15 Years in Storage: Now What? It’s Time to Organize 'Stuff'

October is Family History Month—a perfect opportunity to pause and think beyond names, dates, and genealogy charts and consider the stories that make your family history uniquely yours.

At Artifcts, we see family history everywhere: in the china passed down from a grandmother, the recipe card covered in her handwriting, an old photograph tucked into an album, a piece of jewelry worn for decades, or an everyday object that carries a story only one person in the family still remembers.

These keepsakes and heirlooms are more than “stuff.” They are tangible connections to the people, places, traditions, experiences, and values that came before us. But without the stories behind them, those connections can easily become lost over time.

The story would have been lost if we hadn't asked, "Grandma what's the story behind this china?"

That’s why we take Family History Month as an opportunity to document and preserve the stories, memories, and value behind the things that matter to us. Whether you’re a dedicated genealogist or someone who simply has a few treasured family objects, October is a great excuse to capture what you know—and share it with the people who will want to know it someday.

So this Family History Month, do it your way. Start with an heirloom. Tell the story behind a photograph. Capture a favorite family recipe. Record what you remember about the person who gave you something special. Preserving family history isn't only about remembering who came before us; it’s also about making sure future generations understand why the things we leave behind mattered.

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Hello Family Genealogists, Historians, And Those In the Making

You don't have to be a professional genealogist—or even particularly interested in genealogy—to be a keeper of your family's history.

Maybe you've spent years researching your family tree and have boxes of documents, photographs, and notes to prove it. Or maybe your family history lives in a much less organized collection: a few old photographs, Grandma's carnival glass collection, an old journal, your father's favorite chair, or stories you've heard so many times you assume you'll always remember them.

But here's the thing: family history isn't just about names, dates, and where your ancestors came from. It's about the stories and meaning behind the things that connect us to the people who came before us. And those stories are surprisingly easy to lose.

The person who knows why that painting hung in the family room. The person who remembers where a particular piece of jewelry came from. The person who can explain why everyone makes the holiday stuffing that way. When that person is gone, the object may remain—but the story can disappear with them. That's where Artifcts can help.

Rather than trying to document your entire family history at once, start with one thing that matters. Take a photo. Add what you know. Tell the story behind it. Capture a memory, a voice recording, a video, or any other detail that helps explain what it is, why it matters, and what you hope happens to it next. That's the heart of Artifcting.

And don't worry if you don't know everything. Start with what you do know. Share your Artifcts with family members and invite them to fill in the blanks. Your memories can spark someone else's, and together you can create a richer picture of your family's story.

Think of it as passing down more than an object. You're passing down the context, the connection, and the “why” that makes it meaningful.

A Few Easy Ways to Start

• Choose a family heirloom. What is it? Who did it belong to? How did it come into your family? Most importantly, why does it matter?

• Capture a family recipe. Don't just save the ingredients. Record who made it, when your family enjoyed it, and those little tricks that never made it onto the recipe card.

• Add the story to an old photograph. Identify the people, place, and occasion—but also capture whatever you remember about that moment.

• Ask someone to tell you their story. Sit with a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or longtime family friend and ask about the things they've kept. You may be surprised by what you learn.

• Share what you've captured. Family history becomes more valuable when it's accessible to the people who will carry it forward.

Our co-founder Heather Artifcted her mother's cranberry sauce recipe and included a video to show her daughter how to sort the cranberries. 

You don't need to preserve everything, and you don't need to know everything. Just start with something that matters—and make sure its story doesn't get lost.

Share the History

The reality is not all families have a family keeper, that person who by choice or default holds onto the heirlooms, photos, recipes, and slew of documents that represent generations of a family’s history. Or maybe you are a solo ager, the last keeper, or recent inheritor of all this family history and are thinking, “Now what? I really don’t want this stuff.” 

There’s a second reality that is important to recognize: family history is not only family history. Sometimes family history is part of local, national, or even global history. It offers clues to key figures, ways of living, and the social, political, and religious practices of a place in time. So, consider sharing pieces of your family history with the world through donations. 

• Philanthropic donations. Consider galleries, libraries, research centers, foundations, and museums with specialties that may overlap with your items. Donations are not necessarily only in the realm of inherently valuable objects. Often, you guessed it, the story behind the object is the key. Don’t know the story either? That’s okay. Reach out to an institution, share your items, and give them the opportunity to tell you!  
• Archival donations. Transform your personal family history into elements of a shared community history by offering your items to professional archives. What types of items might fit this category? As a starter: scrapbooks, journals, letters, and diaries; original business materials (certificates, advertising, shares, board documents, voting records); media (photographs, slides, film, even websites too). You can learn more at the Society of American Archivists. 

