What comes next?

This is a question we should all ask ourselves, but rarely do! There is a fact of live we all have to face at some point – you will die one day. I’m not sure about you, but I sometimes wonder what happens next. And I’m not talking of the metaphysical aspect of death, I’ll leave that one to the spiritual leaders you are following. No, I’m talking about the sheer practicalities that need to be handled by your loved ones after you are gone.

Will your children or partner be able to find the necessary paperwork to handle your estate: a will, powers of attorney, mortgage papers, contracts, utility subscriptions, … ? What about your online presence: do you have a list of (current) passwords, including all the websites and networks you subscribe to?

I have recently been confronted with this exact situation: a friend of mine had passed away, and his social network profiles are still partly active to this, simply because nobody has the passwords and some of the sites refuse to take action without the proper paperwork available. It’s a sad state of affairs when the company he worked for keeps him listed on their website, be it for commercial reasons or simply out of an oversight!

Just imagine that your loved ones – who have to get over their loss – now have to forage through all your papers and things to find something that might or might not be there at all? Do you really want to put them through that at a time they should really be allowed to come to terms with losing you?

You can prepare for these eventualities by setting up a 4everbox (click on the link to learn more), a service that ClutterMeister provides besides the actual decluttering.

The 4everbox concept also works if you are incapacitated through an accident, the onset of dementia or similar illnesses. Imagine there is a fire or an inundation, wouldn’t you just love to grab that one item that contains everything you need to rebuild your life afterwards? Even as a businessman, there are benefits in creating a 4everbox containing the core documents that you often use, but do not want to put up for grabs for everyone in the office. However, you could give someone access at a moment’s notice if things are set up correctly.

Why is that? Because a 4everbox is a concept rather than a specific physical form: it could be a box, of course, but it could also be a safe, a deposit box in your bank, a series of electronic files in a cloud location, or simply a binder next to your desk.

Be prepared. That is the motto of 4everbox, and I would invite you to think about preparing for whatever comes next …

If you have enjoyed reading this, you may find these other articles interesting:

• Make decluttering a habit!
  
• Toxic environments: negative influencers
  
• Physical and mental clutter