Hello fellow All About Estates Blog Readers – this is not necessarily going to be an overly long, or overly substantive blog.  Rather, the purpose of this blog is to encourage our blog-readers to take fifteen minutes out of their undoubtedly busy days to read the article by Globe and Mail Staff writer, Erin Anderssen, found in the following link, called “Canada’s baby boomers are leaving behind tons of stuff.  Are their kids ready for the Great Junk Transfer?”

As I read, and re-read the article, I found it’s contents resonated with me – both from the perspective of someone who advises family members in how to tackle the highly emotional exercise of culling the stuff that becomes the “accumulation of life” of their parents, but also from the perspective of someone who has had to participate in the process.  Whether you are the aging parent who has over the course of your life, collected both treasures and, if we’re being honest, some trash, or the surviving children to whom the task of purging through a mountain of stuff in order to find the favourite mug your dad drank from you, I would hazard to guess that the contents of the article will resonate.  If you are the aging parent, I encourage you to take a moment to consider the fallout that may befall both the grieving process and the desire for ongoing warm memories, if the legacy that is left behind is one of a mountain of stuff that needs to be dealt with.  If you are a surviving family member charged with the emotional task of sorting through your parents lifelong accumulations, there are a number of very helpful services that can offer assistance.  A few that come to mind are:  Transition Squad, Elder Care Transitions, Clear my Closet and Downsizing Diva.  Hopefully this blog will either encourage some readers to take steps to help ensure the grieving process proceeds without resentment or offer some suggestions of resources that can help accomplish the job, while preserving the warm memories of parents’ lives well-lived.