Using Artifcts? Before you donate, Artifct the items to retain the family lore and history that’s relevant to you, and then share with family. Make sure no one else is interested in the item before you donate it, and attach any documentation related to your donation to the Aritfct. You can then rest easy knowing your family’s history will be in the capable professional hands of institutions that will preserve and protect them for generations to come. 

Let's Talk Wills and Legacy

We admit, not your typical topic for Family History Month, but hear us out. Wills are not simply about death, they also ease the burden on those we leave behind. We all too frequently ignore the items we've collected over time. And, no, they will not sort themselves into piles to sell, donate, or bequeath. At the end of the day, someone will have to make 1000s of decisions about what becomes of every single item. Do you really want to leave a burden as your legacy? 

Wouldn’t you rather everyone be better prepared and informed? Not only will making a plan and creating documents make it easier for your family to pick up the pieces, but they can also help loved ones understand why you valued the items you are leaving behind. We've got some tips to help:

• Don’t have a Will? There are many wonderful estate planning attorneys in each community who can help you with this process. But this is an industry transformed by the digital revolution, and then some. If you are looking for a digital, self-guided approach, check out our fellow AARP AgeTech Collaborative partners at Trust & Will.   
• Haven’t really seen your Will in a while? Give it a checkup. There's no time like the present. Add it to your to-do list this month! 
• Confirm: Are the major themes covered?  Consider your physical estate, digital assets, retirement accounts, powers of attorney, medical directives, living wills, minor children, and even relatives with disabilities.  
• Is there a list of tangible assets referenced in your Will? Your Will may provide for a separate “Memorandum” that can be updated and changed at any time without making any changes to your Will.  
  • • • No list? Start. Just take a first cut by looking around the house (or your Artifcts collection!). 
      • Already have a list? Double check that it covers at least those items of greatest financial or heart (sentimental) value. 

Using Artifcts? Pick three or four of your most treasured items to Artifct and let your loved ones know why each item matters to you. Use the "In the Future" field to think through and record what you would like to happen to this item one day. Will it be passed down? Rehomed? Sold? Consider sharing the Artifct with your estate planner or attorney to list with other tangible assets referenced in your Will.   

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Artifcting Starter Resources 

We have all sorts of resources that can help you make the most of Family History Month this October:

Inspiration Checklists

Videos on YouTube

Artifcting Quick Tips

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© 2026 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When you're helping someone move, downsize, transition to senior living, or clear a home after a death, you naturally think about protecting their belongings. But what about the things that don't look like they contain anything valuable? 

An old phone in a bedside drawer. A laptop that hasn't been turned on in years. A printer in the home office. A USB drive in a junk drawer. A smart TV. A Wi-Fi router. Even the car. 

These objects may look like electronics headed for donation, recycling, or the trash. But they can also contain something far more sensitive than the device itself: a person's private information. 

For move managers and anyone helping clients or loved ones sort through a home, that creates an important duty of care. 

A Hard Drive is a Filing Cabinet That Doesn't Look Like One 

You wouldn't put a box of bank statements at the curb without thinking about what could happen to the information inside. A hard drive deserves the same consideration. 

The same is true of a phone, tablet, memory card, USB drive, or computer. Depending on the device and its age, it may contain: 

• Bank and financial information
• Tax records
• Social Security numbers and other identifying information
• Medical records
• Personal photographs and videos
• Email
• Saved passwords and account credentials
• Contacts and addresses
• Access to subscriptions and other paid services 

And email deserves special attention. A logged-in email account can potentially be used to reset passwords for many other accounts, making an old laptop or phone much more than a collection of files. 

My rule of thumb? If it turns on, connects, or remembers, treat it like it holds private information. That simple rule catches many of the devices that are easy to overlook. 

It's Not Just Computers and Phones 

The obvious devices are easy to spot: computers and laptops; phones and tablets; external hard drives; and USB sticks and memory cards. 

But data can hide in less obvious places, too. Printers and copiers can retain copies of documents that have been scanned, printed, or faxed. Smart TVs and speakers may be connected to accounts and Wi-Fi networks. Gaming devices may contain account credentials and payment information. Routers and smart-home devices can contain network information or remain connected to online services. 

