News & Updates

Last week, I was visiting my parents’ house (the place I grew up). They are reaching pensioner age, and it dawned on me that their home is becoming too large for them. My two brothers and I grew up in large family home. Climbing the stairs to go to the upper level and cleaning rooms that are no longer used is becoming a bit of a chore for my mother and father. They are very organised and love having a reason to have a routine, but I questioned, “Mum, why are you cleaning the bedroom furniture that I had 30 years ago?”

My parents’ response frightened me a little. They explained that they found it difficult to de-clutter the house of the items they no longer needed because it felt like they were “throwing away the past”. When I dug a little deeper, I found that they held onto items we owned and kept the house as it was when we were all there because it made them feel young and their memories at the front of their minds. Mum said, “When I look at that desk in your room, I remember the day you dad build it”. I started to think, how long is it before the things you own start owning you.

My parents need to de-clutter their home and possibly downsize but how do we help them achieve that and not de-clutter their memories. I posed this question to a couple of friends and found that this is a common problem. Mothers not wanting to let go of their baby furniture. People not wanting to get rid of a favourite jacket or my favourite; the tool shed with a million and one odds and end that you will never use. It dawned on me that memories and the fear of losing them is a problem for people. I did some research and found that there is a plan people can follow that can help our ability to keep our memories strong in our minds.

Why Memories Matter
Memories are something each of us experiences with our senses. We see, hear, smell, taste, or touch something, and these formative experiences are often the key to who a person becomes. Memories can help us:

•    Learn from past mistakes
•    Foster a desire to recreate past successes
•    Have an opportunity to relive precious past experiences
•    Create paths and opportunities for change
 
The Sad Truth
Memories fade without preservation.  Even your best-laid-brain-plans to simply remember those moments lose value, impact, and effectiveness when not captured and saved appropriately.

THE ABOUT ME PLAN
A 20-day experiment in writing about, recording, or sharing your life story your way.

There are many ways to share your story and document your life. Not only will your posterity enjoy remembering or learning more about you, but writing and recording your journey will help you see your life in a new way, and no one can tell your story better than you can! 

Sometimes it is easier to answer questions about your life than to try to remember all that happened. You can write your responses down in a paper journal/notebook or on your computer. You can even video record or audio record yourself talking about these prompts. 

DAY 1
CHOOSE YOUR MEDIUM
Choose what medium you will be recording your personal history in this month. Some ideas are pen and paper, computer and keyboard, shared journal with your children, app on your phone, social media, voice recordings, or videos. It would be great to publish what you record this month when you are done!  

DAY 2
CREATE YOUR TIMELINE
Vertically down the page (paper or electronic) write each year you have been alive on a separate line. Then go back and add important events that happened in your life during those years. You aren’t writing the story but writing a phrase to capture the memory. You can go back to detail the story later.  

DAY 3
DESCRIBE YOURSELF
Describe yourself physically. mentally. spiritually. Describe your personality. Tip: It’s ok to talk about how you are feeling mentally. Think of the healing that can happen if you share your depression or anxiety or what you worry about. Healing can come for you and for your descendants.

DAY 4
HIGHLIGHT YOUR LIFE
“Remember, it is not large accomplishments that makes success, it is the little things we do every day that over time turn into success.” Catherine Pulsifer. Talk about your accomplishments and/or goals in life. List what you’d like to accomplish. Describe how you accomplish goals in your life.

DAY 5
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR MENTORS
“(Mentors are) someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” Oprah Winfrey. Who is someone that has left a deep impact on you? What did they do? Write them a thank you note. Send it to them or just leave it in your journal.

DAY 6
PICTURE YOUR LIFE
Use pictures to tell a story today. You can use one picture or more. If you use one picture describe what happened in the picture, include the date, people involved, place it was taken and the story. You can also take pictures of your day; at the end of the day describe what you are doing in each picture.

DAY 7
INVENTORY YOUR JOBS
Write about your first job or your worst job or your favourite job. List all your jobs. Provide details like when and where. What have you learned while working that you’d like to share? Share any stories that come to mind when you think of jobs or work. It could be fun to write about your dream job too!

DAY 8
WRITE ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS
As you write about your friends, think about these questions. Who was your first friend? How did you meet? What do you look for in a friend? What do you do with friends? Who were your friends in elementary school? Middle school? High school? College? Adulthood?

DAY 9
WRITE ABOUT AUNTS & UNCLES
As you write about aunts and uncles think about these questions. How did it feel to become an aunt or uncle for the first time? What is it like to be an aunt or uncle? Who is your favourite aunt? uncle? Why? List all your aunts and uncles and something you want to remember about them. Write about some of the times you got to spend with an aunt or uncle.

