(light guitar music) - [Narrator] Coming up on "Legacy List with Matt Paxton" Matt helps a woman who's spent years taking care of family members.

- [Amy] Everything is emotional and sentimental for me.

- [Narrator] Pack up a house filled with three generations of memories.

- [Amy] It is like a time capsule.

- [Narrator] And move into her forever home.

- Wow.

- It's been a really long road.

(light instrumental music) - [Matt] Moving into a new home is exciting but decluttering and downsizing can be an emotional journey.

- We need your help.

- I can see, I see a lot of collections already.

- It's paralyzing.

- [Matt] That's why it's important to start with a legacy list.

It's a list of a few cherished items with high emotional value that help tell your family's story.

- Oh.

- Oh.

- My name is Matt Paxton and I have the best job in the world.

Me and my team of experts help people downsize their homes and move.

But we also help them find their legacy list.

- [Man] You made my dream come true.

- I can't believe it.

- This is why we do this.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for "Legacy List" is provided by Bekins Van Lines.

At Bekins, our goal is to provide a smooth and simple moving experience.

No matter the size or distance of your move, Bekins is ready to help you get there.

You can find us at Bekins.com.

Bekins, this is moving.

FirstLight Home Care, committed to providing safe and compassionate home services for you and your family.

FirstLight believes personal relationships and engagement are as important as mobility, bathing and personal hygiene.

Details at Firstlighthomecare.com.

(bright music) - This week we're going to Alexandria, Virginia to meet my good friend, Amy Goyer.

Amy needs our help cleaning out her old apartment and moving everything over to her new forever home to live with her partner, Bill.

(bright music continues) I've known Amy professionally as a caregiver.

And when you're a full-time caregiver for family members, your life kind of gets put on hold.

And Amy's probably been that way for almost two decades.

And we're finally at a point where she gets to start to live for herself.

(Matt knocks) Amy!

- You're here.

- Look at this.

- I am so excited for you to see this house.

- Wow.

Holy cow, y'all, this is amazing.

(upbeat guitar music) I'm super happy for Amy because she has a great big new house with lots of space for all of her stuff.

On the same hand, I hate that we have so much space for stuff.

- You know, I've worked taking care of many family members, so has Bill.

Bill was a fireman.

He's gone to rescue people when they can't get down the stairs and things like that.

So we wanted a home that we could age in.

- The reason Amy and I connected was a lot of my business is downsizing and those numbers are changing from aging in place to downsizing.

I mean, believe it or not, only 7% of the country that's aging moves into a fancy senior living community.

The rest of it is aging in place.

But that being said, I'm looking around, I don't really see a lot of stuff.

Where is all the stuff?

- The stuff's all at my house.

- Okay, so it's all still there.

- It's all still there.

- At my mother's house.

- He has things at his mom's house still.

- So you have stuff everywhere.

- At my sister's house.

A lot of my stuff is tools.

I mean, I do have furniture.

- [Amy] Yeah.

- I've seen the new house, I know how much space we have, but I really need to get over to the old house so I can really see what we're looking at.

(bright guitar music) Well, I'm excited to see the old house 'cause the new house is incredible.

(bright guitar music continues) - All right, so, - Here it is.

- This is it.

- [Matt] Okay.

You've gotta be outta here by when?

- [Amy] I gotta be outta here by the end of the month.

- [Matt] Okay, so that's real.

- [Amy] Our job is cut out for us.

- [Matt] Is this all yours?

- It's not really all mine.

It was my grandparents', my sister's.

I have some of my parents' things here and I've lived here for almost 30 years.

- So you really have four houses in this small space.

- I kind of do.

And everything is emotional and sentimental for me so it's very hard for me to let go of stuff.

The table over here, - It was beautiful.

- Is one of my most prized possessions.

It is my grandmother Clara's and it has a little dog carved down in the bottom, you can see.

It was like, as a child, we would all of us grandkids would sit down there, talk to the dog, play with the dog.

When my grandmother died my parents gave it to me because I helped with her care.

- Amy spent a lot of her life being the caregiver to all the people in her family.

But now she's the caretaker of all of these items.

What other spaces do we need to touch?

- So, the basement, it's full of stuff.