And let’s not forget what’s in the garage! Cars may store contacts, addresses, garage codes, messages, navigation history, and other personal information. 

And then there are the devices sitting quietly in drawers: an old phone that no longer works, a tablet that hasn't been charged in years, or a stack of memory cards whose contents nobody remembers. The fact that a device is old, broken, or forgotten doesn't mean its data is gone. 

"But They Already Erased It." 

This is where assumptions can get dangerous. 

A 2014 Avast study famously found that researchers were able to recover more than 40,000 photos, texts, emails, and personal records from 20 used phones that their previous owners believed they had erased. Avast repeated the exercise in 2016, finding data remaining on 12 of 20 phones purchased from pawn shops. 

Those examples are dated, and the technology has changed. Modern iOS and Android devices generally use encryption and have improved reset processes that help protect data when a device is reset, but older devices remain in homes. So do broken devices, old hard drives, USB drives, memory cards, and computers that may not have had encryption enabled. 

That's why "delete" and "erase" should not automatically be treated as the same thing. 

If you cannot confidently establish that the information has been securely removed, secure destruction may be the safer path. 

Three Questions to Ask About Every Device 

Rather than trying to become a technology expert overnight, use a simple repeatable process. 

1. What's on it?

Think about the sensitivity of the information the device might contain. Could it have financial information? Medical records? Identity documents? Passwords? Family photographs? Email? 

2. Who decides?

This question is especially important during a move. The person who physically hands you a device isn't necessarily the person legally authorized to decide what happens to it. 

For a typical downsizing move, the client or loved one may make the decision. For an estate clear-out, the executor—not simply whichever family member happens to be present—may have authority. And after a death, family members may need time to determine what photographs, files, accounts, or other information should be preserved before anything is erased. 

3. What's the right call?

Once you know what's on the device and who has authority to decide, determine what should happen next. 

Transfer. Erase. Destroy. Donate. Recycle. 

When I'm helping loved ones through this process, these are the five steps I am most focused on.   

1. Transfer

The device—or simply the files on it—stays with the client or family. Before transferring it, ask whether there is anything on the device that shouldn't be passed along. 

2. Erase

If the device is leaving the client's or your loved one's possession, securely erase the information first. A quick "delete" isn't necessarily enough. And if you can't confirm that the erasure worked, don't assume it did. 

3. Destroy

When you can't confidently erase a device, secure destruction is an option. For particularly sensitive devices or situations where the data cannot be reliably removed, shredding can provide a clear endpoint. When using a destruction service, obtain documentation or a certificate of destruction. 

4. Donate

Donation can give a usable device a second life—but only after the information has been securely erased. 

5. Recycle

Recycling handles the physical materials. It does not automatically erase the information stored on the device. That's an important distinction. Recycling isn't erasing. 

Don't Just Throw It Away 

The easiest choice isn't always the most defensible one. If a device contains personal information, putting it into a regular trash or donation stream without first addressing the data creates an unnecessary risk. 

Instead, identify trusted resources before you need them. 

Check local directories for secure shredding and electronics recycling and maybe even ask banks, hospitals, law offices, and fellow NASMM members which providers they trust, depending on the device. 

Make Data Security Part of Your Pre-Move Walk-Through 

One of the easiest ways to improve the moving and/or downsizing process is to build a data sweep into the normal home walk-through. As you move room by room, look for anything that: turns on, connects, or remembers. 

Check home offices, kitchen drawers, bedside tables, living rooms, entertainment centers, garages, closets, and cars. 

Set potentially sensitive devices aside in a secure location rather than putting them into the general sorting pile. 

And don’t forget to document the decision! Good documentation turns a judgment call into a defensible process. 

For each device, record: 

• What the item is
• What decision was made
• Who approved the decision
• The date
• Who handled it
• Where it went
• Any destruction or recycling documentation received 

That paper trail protects both the client and the professionals handling the move. 

How to Talk About It With Clients or Loved Ones

Data security can sound intimidating. It doesn't have to. 

Instead of making the conversation about technology, make it about protecting the client's belongings. 

For example: 

"As we sort, I'll set aside anything that might hold personal information—old computers, phones, even printers—and handle it as carefully as your financial papers. Nothing leaves unchecked." 

