I saw Gloria recently who said, “thank you for saving me the aggravation.” I asked her on what. As it turned out, a couple years ago, I had written up an inventory of what was in her safe box: providing photos of family heirlooms and a list of important documents. Most recently she needed information on a particular document while traveling. Because she had the inventory electronically, she was able to look up what she needed and decide whether she needed to check the safe or not. She also has this information for insurance so if she loses a particular piece of jewelry on a trip, she has a photo she can send to her insurance agent.
Heather acquired boxes and boxes of her grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s fine china and art collection from her parents’ home when they downsized. Her siblings and cousins live across the USA so finding time together to go through the items to disperse would be impossible. She called me in to help. I took photos and created an inventory in a shareable electronic document. That made it efficient and easy for cousins and siblings to indicate which items they wanted.
Ilana, who lives on the West Coast, called me to make a movie inventory list for her father who lives in Chicago. Originally her idea was that this would help him to see what movies he has and choose which to watch with his caretaker. I discovered many duplicates and even triplicates of the same movie. When the job was done, Ilana was able to see what movies her father already owned and avoid buying duplicates. Of course, the extras were given away to make room for new movies.
Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. To maintain client privacy, all names have been changed.
These experiences are inspiring, thanks.