How to Archive Family Keepsakes

Book excerpt: Organize your family photos, heirlooms, and genealogy records In every family someone ends up with Mom's and Dad's "stuff"—a lifetime's worth of old family photos, papers, and memorabilia packed into boxes, trunks, and suitcases. This inheritance can be as much a burden as it is a blessing. How do you organize your loved one's estate in a way that honors your loved one, keeps the peace in your family and doesn't take over your home or life? How to Archive Family Keepsakes gives you step-by-step advice for how to organize, distribute and preserve family heirlooms. You'll learn how to: Organize the boxes of your parents' stuff that you inherited Decide which family heirlooms to keep Donate items to museums, societies, and charities Protect and pass on keepsakes Create a catalog of family heirlooms Organize genealogy files and paperwork Digitize family history records Organize computer files to improve your research Whether you have boxes filled with treasures or are helping a parent or relative downsize to a smaller home, this book will help you organize your family archive and preserve your family history for future generations.