If someone says, "Just throw it out," you can explain: 

"I don't just toss it because it can hold the same information a thief would need. Doing it right protects you and your family." 

And when the client or your loved one is overwhelmed, focus on the reassuring part: 

"We keep what matters—your photos and important files—and safely close out the rest." 

That's an important shift. For move managers, data security doesn't have to feel like another problem you're putting on the client. It can be part of the service you're providing. 

A Simple Protocol You Can Use on Every Move 

When you encounter a device, ask: 

• What's on it?
• How sensitive could the information be?
• Who gets to decide? 

Is it the client, a power of attorney, an executor, or someone else with authority? 

What's the right call? Transfer it? Erase it? Destroy it? Donate it? Recycle it? 

Then document the decision and the outcome. 

It's simple enough to become routine—and comprehensive enough to create a consistent process across jobs. 

The Bigger Picture: Preserving What Matters 

Move management is ultimately about transitions. Sometimes that means helping someone preserve the photographs, documents, memories, and belongings that matter most. It also means knowing when something should not continue into the next chapter. 

An old laptop may look like junk. A phone may look worthless. A USB drive may look like a piece of plastic. But each may be a container for a client's identity, memories, finances, relationships, and access to their digital life. 

Preserve what matters. Secure the rest. 

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© 2026 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve ever needed a better reason to stick to or create a resolution to declutter your home, this one might do it: It’s good for your brain. And we’ve seen it firsthand.  

In today’s piece, we talk openly about facing a loved one’s dementia diagnosis, and how, maybe to your surprise, decluttering can help. We are grateful to include specialist insights throughout from Cathy Rice, certified senior move manager and life-long educator.  

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Dementia is heartbreaking, terrifying, and, so far, irreversible. Even if a loved one is in many ways themself, we know the disease is slowly changing them and shortening their life. 

Some of us react to this sort of diagnosis with a desire to do something, anything, to help, to make our loved one’s life in any way better, to take the tiniest measure of control over the disease. We dive into a multi-prong tactical to-do list that we must continuously update as together we progress from diagnosis, to sharing that diagnosis with others, to learning how to manage the disease and being as prepared as possible across legal, medical, financial, and insurance fronts.  

As we seek out ou own ways to help, we expect to find information about diet, exercise, and social activities, and we do. What we were surprised to find recently while browsing HFC, Shining a Light on Alzheimer's: 5 Brain Health Habits was the hot mainstream topic of decluttering.  

Benefits of Decluttering for Those With Dementia 

You know decluttering well from TV shows like The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and The Home Edit, and books including Matt Paxton’s famous Keep The Memories, Lose The Stuff. Decluttering to support someone with dementia in some ways is like decluttering for people with normal brain health. Too much stuff can literally be dangerous if we cannot safely navigate our homes. Some of us are also more sensitive to feeling drained by too much stuff lying about around us.  

Of course, when you have dementia, decluttering has other benefits, too. 

• • • Reduce stress. Stress reduction is imperative when you have mild cognitive impairment or dementia. And decluttering can mean clearing away some of the to-dos that come to mind when people see stuff to tidy, dust, or keep safe. Have you experienced a loved one with dementia hiding things to keep the item safe? I am sure you have because it's an incredibly common behavior. 
    • Improve sleep. Quality sleep is critical for the brain’s nightly reset. Busy surroundings can lead to busy brains and may even sow confusion in bedtime routines.  
    • Safety, safety, safety. We know, decluttering is about aging well in place for all of us as we age, but it’s especially true for people with health conditions, like dementia, that can make them more vulnerable to confusing and distracting surroundings.
    • Avoiding anything close to hoarding. Keep in mind, hoarding disorder is its own condition, but managing even the clutter of daily life is more difficult when you have dementia because of increased challenges in making decisions.  
    • Purpose. We know finding purpose at any age is important. Here we are talking about giving the decluttering process a purpose to help your loved one part with more items than they might otherwise be willing to do. Purpose might be supporting a local shelter, resupplying charitable builders with tools, or reconnecting with loved ones when you pass down items. You get the idea. 

Decluttering for Dementia

We’ve prepared these tips from our own practical experience helping our loved ones with dementia as we try to help make sense of it all, including one’s surroundings.* In some cases our loved ones were also decluttering to downsize and move. In others, it was more of a practical decluttering, for safety and mental health.  