Let me show you.

- Let's go check it out.

(bright guitar music) Holy cow.

(Amy chuckles) - [Amy] I know.

It's so overwhelming.

- [Matt] There is a lot here.

- I just don't even know where to start.

- Okay.

This house is full.

There is something in every single corner.

Let's go upstairs.

Go over the legacy list so I can find out what items I'm looking for.

- All right, sounds good.

- All right.

I see what we need to do cleanup-wise and it's a lot.

- [Amy] Yeah.

- [Matt] But it's doable, even with the deadline.

- [Amy] Good.

- But I want to go over the legacy list.

And as a reminder, a legacy list is a list of the top five or six items in the home that you maybe need help finding or wanna learn more information about.

And all of it comes together to tell your family's story.

- Okay, so one thing that's really important to me is my grandmother's typewriter.

She was a secretary and worked at the St. Studebaker factory.

And she worked in the service and parts department.

And my grandfather worked there too, and so there's a lot of our family history at Studebaker, my dad worked there in the summers.

And I'm a writer, as you know, and I wanna have that typewriter and display it in my office and enjoy it and have it be part of my inspiration as I'm working.

- Inspiration of where you came from and now where you are.

- Yes.

- Okay, I love it.

- The next item that I'm really looking for is a travel tin cup that folds down.

- Yes.

- My grandparents traveled a lot.

We took road trips with them and, you know, that travel cup went everywhere with us.

I don't know, when I was packing up their house it was just so indicative of them to me.

- Those little aluminum cups?

- Yeah, and it folds down real flat and it's like, this big.

And that has got to be in this house somewhere, but I have not seen it in years.

- That's the kind of stuff we can find while we're packing up.

All right, do you have any other legacy list items?

- So my sister Karen had a Cushing Disease and it debilitated her health in multiple ways.

And she had to use a cane a lot.

And she was a very crafty and creative person.

And she had this really cool cane that I could not part with.

And she had decorated it.

I think she put her name on it.

And while it kind of represented her illness at the same time, to me it represented much more her spirit because she still wanted to be out doing things.

And she was, her whole creativity thing she put into everything that she did.

The next thing on my list is when I had my own place and got outta college and everything, my dad had shipped me stuff from my room.

And in the midst of all my caregiving and my life and everything, it was put away.

It could be little notes from that.

It could be stuff from my little girl stuff.

I'm just not sure what's in it but I know there's one more box.

- With your dad's handwriting on it.

- That's one of the things is my dad, I know, addressed it.

- [Matt] Okay, so a box of childhood stuff.

- [Amy] Yeah.

- Obviously we have a lot of work to do with this deadline.

- I wouldn't trust anybody but you to do this.

- Thank you.

We keep all of our stuff because of love.

- [Amy] Yeah.

- [Matt] All of it.

(bright guitar music) This is such a big job.

I've gotta get Mike and his team up here to go through all this stuff with me so we can get Amy moved.

- Hey, Matt.

- Yo, I'm down here, man.

(bright guitar music continues) - [Mike] Hey, how are you?

- Oh man, I'm in a very full basement.

- Yeah.

I'm used to overflowing garages and attics but this is another level.

The whole house is packed.

- This whole basement, the whole main floor upstairs and then there's an attic, as well.

- Oh.

(Mike chuckles) - Yes.

So the good news is they're already in the new place.

Can take stuff over as we go.

It's kind of their forever home.

And so I think we just gotta pick here pretty quickly.

- Okay.

(bright guitar music continues) Oh, check this out.

These are Christmas decorations ice skates.

Hand painted by Karen.

- By Karen.

Wow, so these are made by her sister.

Holy cow, man.

- [Mike] Those are really awesome.

- [Matt] Wow, these are super cool.

- [Mike] It's folk art, it's holiday.

- This is really cool.

I think she's gonna wanna hold on to these.

(bright guitar music fades) (light drum music) (gentle guitar music) - Wow.

(gentle guitar music continues) Matt, check this out.

- What is this?

- [Mike] Well.

- Oh, man.

RS Goyer, which is her dad.

All right, so there's a date here.

It looks like January 9th.

- '97.

- '97.

So she told me her dad mailed this to her.

