Listen Up, Grandma

 You need to address this issue. You realize you are reaching the end of your designated time  on earth, and there are matters you need to address. You may have drawn up your will, settled matters of inheritance and asset distribution, and even arranged for the disposition of your mortal coil. But you should know the burden  you may still inflict on your family members if you don't take my advice.

   Such a scolding paraphrases an article I read several months ago, whether in a magazine, newspaper, or online, I don't recall. The author was citing the difficulties she had encountered while attempting to dispose of  her late mother's personal  possessions. She was advising senior citizens of the importance of downsizing what they owned and of sorting the worthwhile thngs out before the home was divested of all  their stuff. This is what happened to her, the daughter:

 She had to go through and clear the home of her mother's personal things, closets full of clothes, and files and boxes of paperwork, none of which was needed any longer.She had to take the time to go to the home and was intending to just bundle up all the clothing and either donate or dispose of it, I don't recall. But, as she was about to put a coat into the disposal bag, she absentmindedly stuck her hand into a pocket---and came across a $50 bill, evidently forgotten about by the deceased. That meant she now had to examine all the clothing in case there was more cash which the owner had failed to remove.

   What was destined to be even more time consuming and painstaking was that when she scanned through a box of old papers prior to incinerating them, she found, nestled in the file folders,  a vintage gold wristwatch, dropped and forgotten there probably years before. 

 Thus, the author's message is that it is inconsiderate of old timers not to consider what might happen if they don't do their due diligence and tend to these matters instead of leaving such sorting out to others, who have to adjust their busy schedules for something that would be unnecessary if the correct measures had already been taken. So, sort stuff, Old woman or Old Man. Otherwise, something of value, cash, jewelry, etc. might be thrown in the trash.

 I would tell this author while her experience might have been true, her reasoning is a misapprehension.  If the forgotten cash and watch had been thrown away, even destroyed, what difference would it make  if nobody knew it existed in the first place. These were items forgotten by all; there was no expectation of recovery of loss. You can't miss something that was never in the realm of your existence. Just toss the  stuff away.