* We are not medical professionals. If you are considering radical changes to your loved one’s home enviornment, you should consult first with a specialist licensed in dementia care.

LIGHTS ...

Before you start your declutter, check the lighting throughout the home. Living like a cave troll generally does no one very good. But dementia is not only about memory. If you can see well what’s around you, it’s easier to make sense of your surroundings (and of course it’s safer). Make it easy to see the light switches, too. Understanding and interpreting surroundings, like a white switch on a white wall, can become an impediment for someone with dementia. 

Cathy’s Insight: Adding felt pads to any lighting fixture to differentiate the feel of the switch from the fixture itself or a simple icon as a visual cue helps to support the brain's understanding of the item with its function.

… CAMERA, ACTION!

Start from the ground, and work your way up.

What’s on the floor? Stacks of stuff? Wandering power cords? Rugs that slip and shift? Take a fresh look. Then move your eye upward to the surfaces of counters and entry tables. If someone needed to quickly grab onto a surface to prevent a fall, would they have a secure place to grab?  Is there a clear and secured place for common objects, like house keys?

Cathy’s Insight: People with dementia often find comfort in knowing that their stuff is close-at-hand. Create a "command center" within easy reach of their favorite chair for essentials (eyeglasses, books, pencils, fidget items, etc.).  

And about those rugs … if you must keep them, use carpet tape to secure edges to the floor. The same applies to small storage trays, which you can secure with surface-safe tape or museum putty.

Favor simple home furnishings.

As we know stress takes its own toll on the brain; let’s try to minimize the stress home décor can accidentally create. One Arti Member told us, “My loved one was disturbed by a decorative lumbar pillow that had a shaggy fur cover. It looked like a small dog.” Sometimes textures and patterns can be difficult for people with dementia to interpret. Likewise distinguishing whether an object is inanimate. This is why some people with advancing dementia find comfort with life-like pets such as those from Joy For All.

Take it down a notch.

This is about audio clutter. Too much and/or competing noises can be incredibly distracting for anyone, particularly someone with dementia. Think about simultaneous noise from the television, washing machine, and someone on a phone call, for example.

Cathy’s Insight: Taking this point a step further, family, friends, and caregivers should practice standing in front of, and at eye level if appropriate, people with dementia before speaking with them. Get their attention by saying their name and then speak simply and succinctly. 

Set it aside, together. Do not remove it. 

Don’t remove it immediately, if you do not have to, that is. Rushes to declutter in support of someone with memory loss could lead to irreversible loss of cherished mementos that also can serve as visual cues for familiarity and comfort. Is there an alternative way to display the items that the person with dementia says they care most about? Maybe try grouping like items on a shelf or table where they will see them often. For photos, you might even consider a digital photo frame, such as those from Nixplay, Aura, or any of the many other options.  

For items that do not make the cut, if space permits, store them in an appropriate box, and set them aside so you can pull them back out later if needed or as part of a monthly or maybe seasonal rotation. We recommend you Artifct them before they go into the box and tag them to easily recall what you've stored. This approach does not apply to duplicates, meaningless bits and bops, or trash. Consult with your loved one always as well as your own good judgement.

Clarity of Purpose for the Win

Our final decluttering tip is about visual chaos. If you open a drawer and see a jumble of socks, pants, and t-shirts, you could get distracted or confused. If a cabinet has five options for plates, and 10 options for cups, which should you choose? Not only should you streamline what’s inside for simpler decision making but consider visually labeling doors to indicate what’s inside. This gadget could help you get started with easy printing of images from your phone.

Cathy’s Insight: As the disease of dementia progresses, consider only placing the clothes needed for that day in the drawer or use a shelf in a bedroom/bathroom as the place for their daily wardrobe.  

Do you have decluttering tips for dementia? We’d love to hear them! You can contact Editor@Artifcts.com.

Happy Artifcting!

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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

If you are a caregiver or supporting someone who is, you may find it helpful to browse and share these related resources.

Alzheimer's Society, UK: 10 Ways to Make Your Home Dementia Friendly 

US National Institute of Health: Study of Home Modifications for People with Dementia 

Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute: Communication Strategies in Dementia Care  

Mayo Clinic: Clearing Clutter Benefits Your Health and Well-Being

Psychology Today: The Many Mental Benefits of Decluttering 

AARP Michigan: Dementia Resource Guide for Families

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© 2026 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.