A reader of this blog, Jacqueline Krieps Schattner, sent me a link to a post she wrote recently on her genealogy blog, Seeds to Tree, that described the decluttering she’s been doing during the pandemic (she’s used her time very well!). The blog post also presented an idea that I think is absolutely genius, so I asked her permission to write about it here (and also on the Peace of Mind Organizing blog).
Jacquie’s decluttering work during the pandemic has been very thorough. She got so much done that she turned her attention to an area that’s usually last on the list: the family treasures around her home. In her post, Pandemic De-Cluttering and a Heirloom Book, Jacquie described taking stock of some of the treasures she has collected over 40 years of marriage (and inherited from her parents and grandparents). She’s still enjoying them and has no interest in letting them go. But when she started thinking about what will happen to these heirlooms if she and her husband were to downsize or were not around to explain the significance of each piece, she came up with an important piece of wisdom:
Heirlooms without stories are just stuff.
Jacquie came up with a great idea for making sure her daughters would know the stories of the individual items. She created a book with photos of each of the heirlooms, complete with captions that capture all the stories. That way, when the time comes, her daughters will be able to make informed decisions about which of these heirlooms they would like to keep. She titled the book, Why Did We Save This?
Jacquie spells out in detail how she went about creating the book (via Shutterfly), what it looks like, and what she’s done with the copies. This is such a helpful idea that I’m thrilled to share it! Thanks for allowing me to write about it, Jacquie!
Excellent idea, Jacquie! I wish I had had one of these books when my mom passed away five years ago. What a treasure you have created.
I have done similar. I type the story, include photos, email to each of my children & grandchildren & file on my computer under “Important Information, Family Heirlooms. I have told them, if you want it, let me know & I’ll put your name on it. Hopefully, that way when I’m gone they won’t have to figure out who gets what.
I’m glad you let us know about this book; what a treasure for her daughters! I’m going to ‘adopt’ this idea.
I appreciate this advice! And, as someone who has not done this yet:( don’t forget to label the people in those old family photos you have. YOU know but will your children and grandchildren know? We have a steamer trunk full of loose, completely unlabeled photographs from my mother-in-law. Sadly, we and our children will never know the names of many of those people.
This is brilliant! I definitely want to do this, and would love to work with my 87 year old mother to do this with things of hers (and things that have already been passed on to me, but I’ve never been clear of their origins…) Her memory isn’t great, but we still have an opportunity. Thanks for a much-needed nudge!
Janine, thanks SOOO much for the lovely write up. I’ve enjoyed reading your readers’ nice comments also. But you’ve given me so many ideas, I’m happy to give one to you.
I love this! Our kids have very little interest in the antiques, but at least when we are gone they will know the stories!