The greater the extent to which you can leave this earth ‘tidily’, by which I mean having taken steps to sort out what you own and to get rid of anything that is effectively useless or past its sell-by date (and which is not likely to wanted by anyone after you’ve gone), the more appreciative your family will be.
Here I am thinking of your papers, your letters; files and your photographs, to start with – and then general possessions such as clothes and furniture and so on.
My Question: if you are of advancing years (and I hit 72 this past September), how are you doing on this score?
Letters and Files
Many old files can be destroyed. Former Income Tax files, more than six years old, can generally be disposed of, unless advised otherwise by your accountant or tax agent (for example, in the case of an ongoing tax enquiry). That said, some files relating to the past may be of enduring interest to your family for the future, perhaps covering a past episode of your life when extraordinary things happened. But the mundane stuff can simply be binned.
Letters, if you do keep them, can be rather more sensitive and there are some of a personal nature which should be destroyed. If you do want to keep them, however, put them in a file with clear instructions given to your nearest and dearest to destroy (without ‘peeking’) after your death. Others, of more general family interest, you may wish to retain. At all events, do an inspection and sorting process.
Your Papers
And then what about your papers (all, of course, meaningful, in some shape or form) however arranged, whether in your office, study or somewhere else? Once you are gone, it is likely that none of these will be of any relevance or interest to anybody else (with the odd exception). So it makes sense to do the culling process now, arranging for recycling – except in the case of very sensitive material which should be shredded (maybe using a dedicated business service for this) or burnt. Perhaps keeping only that which, rigorously, you know you will need at some point.
Photographs
You may be like or unlike me. Like me, if you have a few photograph albums of holidays and children growing up, with a myriad of other photographs, some in bundles and some scattered, with the full intention of ‘someday’ putting them in some sort of order. Unlike me, if you have already put all your photographs in order, neatly arranged book by book on a shelf – or, indeed, in the Cloud. This is just a reminder, if necessary, to do something about it – and, in particular, to chuck photographs which really are surplus to requirements, however tough that may be. Alternatively, you may have your photographs neatly ordered
electronically, which is fine so long as your family can access them. But the main point is this: thinking of ‘old’ photographs, that were perhaps taken even before you were born, which have a family interest, it is so important to have names and dates written on the back so that they can be identified.
Memoirs
This follows on from what I have said above. Most of us will not write a published autobiography or even be so famous that someone else wishes to write a biography. However, whether or not you think that you have led an interesting life, your life will be precious to those you leave behind. While you might have ‘told your tale’ occasionally, it may well be that your family and those close to you would value some sort of account of your life, the people who have been important to you and, indeed, lessons you have learnt from life which you wish to pass on – all along with some well-chosen photographs.
In addition to the story of your own life, consider what you know and can point to by way of your family history. It is a familiar feature that once one generation has gone, a whole portion of that history dies with them. There may be someone, perhaps you, who is a keeper of that family history and so it is important, whoever it is, that the story and the photographs are carefully kept. An alternative or additional option is getting an amateur or professional video made, whether of your own life or of your family history. For example, there is a company called Memory Bank Studios which produces bespoke recorded interviews which future generations can treasure: see www.memorybankstudios.com.
“How people die remains in the memory of those who live on.”
(Dame Cicely Saunders, English nurse, social worker and hospice movement pioneer, 1918-2005)
And ‘the Rest’
Whether your clothes or furniture or a whole host of personal possessions which are not likely to be of use or interest to anyone else, are there steps you can take now to ‘tidy up’, in terms of ‘binning’, shredding or simply taking them to the local tip?
