Give the gift small icon
HELLO!
Give the gift big icon
Give the gift
of Artifcts

The perfect gift for the person
in your life who has everything.

Give a gift Close

Tips for an Easier Move with Artifcts

Heather Nickerson, Artifcts
November 08, 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes 
 
I grew up in the same house. My first move was to college. Me and my minimalist tendencies, I would have been fine with a backpack of clothing and a laundry bin of bedding and essentials. My mother being the maximalist had different plans. Let’s just say I was the only freshman with a banana hanger.  
 
Fast forward 20 something years. I’ve moved three times in as many years. And yet … it’s still not easy. The stuff doesn’t move itself. It requires planning, staging, boxing, moving, unpacking, and, in our case, a good dose of, “Mom, did you pack my [insert name of thing here]. I can’t find it.” Let’s just say if finding things post-move was a varsity sport, I would have lettered in it by now. 
 
As a founder of a tech company dedicated to ‘stuff’ you’d think I’d have it figured out by now. I don’t. Each move for me is an opportunity to assess what worked and what didn’t, and to reassess what we have and why we have it. I still have my minimalist tendencies although I’ve swapped my maximalist mother for a super maximalist (and very sweet and sentimental) spouse. 
 
So, what’s a girl to do? I’ve pulled together some tips based on what I wish I had known, and what I had wished I had done the first, second, and yes, third go-around. 

      1. Hire a move manager. If you’re anything like me—trying to juggle work, kids, and aging in-laws—a move manager is key. You don’t need to be downsizing to work with your local NASMM partner. Contemplating a move? Call them, you won’t regret it. It takes the pressure off you and gives you a trusted, vetted, and expert resource to help you pre-, during, and post-move. 
      2. Artifct fragile, valuable, or especially sentimental items before you pack. You never know what will happen during the move. Best to have the memory, photos, and details saved. In our case, moving an overly excited golden retriever can do as much if not more damage to cherished belongings than a dropped box in transit. And, if something happens to one of your valuable items, you can share the Artifct with your insurance agent to expedite the claims process!  
      3. Artifct all other special items as you unpack. If you physically must unpack and put away every last item, Artifct the ones that mean something to you, and don’t forget to use the “In the future” field to note what you want to happen to the item in the future. Not only are you unpacking (yay!) you’re also creating a roadmap for your family of what to do with all your stuff one day down the road. It’s a win-win. (Added bonus: Use the “Location” field to note the item’s new location. It’s been a life saver in our house the past few weeks since our move.) 
      4. As you unpack, set aside items you haven’t used in a year or items you completely forgot you own. Hold off putting them away until you ask yourself, "Do I really need this? Do I want this?" If you are limited in space and holding on to an item for purely sentimental reasons, consider Artifcting it and then donating or re-homing it. Moving can be a great time to embrace the art of Swedish Death Cleaning
      5. Got children? You probably have their stuff too. Get them involved early and often. Giving them something to do helps you and them! You can check out our Pint-Sized Perspectives on Moving for more tips on moving with children. As for our older children, if you’re reading this, your stuff awaits you. You know what will happen to it if it remains unused or unclaimed for more than a year. Chop, chop! 
      6. Worried about critical documents and sensitive ‘stuff,’ such as passports, tax returns, and the like? Skip the boxes and carry them with you.
      7. About those boxes. Serial mover? Think twice before trying to reuse old boxes, the integrity of which may have been weakened during the last move. Reusing boxes may also be prohibited by movers and insurance agents. Better to be safe than sorry and either use re-usable plastic bins (like we did for the last three moves!) or invest in new boxes to ensure your ‘stuff’ doesn’t get damaged in transit. 
      8. Don’t forget to mark and position the boxes or bins that you need for immediate use in your new home. Nothing is worse than not being able to make a bed or take a shower after a long day of moving. Our daughter should know—she ended up in a sleeping bag for a day or two on move number two until we could locate her bedding.  
      9. And just for laughs, don’t forget to turn off or redirect your auto-shipments. No sooner had we moved out of our last place than a 30 lb. bag of probiotic dog food arrived. I hope the new occupants saw the humor in that! We did; our golden retriever, not so much.  

@Sasso is holding out hope for that missing bag of dog food. 

 
Have your own tried and true tips for moving? We’d love to hear from you! You can reach us at Editor@Artifcts.com. 

