements is the best starting point. We hope you’re not paying for something you haven’t used in years. While simpler than scrolling through your email, this still gets messy if you are using many different payment methods (credit cards, PayPal, etc.) and/or other household members might be paying via a family account. So, option B ...  

Option B. Go to the apps lists on your phone, tv, and computer. What’s installed? Are you paying for it? While you’re in there, check which have location, contact, notification, and background refresh services turned on. You might want to lock down your privacy! Bonus Tip: For Apple (iOS) mobile users, you can go to your Settings -> Click on your name/circle at the top -> and click “Subscriptions.” You may find surprises there, too! 

Take a moment to consider first what content do (or did) you create or upload to these memberships that you own and can potentially download to back up elsewhere and/or to then close your account. Then, if you want to keep the account open and have backed up the content, check the account’s settings for legacy contact and/or memorialization options and set yours up so you do not lose anything you created or upload to that membership. You also will then hopefully avoid falling into a scenario in which inactivity grants the company via its terms and conditions the right to delete your data or use your data in a way you do not support.

Best Practice call out box

Now What: What Do You Value Most? What Do “They” Value Most? 

Life comes with inherent limits. Only so much time in a day, money in our accounts, bandwidth in our brains. We must choose carefully how we spend our resources. What matters to you will help you prioritize how you manage your digital legacy. 

Here are three steps you can take to manage your digital legacy. These are not mutually exclusive! Start at ‘good,’ add in ‘better,’ and laugh, enjoy, and gain peace of mind with ‘best.’

Good. Inventory the items and put physical storage devices, e.g. flash drives, in a fire-safe place. Get rid of what you don’t want. This might mean recycling some tech (options exist!) and cleaning out files. But before you get too aggressive with that decluttering, ASK loved ones if they are interested in the types of materials you are ready to shed. You may be surprised what matters to them versus to yourself! This will help you with the next option.

Better. Digitize items with backups and share access to those resources with loved ones. This is now moving into prime Swedish Death Cleaning territory where we have not just organized but we’ve also decluttered in a way that’s potentially meaningful. Loved ones get the option to raise their hand and say, “Yes, that I want.” And the beauty here is it is digital. It won’t take up physical space so it’s less risky for them to say yes.

Best. While we all love photos, videos, and documentary evidence of cool things, like being the mastermind behind a patent, without context, even digital items become clutter we ignore. Here’s the story of one family’s “great” discovery. Whether your format is Artifcts, scrapbooks, or photobooks, find a medium to gift your loved ones a ‘why’ and not just more digital stuff. What is the story behind this photo? In layman's speak, what was this amazing scientific breakthrough in this patent that bears your name? What did it mean to you

Let us know about your progress. What was the easy part? Are you stuck on any specific digital histories of yours? What was the outcome? 

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More from Artifcts on Swedish Death Cleaning: 

The Joys of Swedish Death Cleaning 

Swedish Death Cleaning a Marriage After Death or Divorce 

How Swedish Death Cleaning Helps During a Move

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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