I’m a digital clutter coach, but my work hit close to home when my dad died. I was glad I’d taken these steps ahead of time.

I never imagined that being organized in my digital life would help my family during one of our toughest times.

My father had Parkinson’s disease for many years. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it got worse, fast.

He was suddenly adding extra zeros to checks, looking for the TV remote in the coat closet, and he got lost driving to the grocery store four blocks away. (That was the last time he drove.)

My way of coping with his sudden decline was to kick my organizational skills into overdrive. Though I’m a digital clutter coach by profession, it had never hit this close to home.

Here’s what I did that made an extremely difficult time easier for me and my family.

I got a clear picture of his assets and organized his documents digitally

I worked with him (as much as he was able) and my mom to gather all of the financial statements, wills, powers of attorney, insurance policies, health directives, medicines, and more.

I saved these files in Dropbox so that they could be accessed from anywhere and easily shared with others. (Another great option is Trustworthy, which has certified experts who can help gather all of these documents into one user-friendly hub.)

Taking it a step further, I shared those documents pre-emptively with his healthcare providers, banks, insurance companies, and more to ensure I could speak to them on his behalf.

I used my phone as a scanner and a fax machine

When my dad ultimately passed in November of 2020, we found ourselves signing slews of documents and faxing dozens of death certificates.

My phone became a powerful tool that I could use on the go, whether I was at the funeral home, the bank, or my mom’s house.

I used my phone to scan documents directly into Dropbox, but one of the most surprising and helpful things was using it to fax.

I learned quickly that many banks and insurance companies do things “old school.” I sent faxes via a phone app called GeniusFax. It was super affordable and saved me the stress of running around town trying to track down a fax machine. (Hello, 1985.)

I saved his logins, and I kept his phone active

I stored all of my dad’s usernames, passwords, and answers to security questions (like, who was your first grade teacher) in 1Password so that I could access accounts on his behalf.

I created a tag called “Dad” so that I could easily find all items related to him amid my own passwords.

We also somehow had the foresight not to deactivate his phone right away. That was crucial when we needed to receive 2-step verification texts when logging into his accounts.

I used facial recognition to gather photos

I was tasked with making the video for his memorial service, so I asked family and friends to use the facial recognition feature on their phones and add their favorite photos of Dad to a shared photo album. This made it so easy to create a beautiful tribute video, and to this day, my mom still watches it.

I miss my dad’s goofy, dry humor, our peaceful canoe rides together, and his gentle spirit every day. But as strange as it sounds, learning how to use this technology made it easier to stay present, process my grief, and honor my dad. It made an incredibly difficult time just a little more bearable.

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