And what's so special about this is this is her dad's handwriting.

This is kind of a time capsule from her dad to her.

- Okay, but we don't know what's in it.

- Yeah, and we can't, it's not, it'd be unethical for us to open it.

- Sure.

- My grandfather was a postmaster and he would tell me that it was illegal for us to open it 'cause it's not addressed to you.

- Well, lord knows, we don't need any trouble with the law.

- Nope, no, especially my grandfather.

All right, well that is officially our first legacy list item.

- [Mike] All right.

- Dude, good job, man.

That's awesome.

Was it it just up high?

- Yeah, you wouldn't have been able to reach it.

(upbeat guitar music) - All right.

I'm gonna keep picking, man.

(upbeat guitar music continues) I think, yep, here we go.

Studebaker parts.

- [Mike] Oh, wow.

- Management and sales development program.

Look at this.

- Oh, wow.

I love packaging like this.

Was learning how to type.

Oh, look at this.

This is practice on Studebaker Corporation letterhead, South Bend, Indiana.

I love it.

This is super cool.

All right, I mean, I'm pretty sure I know what this is.

Holy cow.

- [Mike] You got it?

- All right, this is it.

This is her grandma's old royal typewriter.

- [Mike] Wow.

- [Matt] So, Amy's a is a writer.

She does a lot of writing, a lot of blogging and I think this is inspiration for her.

- You know, some of these old typewriters are really collectible and I would guess this one's probably from the '40s or '50s.

- I can guarantee you this is gonna go in Amy's new office in her forever home.

All right, that is another legacy list item.

Amy has said that her family would not have made it through the Depression without Studebaker.

- [Narrator] Ah, the typewriter.

This strange looking metal contraption was the backbone of the American workplace for almost a hundred years.

The first commercially made typewriter in the United States was patented in 1868.

Early prototypes were made using piano keys.

Ever wonder why the keys on a typewriter aren't arranged in alphabetical order?

One theory is because early designers wanted to separate the most often used letters to avoid jamming.

Thanks to the typewriter, workflow in the office changed forever.

It reduced the time and money it took to create documents and produced the paperwork that powered industrialization.

In 1894, the Salt Lake Herald proclaimed, "Perhaps no invention of modern times has done so much to relieve businessmen of the great amounts of pen work drudgery to be done in every business as the typewriter."

Another key shift, the typewriter created job opportunities for women to enter the workforce in newly formed clerical jobs.

In 1870, just 2.5% of clerical workers in the US were women.

But by 1930, thanks to the typewriter that number had arisen to over half.

The modern day secretarial pool was born.

These days, computers have replaced typewriters in the office, but there are still a select few who appreciate pounding the keys the old fashioned way.

You just have to be the right type of person.

(mischievous music) Oh, this is an old chandelier.

- Yeah, she's got a lot of chandeliers, a lot of chandeliers and a lot of pictures.

- Any chance you think this is the cane?

It's clearly an umbrella.

- Yeah.

It's got the sleeve.

- Sleeve, which never happens.

I'm afraid to take it off.

It's pretty cool though.

- Matt, I know it's not the cane.

- [Matt] How is that?

How do you know that?

- Look at that.

Holy cow.

- [Mike] Karen.

- Oh, look at that.

Here, she made this.

Key to happiness.

Spirituality.

Oh, think about that.

She made this.

- Wow.

- So she was already sick, already knew she most likely wasn't gonna make it.

- Mm.

This is another really powerful legacy list item.

- [Matt] Yes it is.

This is way more special than I thought.

(country vibe guitar music) - I found her creepy doll collection.

- [Matt] Oh, everybody's got one.

- [Mike] Yep, I think these are some form of like, papier-mache or- - Unfortunately, this show has made you a bit of a creepy doll expert.

- Yeah.

- I know people reach out to you all the time about creepy dolls.

- That's the only thing people ask me about.

All right, let's see here.

- It's a bunch of travel stuff.

I mean, this is just beautiful, beautiful stuff.

Uh-oh, boom.

(Mike gasps) Look at that, dude.

Here, I don't wanna mess it up.

You don't how to do this.

- Oh, yeah.

- Look at that, The Harvey, - [Mike] Harvey Tin Cup.

