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The workbook

Making Room

A caregiver’s workbook for decluttering a parent’s home, and the things left unsaid, together.

Eight short modules · Ground rules, scripts, and worksheets · Printable PDF

$27 CAD · instant download

Available November 16. Caregivers Month launch price until November 30, then $37 CAD.

Get notified on launch day

Join the list and get The First Drawer, free, right away.

From a mountain to a plan

Right now

  • The house feels like a question you can’t answer yet.
  • There’s a conversation you keep putting off.
  • You tell yourself it’s too early, that there’s time.
  • Guilt and grief sit in the same boxes as the stuff.
  • If something happened tomorrow, you wouldn’t know where the papers are.

After Making Room

  • A home that feels lighter, shaped around how they live now.
  • Hard conversations started, gently and in their own time.
  • Feelings named instead of carried silently.
  • A plan instead of a mountain, with the key information in one place.
  • More room to live in the present, with the people you love.

What’s inside

Eight short modules. Go in order, or start wherever you are today.

  1. Where You Actually Are

    15 min

    Take stock of the home, and of your own starting point.

  2. Feelings Nobody Warned You About

    15 min + practice

    Name what you’re feeling, and what to do when it gets loud.

  3. Talking to Your Parent

    15–20 min

    Ground rules and scripts for the conversations that matter.

  4. The Room-by-Room Sort

    20–30 min a sitting

    Decide room by room, and shape each room around how they live now.

  5. The Sentimental Bottleneck

    15–20 min a sitting

    Photos, letters, and keepsakes, handled with care.

  6. Sibling and Family Dynamics

    15–20 min + check-in

    Share the work, and keep your parent at the centre.

  7. When Things Change Fast

    as needed

    A short plan for when things move quickly, with a page of key information.

  8. Your Own Oxygen Mask

    as long as you need

    Rest, reflect, and carry this forward.

Plus printable extras: box labels, keepsake tags, story cards, and family check-in worksheets.

How it works

A printable workbook

A 44-page PDF you download right after checkout. Print it and fill it in by hand, or print only the pages you need.

Forty minutes at a time, or less

Every module is short. Start anywhere, go at your pace, and put it down when you need to.

Made to share

Print extra copies of the worksheets for siblings, and use the check-in pages to divide the work fairly.

Why this, not another checklist

Most end-of-life planners assume someone has already died, or is dying. Making Room is for the years before that, when your parent is still here, still has opinions about their things, and still gets the final say.

A checklist tells you what to sort. It doesn’t tell you what to say when your mother goes quiet, or when your brother says he’s too busy. Making Room covers both: the boxes, and the conversations around them.

Who made this

I’m Ty, an end-of-life doula. My father died at forty, when I was twelve, so I know how unevenly time is given. Making Room started as my own way of sorting grief, a house, and my excuses. It helped, so I’ve shaped it into something for you.

Read Ty’s story →

Questions

I don’t have much time. Is this realistic?

Yes. Each module is short, and most sittings take less than forty minutes. Nothing needs to be finished in one go, and you can start with whichever module fits the week you’re having.

What if my parent doesn’t want to talk about it?

That’s common, and it’s why the workbook starts with their life, not the problem. Module 3 has ground rules and scripts for several situations, including what to say when they get defensive. It’s their home and their decision; the workbook helps you keep the door open.

I already have a checklist. Why would I need this?

Keep your checklist. Making Room covers what checklists leave out: the feelings that come up, the conversations with your parent and your siblings, and how to decide what stays when every item has a story.

Is this a will or an estate plan?

No. Making Room isn’t legal, medical, or financial advice, and it doesn’t replace a will or powers of attorney. It’s the practical and emotional groundwork around those, and it points you to the right professionals when you need them.

What if things are already moving fast?

Go straight to Module 7, When Things Change Fast. It’s written for exactly that, with a short plan and a page to gather the information you’ll need.

You’re not too early. You’re right on time.

Available November 16 · $27 CAD launch price until November 30, then $37

Get notified on launch day

Join the list and get The First Drawer, free, right away.