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Share With Friends
3 likes
What's New at Artifcts
Telling My Story Without the Pressure of a Memoir

Reading time: 4 minutes 

Many of us feel overwhelmed by the prospect of telling our stories never mind authoring a memoir. One. More. Thing. To do. And, "How do I even get started?”  

Companies exist that will send you daily and weekly prompts to help; some will even call you. You answer a question at a time until you get to some state of "done." This is a solid, time-tested strategy for any of life’s larger tasks, breaking it down into something smaller.  

Those question-by-question approaches are not for everyone. You may feel pestered as well as stressed if you “get behind.” And not all of us are great with open-ended questions that lack true personalization.  

Another option is to work with a professional writer. No, not someone you meet for 30 or 60 minutes and with their notes they write or record your life story. Really? That’s a neat trick. If only life were so simple.  

We’re talking about the professionals like with LifeBook Memoirs, whose work is a true art, a physical family heirloom, and a gift. The level of care, privacy, and personalization to your needs, coupled with the product they print makes anyone a believer in the power of a memoir. 

But what if you want are not yet ready to plunge into the time and cost of a memoir and still want to privately make progress on your own? That's what we're talking about here today.

The Artifcts Approach to Writing Your Story, Your Memoir 

I’ve been telling my story through travel mementos, collections, books, photos and more, slowly but surely through my Artifcts. No outline. No grand scheme. As I come across or receive something that inspires me, I Artifct it.  

I'll use one of my most recent Artifcts as a simple example. I took my 13-year-old daughter to see the Broadway show Six. She loves choir and drama, and yet she couldn’t have been less excited in the days leading up to the show. I stayed quiet (which if you know me is quite a feat) and waited. The lights dimmed, the six wives and the all-female band took the stage. And ... magic! 

My daughter was enthralled, smiling, and shooting looks at me that said, “Wow!” After the show she told me it was even better than Hamilton. Never could I ever have imagined anything would outshine Hamilton in her eyes.  

When we got home, I Artifcted the physical playbill, the digital one with the six wives’ signatures, and a pic of my daughter at the theatre. Why? I’m not going to keep that playbill, but I am going to keep the memory of that day for always, for her, for me. 

Artifct of Broadway musical Six from Egoody

 
 
Fun fact: When I later searched Artifcts to pull up my Artifct, I found a second Artifct for Six. I had forgotten that my co-founder took her daughter to Six, too. Don’t you love uncovering surprise connections? 

The Best of Social Media, Meets the Best of Artifcts 

I always tell people that when we built Artifcts, all the social media giants were on Capitol Hill defending themselves and their policies. We had the opportunity to build something better. So, I’ve been privately Artifcting the big little moments in my life through the objects I collect without the pressure of view counts and follows. 

Then one day about two years into Artifcts, a genealogist challenged me to show how Artifcts could easily help someone to tell their life story. Apparently this is the holy grail of the genealogy world. I eagerly accepted that challenge and gave myself 10 minutes to complete it. 

How? Like Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I began at the beginning, using the Artifcts I had already created to tell my story in full color (and with audio, video, and supporting documentation, too).  

      1. Created a new Artifct 
      2. Titled it. I was literal, “My Life Story.” 
      3. Picked a category. I used “Life Moments: Other Life Moments.” 
      4. Filled in the story. Within the 10 minutes, I wrote an 1,100-word story that included approximately 40 Artifcts via @ mentions and wove in each of my family members, key friends and other loved ones with @ mentions, too, giving them instant ‘View’ access to my story.
      5. Added documentation. Totally optional, but in this case I chose to privately attach my birth and marriage certificates. 
      6. Tagged it. #LifeStory and #Genealogy made sense to me for single-click sorting to see other Artifcts with the same tags in the future. 

 

 
 
 
This 2.5 minute video shows you the @ feature in action.

Imagine the surprise of the genealogist who challenged me when I privately shared the Artifct with her and it was not just a story, but a multi-media surprise of layered stories about myself, my loved ones, the places of been, and the experiences I have accumulated, aka life!

The text of an Artifct blurred out for privacy but showing the title and names of linked Artifcts within the text

 
 
The green text represents the linked Artifcts that are sprinkled throughout my "life story" Artifct.
 
 
Don’t have 40 Artifcts? You could tell your story in 5 Artifcts, 30, or 100s. Artifcts you don’t weave into your story will always be one click away in your Artifcts collection for the full-er story! 

How Will You Write and Share Your Life Story? 

Artifcts is a gift. The reality is that if I were no longer here tomorrow, my family would know me and remember me with support from my Artifcts. No life story required.  

