Lessons I Relearned from Being My Own Client

Sooner or later, most of us find ourselves dealing with the stuff left behind by loved ones. In 2015, I found myself in the process of handling my mother’s estate. At the May 2015 meeting of the Houston Clutter Coaching Meetup Group, I offered some of the lessons I learned—or relearned—from the experience of being both the organizer and the client on this emotionally challenging project.

Here are a few key takeaways from the process:

• Making the necessary preparations for others to pick up the pieces after you’re gone is a great gift that only you can give them.
• Leaving behind an organized space can help reduce your loved ones’ pain and suffering.
• The familiar life skills that you usually count on may be unavailable when you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one.
• The key to effective estate transition is establishing the right priorities: people and relationships should always rank above stuff.
• We all respond differently to grief, and our responses shape how we deal with the material stuff of an estate.