- [Matt] Tin Cup.

- [Mike] Look at that.

- [Matt] Dude, I always thought this was so cool.

- [Mike] Yeah.

- [Matt] I love it.

All right, another legacy list item.

And this was from her grandparents.

(1940s ragtime music) - [Narrator] The Harvey Collapsible metal cub was a popular companion piece for adventurers heading out to explore the great outdoors.

It's a reminder of the travel boom that swept the country thanks to the railroads.

By the late 19th century, natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park were becoming some of America's first tourist attractions.

As rail travel to these destinations became more commonplace, passengers wanted a more refined travel experience.

They also wanted fine dining on their journey.

Restaurant owner, Fred Harvey, saw an opportunity.

In the 1870s, he made a deal with the Santa Fe Railroad Company to open upscale dining houses along their rail routes.

It was a huge success and the company has been widely credited with creating the first American chain restaurant.

One popular feature of the restaurant: Harvey Girls.

Harvey placed newspaper ads calling for women of high morals, intelligence, and good looks.

Their character was to be as impressive as the meals they served.

It was a brilliant bit of marketing and customers loved it.

In the 1930s, highways like Route 66 paved the way for even more Americans to head West and the Harvey Company was waiting for them.

By the '60s, most Harvey locations were closed.

Today, finding food on the road is as easy as going to a drive-through.

The golden age of travel may be long gone but items like the Harvey Collapsible Tin Cup remind us of a simpler time when getting there was half the fun.

(upbeat guitar music) - Now that Matt and I are finished, I've gotta meet with Amy so we can come up with a plan and get this job done.

We don't have much time.

We've got a lot of work to do.

I could tell you're a little antsy about this.

- I'm kind of freaked out.

- Well, let's talk about priorities here.

What spaces are the most important for us to empty and move over to the new house?

- Well, I think the dining room and the living room you know, is a really good place to start, making sure that my antiques and family heirloom treasures are transported safely and that they get moved safely to the other house.

I think that's one of my biggest concerns.

Ah, all of it.

(Amy laughing) - Yeah, it just keeps adding up and adding up.

Well, I wanna assure you we're gonna get your important items over to the house safely and find a new home for the rest.

- Sounds good to me.

(upbeat guitar music) - Amy and Bill are moving to a much larger space.

It's starting a new chapter in their lives.

They really need to go through these items find what's important, and let go of everything else.

(upbeat guitar music fades) (energetic guitar music) - Amy, thanks for having us.

- Thank you for coming and helping.

- Physically, we had some work to do.

- Yes, we did.

- So we did clean out the dining room and Mike and his team are still over there even right now packing up stuff.

So we're getting as quick to that deadline as possible.

- I can't even tell you the relief that it feels.

Like, yesterday, I realized we're really gonna do this.

And it's just like 6,000 pounds have been lifted off my shoulder.

Bill and I have our chance finally to build our dream, be together after 16 years.

And, you know, it's not been easy.

It's been a really, it's been a really long road.

- It has.

All right, so I think with that let's get started on the legacy list.

- Cool.

- Look at this.

- Oh, that's it.

(Matt straining) Yes.

- Your grandmother's typewriter, it's a nice typewriter.

It's a Royal, you were correct.

It was actually quite advanced for its time.

This is not a personal typewriter.

This is a work typewriter.

So we also found all of the paperwork from Studebaker.

- Oh, look at that.

- [Matt] This was wonderful, man.

This is, I mean, we have- - [Amy] Oh my gosh, that must be from when she first learned.

- [Matt] Started first learning - [Amy] Because she worked at Studebaker through the Depression and- - [Matt] She kept everything, she was thorough.

- Gosh.

- Okay, and then here's an article.

- Oh my gosh.

- From South Bend Tribune.

March 11th, 1942.

- My gosh.

- And it talks about noon hours for 33 girls of employees of the Studebaker Corporation Parts Office are no longer idle hours.

Miss Clarence Goyer, President of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit number 50.

This was a service organization during the war of all the women that worked at Studebaker.

- Oh my god, I had no idea.

I've never even heard this.

Oh, Matt, I can't believe you found these things.

(light piano music) - All right, let's move on to the next legacy list item.

