As far as New Year resolutions go , one of my annual favourites is to resolve to go paperless and to reduce my environmental footprint . However , as with most resolutions ( set in stone on the 1st of January ) my resolve to read online magazines , not to print bank statements , and to reduce the piles of family letters , birthday cards and children ’ s artworks all fall foul to the curse of the resolutions fairy by Easter .
As expats , however , keeping our family archives ( photos , videos , bank statements , drawings , birthday cards to you and me ) in check is even more important than it would be if you lived in the same house , in the same village , in the same country for the next 50 years . For expats , it ’ s a fact of life that in the near , or even distant future , we will all be tasked with shipping our accumulated possessions to our next expat location , or back to our home country where let ’ s face it , space is at a premium .
Maggie McKenzie challenges her hoarding instincts by archiving her family history
So what should you keep ? What should you archive ? And what should you throw away ? These are important questions in a quest for paperless living but with hoarding firmly embedded in my DNA these questions need to be answered carefully ! Very carefully in fact , for as mothers , we are often the custodians of our family archives and we hold in our power the ability to archive a memory forever or destroy a child ’ s favourite picture in a moment of paperless madness . Here are my top tips for becoming ( almost ) paperless before next year ’ s resolutions start in earnest again .
1
What are family archives ?
This is very subjective and dependent upon each family . In short , family archives are effectively materials that tell your family ’ s story through photos , videos , cards , children ’ s artwork , family letters and assorted memorabilia . These elements hold different sentimental value to each family and this determines if you keep them , archive them , archive then discard or simply discard .
While less sentimental , family archives also include bank statements , insurance documents , tax returns , birth and mar-
www . society . qa 15