The life story Artifct I created is simple to create and a powerful, one-stop opportunity to hear the story from my perspective. And, best yet I can go in and edit and add to it any time I want. My story is not done. My perspective may yet shift, even on the way I see the past changes. And, who knows, one day my Artifcts may be the perfect fodder for LifeBook Memoirs to help me write my memoir. 

No matter how you choose to tell your stories, we beg you:

      • Create a digital backup. And make sure your loved ones know your story exists and how to get to it and ALL the supporting materials (photos, documents etc.) that went into it.
      • Do not let perfection or some idea that your stories don’t matter stand in your way. There’s no one “youer” than you!

We promise you it’s the big little details in life that everyone loves you for and wants to remember you for, too.

______________

You may also enjoy these ARTIcles by Artifcts:

Not Sure What to Write? Tips From Author Jeff Greenwald

The Value of Cherished Objects in Our Life Stories

Timelines Have Arrived at Artifcts!

A Family History in Five Artifcts

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
Join Us for the 12 Days of Artifcts, 2023 Edition

Join us for some holiday fun!

Starting Friday, we'll publish a daily theme to Artifct as part of our 12 Days of Artifcts. No turtle doves or partridge in a pear tree, but each of the 12 Days of Artifcts offers you the opportunity to take a breath amidst your holiday merriment and chaos. We'll provide the themes, you provide the Artifcts.

No matter your faith or tradition, all are welcome!

New to Artifcts or only have a free account? That's okay! Once you sign up free, you can create your first 5 Artifcts free and see what you think before buying a membership.

And you'll have no excuse for not being ready as we're giving you a head start by sharing with you today the daily themes. Let's have some fun. And remember, if you make any of your 12 Days of Artifcts public, tag them #12DaysofArtifcts for others to easily discover and enjoy. We look forward to Friday, December 1, for the first of the 12 Days of Artifcts!

Psst ... They'll be ANOTHER surprise on December 1, too. Make sure you pop over to Artifcts.com to learn more.

Christmas tree made up of numbers, each with a topic to Artifct

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
The Fall Series of Evenings with Artifcts was a Smash Hit

The fall series of Evenings with Artifcts brought in people who were brand new to Artifcts and earned outstanding reviews from new and existing Arti Community members. In fact, 97% of survey respondents rated the series "very" or "extremely" valuable and informative. We’re feeling the love.

What does this mean for you? Well, to start with, we’re definitely bringing back Evenings with Artifcts this spring! And, we can start planning it with confidence and hopefully with your help, too. We’re on a mission to spur and support conversations about the ‘stuff’ in our lives and we’d love your input!

What Should We Talk About Next?

Here are but a few of the ideas that we received, verbatim, from survey respondents.  

      • Artificial Intelligence 
      • Export & integration tips with digital vaults (Just you wait. You’ll like what’s coming.) 
      • Bring Gena [Philbert-Ortega] back 
      • Repeat all your topics with new presenters 
      • Real Arti Community members and how they are using Artifcts (Sounds great! Write us at Editor@Artifcts.com to volunteer.)
      • What to do with old photos (Start here, and we'll continue to expand!) 
      • The psychology of letting go of our own material possessions and helping others to do the same (We have an ARTIcles story on this topic scheduled for January! You may also want to read our ARTIcles related to health and aging.) 
      • What other family genealogy folks find working for them (Will do! We've had so many great conversations with genealogists and genealogy-related ARTIcles with our learnings so far.)

Sharing this wish list with you is both about transparency and about sharing the fun with all of you in the Arti Community! 

What do you think of these ideas? What would YOU like to learn and experience in the spring series? Write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com and we’ll be sure to review all your suggestions!

Until then, if you're looking for the Evenings with Artifcts playbacks or related resources from any of our series, they’re all here for you. 

XOXO Artifcts

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
Your privacy

This website uses only essential cookies to provide reliable and secure services, streamline your experience, allow you to share content from this website on social media, and to analyze how our Site is used. Learn more about these cookies and cookie settings.

Accept & Continue
Oops! This Web Browser Version is Unsupported

You received this warning because you are using an unsupported browser. Some features of Artifcts will not be available or will be displayed improperly until you update to the latest version or change browsers.

Close
Image for unsupported banner Oops! This Web Browser is Unsupported

You received this warning because you are using an unsupported browser. Some features of Artifcts will not be available or will be displayed improperly until you update to the latest version or change browsers.

Unsupported banner close icon Close