I thought this was really cool.

- Oh, you found it.

- The Harvey Travel Cup.

Tell me about it.

- So, when I was growing up, my parents and my grandparents always had these travel cups.

And when I was a little girl my grandparents took my next oldest sister Linda and I to Niagara Falls.

And my grandmother had those travel cups and everything.

The stories and the memories are what keep them alive and that's really important to me.

- All right, our next legacy list item, her cane.

- Oh yeah, you found it.

Good.

- This, - Yes.

- For me, this is the top five things I've ever found in anybody's house.

She was sick while she was making this, right?

- Right, so she, you know, she needed to walk with a cane quite a bit.

And she was very creative and crafty.

And that brought her so much joy and brought her out of when she didn't feel good.

If you look closely, there are stars and twirlies.

And she decorated it, you know, specifically.

And then she carved into it the things that were important to her.

Mental awareness, key to happiness, wellness.

She wrote her name, Karen, on it.

Physical endurance.

Like, she was giving herself positive messages even while she was using the cane.

And to me, this symbolizes Karen.

- [Matt] What advice would your sister, Karen, give you now?

- I think she would tell me everything will be okay.

You know, over the past couple weeks especially when I've been so stressed about trying to get out of the house and get here and I guess kept hearing her say everything will be okay and I love you all the time.

- Let's never lose this cane.

It's incredible.

- No, I'll never lose it.

- All right, our last legacy list item.

- Oh, from daddy.

- From your dad.

- Look at his handwriting, Matt.

- You know, for me the holy grails are to find my dad's voice.

That gets me really excited.

I love it when I get to help family members find the voice or the handwriting.

- Yeah.

You know what this makes me think of is him writing it out, packing it up and going to the post office, doing this for me.

- It's been in your basement for 25 years.

I don't wanna see your stuff stored in the basement for later or for the past anymore.

I'm preaching right at you 'cause you're my friend, okay?

You have both earned it.

This is you and Bill's time and nobody else's.

And you're allowed that.

And all your ancestors have taught us that.

- Thank you, thank you.

You're right.

(soft piano music) Can we open it?

- Let's do it.

(Amy chuckles) You can do that.

- Oh, I get to do this.

Okay.

- I'm not messing it up.

(soft piano music continues) This is something from the man that she loved.

I'm actually excited to see what's in it.

Its yours to open up and if you realize you don't wanna open it then that's okay, too.

What is it?

- Aw, it's a, it's a high school yearbook.

That's my senior year in high school.

- Love it, I know where I'm going right away.

- Oh, you gotta find my.

Yeah, that's my sophomore year.

These are all my yearbooks.

- Look at this, all your friends.

- All my friends.

- All right, I'm gonna find you in here.

- These are things from my childhood.

My Raggedy Ann books.

With love to Amy.

Oh, from Karen.

Happy five-year-old.

My sister gave me this.

(gentle piano music) - I love it.

- This is such a treasure.

I'm so excited to have these.

- [Matt] Look at the joy your dad has given you.

- [Amy] Oh my gosh, Matt, you've made this so much easier for me.

- [Matt] Well, and this is the start.

You picked it, we went through it, we enjoyed it.

We shared the memories.

Record those memories and then pass 'em on to the next generation.

- I'm very glad for more.

(Amy laughs) (gentle piano music fades) - [Announcer] Funding for Legacy List is provided by Wheaton Worldwide Moving.

Wheaton's number one goal is to help you, your loved ones, and your belongings get to your new home quickly and safely.

You can find us at WheatonWorldwide.com.

Wheaton Worldwide moving.

We move your life.

FirstLight Home Care, committed to providing safe and compassionate home services for you and your family.

FirstLight believes personal relationships and engagement are as important as mobility, bathing and personal hygiene.

Details at Firstlighthomecare.com.

("Heart and Soul" piano music) (Amy laughing) (Matt clapping) - Awesome.

Thank you for helping me christen my new piano.

- I like it.

- [Announcer] Visit MyLegacyList.com to learn more about the tips, tools, and professionals to help make your own big life move easier.

Learn more about this episode or submit your story to be featured on the show at MyLegacyList.com.

(brief piano musical notes) (run-up outro music)