People with aging or deceased parents often find themselves struggling to figure out what to do with the treasures and other objects they have inherited. In this video, Adriane Berg, founder of Generation Bold and author of Bottom Line’s Aging for Beginners blog, acknowledges that this problem can be overwhelming and walks the viewer through some solutions. In the event that the parents are still alive, Ms. Berg urges people not to get rid of items that their parents are attached to. In most cases, these items can stay with the parents until they pass away. As for the rest, it can either be sold (using web resources such as eBay, Craigslist or local swap sites), auctioned (in the case of more valuable items) or donated to charity for a tax deduction. Ms. Berg also urges people to digitize the sentimental items (for example, scanning photo albums), keep a single reminder form a larger collection and also to later revisit the items they have chosen to keep to make sure that they really do have a sentimental value. If you can’t describe or even recall the items you’ve kept, get rid of them. You don’t have to get rid of everything at once and you certainly don’t need to hold onto everything forever.

For more great tips from Adriane Berg, check out her Bottom Line blog “Aging for Beginners,” visit her website https://adrianeberg.me, or purchase her most recent book How Not to Go Broke at 102.

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