DAY 10
DESCRIBE YOUR MUM 
Describe your mum. What does she look like? What do you remember her always doing? What is a lesson you learned from your mum? Where did she grow up? What story about her childhood do you know? How did she meet your dad?

DAY 11
TRAVEL LOG
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give. To roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.” Hans Christian Andersen. Write about your favourite trip. What was your worst trip? What is a future trip you’d like to take? Where would you go and what do you want to see or do there? List all the trips you can remember.

DAY 12
STORY OF LOVE
Write about your love story. Write about your parents’ love story. What do you love? Who do you love and why?! What does love mean to you? What do you love about yourself? Tip: Every Valentine’s Day or anniversary share your love story and/or your parents’ love story with your family. What a fun tradition!

DAY 13
SHARE A FUNNY STORY
“Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life but will surely add life to your years.” unknown.
When was the hardest you ever laughed? Write down the jokes you tell, don’t forget the punch line! Who is the funniest person you know? Why? What was your most embarrassing moment? How did you live through it?

DAY 14
WRITE ABOUT YOUR GRANDPARENTS
Choose which of the facts to document about your grandparents: Their name, where they were born and grew up, a story about their childhood you know, a story about their adulthood, how they met, a lesson you learned from them, your favourite memory, what reminds you of them? What items you own that they gave you or owned? 

DAY 15
FIND NEWSWORTHY EVENTS
What has been in the news lately? How has it made you feel? Go back to your timeline and write at least one major news event for each year you were alive. Write your memories of these news events. How have they impacted your life? 

DAY 16
SHARE TRADITIONS
“Traditions touch us, they connect us, and they expand us.” Rita Barreto Craig. What traditions do you have? Holiday traditions? What traditions did you have as a child? What traditions would you like to have?

DAY 17
DESCRIBE YOUR DAD
Describe your dad. What does he look like? What do you remember him always doing? What is a lesson you learned from your dad?  Where did he grow up? What story about his childhood do you know? How did he meet your mum?

DAY 18
DESCRIBE YOUR BELIEFS
As you describe your beliefs think about these prompts and questions. What do you believe spiritually? Do you believe in God? Many Gods? No Gods? Do you follow a certain religion? (Catholic, Baptist, Church of Jesus Christ, etc) What does your worship look like? Do you go to church on Sunday (what does it look like)? Do you read scriptures? What is your conversion story? Are there any religious holidays you celebrate?

DAY 19
WRITE ABOUT SIBLINGS
“A sibling is the lens through which you see your childhood.” Ann Hood. As you describe your siblings think about these prompts and questions. Describe what your siblings look like. What is their personality like? What do you guys do when you get together? What are their lives like now?  How has each of them impacted your life? What have you learned from them?

DAY 20
EXPRESS GRATITUDE
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” Zig Ziglar. What are some things you are grateful for? How many can you list in five minutes? Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your life. (You don’t have to send it).

DE-CLUTERRING
Now that we have looked at the difficult problem of addressing the memory question the next move was to help mum and dad address the space problem. They simply had too much stuff. The stuff was controlling their lives. They both agreed that it would be more suitable to own a smaller home and for that home to be a single level dwelling, but they didn’t know where to start collating and then disposing of the stuff they no longer needed.
What we needed was a place to put all their things so we can empty their home and therefore create the space for change. I started to look up storage solutions. I found that Self Storage was the answer. They have thought of everything. They have storage units where we can move our stuff and there are many cheap storage options out there.
 
After researching a little while a found the Kennards Self Storage website. Kennards Self Storage has easy access, individual storage spaces that are accessible 24 hours a day and there are over 100 centres in Australia and New Zealand, so there is one close to you!!

Log on to www.kss.com.au and you will easily find your local Kennards Self Storage.

You will also find moving boxes and self storage prices. There are a lot of cheap storage solutions out there but ask yourself are you getting bang for your buck?

Kennards Self Storage has alarmed spaces. Back to base CCTV monitoring and no lock in leases. Kennards Storage prices are fair and transparent. The website has prices easily viewed for every type of size needed. Prices are simply affected by supply and demand. Renting one is as easy as clicking the keyboard a couple of times. They will even provide Protection Cover for the first month to the value of $30,000 for free. Sydney Storage prices start at $30 per month for a 1 metre by 1 metre cubic locker. They can even rent you some storage shelves for your storage unit to help you maximise the use of your space!

I think Kennards Self Storage, are really 'The People who Care'.