Does This Folder Spark Joy? Marie Kondo Meets Personal Archiving

Let’s be honest: we all have That Box. The one with a jumble of old family photos, funeral programs, unlabeled flash drives, and half-transcribed census records from 1910. Maybe it's a hard drive folder labelled “GENEALOGY STUFF – FINAL_FINAL(3).” Maybe it’s three. Or three dozen.

If your personal archives are starting to look more like a junk drawer than a curated collection, it might be time to call in a little inspiration from the queen of tidying up herself: Marie Kondo. Now, Marie might tell you to hold each item in your hands and ask, “Does this spark joy?” But when it comes to personal archives, I tweak that question a bit:

“Does this spark joy, nostalgia or historical value?”

Your great-grandfather’s 1962 tax records might not stir warm memories, but they could be a crucial piece of your family history puzzle.

The Personal Archive Problem

Whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or someone who just inherited Aunt Helen’s three-ring binders, personal archives have a way of growing like kudzu. Without regular maintenance, your lovingly assembled collection can turn into a chaotic mess of duplicates, irrelevant documents, way too many thumb drives and more than a few mystery objects (“Is this… a letter? A receipt? A poem?”).

Your future self or your descendants will thank you for organizing your collection now, rather than twenty years from now when it’s a chaotic time capsule of unlabeled mysteries.

Vicki’s Archival Decluttering Philosophy: Keep, Donate, Toss

I try to apply a little archival wisdom to the chaos. Here's how I decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss.

KEEP: Items with personal meaning or historical value

• A letter your grandfather wrote from France during WWII

• Heirlooms with sentimental or monetary value

• Family photos with names and dates written on the back (bonus points!)

• Well-documented research notes or logs that show how you arrived at a conclusion

• Wills, land deeds, marriage certificates, other vital or legal records

• Your own research summaries, timelines or pedigree charts

Why keep it? These are the gold nuggets—items that have emotional resonance and research value. They help tell a story, provide context, or preserve a family voice.

DONATE: Materials that aren’t crucial to you but might be valuable to someone else

• Church directories, yearbooks, or local history publications with family mentions

• Extra copies of photos, especially if they feature extended relatives

• Diaries, scrapbooks, or correspondence that might interest a local historical society

• Obituaries or funeral cards that document broader community connections

Why donate? Not everything has to live in your closet. Pass these materials on to a cousin, family historian, or local archive. Sharing the burden also shares the story.

TOSS: The truly useless stuff

• Blurry photos of people no one can identify (bonus if there’s a thumb in the shot)

• Printouts of web pages from 2002 that are now dead links

• Multiple copies of the same document “just in case”

• That envelope of mystery keys from Grandpa's junk drawer (unless you're planning a Netflix series)

Why toss it? If it doesn’t have meaning for you or anyone else, it’s perfectly fine to let it go. Clutter can hide the gems. Do your archives—and your peace of mind—a favor.

Digital Counts, Too!

Digital clutter is just as dangerous. Organize your folders, name your files something meaningful (scan0045.jpg is not a good file name), and back everything up. Twice. Trust me, the cloud can’t save you if you don’t tell it where to look. Remember the 3-2-1 Rule!

And just like your paper files, apply the same “Keep, Donate, Toss” rule to your digital stuff. Ask yourself: will future-you—or anyone else—have any idea what “FinalFamilyChart_NEWEST2.xlsx” means?

Final Thoughts: Be the Archivist of Your Own Story

Organizing your personal archive isn’t about throwing everything away. It’s about honoring what matters. You are the curator of your family’s history, the steward of stories. That’s a powerful role. But it’s also a practical one. A well-maintained archive means your research is easier to access, easier to share, and far more likely to endure.

So go ahead. Channel your inner Marie Kondo, hold up that mystery folder, and ask:

“Does this spark joy—or at least clarify how Uncle Jimmy ended up in Idaho?”

If not, it might be time to let it go.

Tobias History Research is a premier provider of history research and archives management services. With 20+ years of professional experience, founder Vicki Tobias helps clients expertly discover their history and enthusiastically share their stories. Learn more about her services.

From chaos to curation: it's time to tame the family archive!