.CREATE YOUR LEGACY

Why and how to write your own obituary

By Hazel Thornton | August 18, 2025 |

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll be used to me talking about death from time to time. Planning my virtual funeral – who’s with me? Talking about death won’t kill you, LOL! “We Remember” our loved ones Is Swedish Death Cleaning for you? ‘Death Cleaning’ isn’t as scary as it sounds! (4 short…

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The Sound of Music

By Hazel Thornton | July 11, 2025 |

Theme 1: Prologue This is a story about growing up with my mom and music. It’s easier for me to write about distant ancestors than it is to write about people I actually knew. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, partly because I know so much about them. I think: “I can’t include everything, but how can…

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Two friends having coffee together

Think of ChatGPT as a friend

By Hazel Thornton | April 25, 2025 |

As interested as I am in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and as pervasive as it is becoming in our daily lives, I seem to only manage one blog post per year about it. Suffice it to say that a lot can, and does, happen in a year! So, consider this your annual update. 9/1/25 UPDATE: Since…

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We’re All Related (and why it matters)

By Hazel Thornton | February 22, 2025 |

It’s ti-i-me! Time for RootsTech, that is (March 6-8, 2025). And time for my favorite feature, Relatives at RootsTech. The largest annual genealogy conference in the world is a hybrid event. If you register for the FREE virtual portion of the conference you will get a different experience, of course, than if you go in…

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Celebrating 20 Years

By Hazel Thornton | December 16, 2024 |

Please join me in celebrating 20 years of membership in the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. NAPO has been the foundation of my professional life and business. I’m retired now, but I’m still an emeritus member. For 17 of those years I helped clients to declutter, simplify, organize, and refresh their homes, offices, schedules,…

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refrigerator

Backup Gratitude & Fridgescaping

By Hazel Thornton | June 30, 2024 |

What are you always grateful for, if nothing else? My friend Jane and I have been complaining to one another for over 50 years. But we also count our blessings. And sometimes, when things look bleak, and we can’t think of anything current to be grateful for, we have certain reliable backups, like each other…

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Who will take care of us when we’re old?

By Hazel Thornton | June 16, 2024 |

Have you ever asked yourself: Who will take care of me when I’m old? Do you assume it will be your kids? (Which kids?) Do your kids also assume it will be them? Is that really what you all want? Do you even have kids? And what all is included in “taking care of you”,…

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The AI Gold Rush

By Hazel Thornton | May 14, 2024 |

The storm clouds are clearing. (It’s a reference to my previous post, The rainbow after the storm.) I’ve been able to start spending less time doing what I have to do, and more time doing what I want to do. And what I want to do is to continue my genealogy research, write more stories…

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Witches in the Family

By Hazel Thornton | February 16, 2024 |

Yikes! Witches? Really? Well, suspected and accused in court, yes! Convicted and hanged, thankfully not! . The Connecticut Witch Trials You’ve no doubt heard about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692-3 Massachusetts. But what about the Connecticut Witch Trials that predated them by 30 years? Yeah, me neither. The Salem trials were more numerous and…

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Do I Practice What I Preach? (Habits, Maintenance, and Backsliding)

By Hazel Thornton | January 15, 2024 |

Dear Readers: I hope you enjoy this refreshed post from 2016.   I was helping a long-time virtual coaching client with email maintenance, teaching her about Inbox Zero, and I admitted that mine was currently more like Inbox 200. In fact, as I continued to say, I don’t do anything (maintenance-wise)  every day. She was…

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Hazel's Books

Book cover: What's a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy

What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy

Cover of "Go With the Flow! (The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook)"

Go With the Flow! (The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook)

Cover of "Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror"

Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror

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