As you identify a legacy list, that poses the issue of letting go and decluttering the other items not on the list…. your treasures. Again, we often keep things for a variety of reasons. In the case of treasures, it could be because it belonged to a loved one, or it was gifted to us or because we think it is valuable because of its age or someone paid hard earned money for it.
In looking around my home, I have realized that I have taken it upon myself to be the family historian. From Christmas ornaments that were on grandma’s tree in the 1950s to old photographs of people I can’t identify to baby congratulation cards to jewelry owned by my mother-in-law, I have many of those items. I have also realized that I have lost some of the knowledge about those items as the years have gone by and that the next generation is not into keeping things. So, I might as well make decisions of how these items will be handled now.
Because of this, our legacy list will serve to identify for our next generation what we would like to preserve within limits. And it will assist us in looking at our other items with the intention of making the decision of letting go easier. While I am still working on our legacy lists, I am beginning to go through some of those treasures. [Read more…]