I am a member of a large family who comes together over old recipes, weekend trips to the shore, and large holiday gatherings of multiple generations.

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While my ancestors came across the Atlantic with nothing and hoped that everything they could dream of would be on the other side of Ellis Island, my grandparents were raised in the generation where everything is to be kept (a generous term for what could be considered hoarding). Their accumulation of things throughout their life spans from handmade furniture from before the time of mass production machines, to china sets they had found at garage sales, to their toys from when they and my parents were children, to family photos and heirlooms with people of whom we sadly have no knowledge.

Everything they have decided to keep has some meaning and a story to them, and while going through the attic of their house, I started to ask the why behind the multitude of items that may seem like junk in the era of minimalist design. This question of why was an eye opener to me because I learned that their house was an accumulation of all their memories, and when they were bored, they would go through the house and look at these photos and items and recall all the good old times. The mess started to make a lot of sense.

While before, I just thought they were hoarding in fear from the time of the world wars and embargoes, I realized their house was full of treasures to them, with stories that may be forgotten and cherished items which may go to the dump.

 

Fast forward a year, and my grandmother passed away. It was a super sad event that brought together all of my cousins and aunts, and uncles, and we had to decide what to do with everything in her house. With our lack of knowledge of the emotional value behind the items and the intimidating mess which presented itself as a burdensome task in this time of sorrow, the family tried to claim a few small things which meant a lot to them and had a company come in and junk the rest. This did not work as planned, however, because cousins, uncles, and aunts all had claims to the same items, and with no plans from the deceased as to whom she wanted them to go to, it all led to passive-aggressive arguments and fights. With no plan came pain. For all of the treasures which we did not know about but had great meaning in our upbringing and journey to our current position, there was no next destination, no one else to enjoy them. This process was dictated by pain and sorrow, not fond memories.

 

After going through these two events, I saw a relation between the two and how families could save themselves from tough times and having to make the decision just to let a junk company take everything go away because they did not want to go through the pain of running around the house as it felt empty, gloomy, and overwhelming. Through this pain, I thought of a solution with my dad, which would help a family remember the deceased through the positive memories in their things and make a plan for the silent generation and the baby boomers.

 

We came up with SaveOr while drawing with an expo marker on a window, and three years later, we now have an app on the Appstore. Our creation is a software as a service platform that empowers our users to tell their stories and make a plan for their children and grandchildren to follow so that they can be remembered in a better way. Our easy-to-use platform allows the user to take photos of all of their items, categorize and organize them, tell their stories, and then assign a recipient or seek interest. Our product was made for families like yours, so they may save the memories and preserve their legacy.

 

Estate Planning is a very difficult subject, and we hope we can make it easier. Many people whom I have told this story have related to the pain and problems inherent in this process. Legally, they have been focused on the dispersion of assets which is a much less fulfilling and emotional part of an estate. We believe that there are hundreds of reasons and cases to use our product. If you seek a solution to manage to whom things will go in your estate, have a large and geographically diverse family, or want to make sure you preserve your memories for the next generation, SaveOr is the solution for you.