More Than Just Stuff: Grief, belongings, and emotional chaos
When someone you love dies, the belongings they leave behind are rarely “just stuff.” They carry memory, emotion, identity, and connection, which is why dealing with them can feel so overwhelming.
In this 90-minute live event and podcast recording, grief coach and author Charlene Lam (Curating Grief) and professional organizer Tinka Markham Piper (chaos counselor and founder of Solve My Space), come together for a thoughtful, compassionate conversation about the emotional experience of working with belongings after loss — and what actually helps.
Together, we’ll explore:
Why ordinary objects can feel so emotionally charged after someone dies
Where grievers can begin when everything feels overwhelming
What happens when grieving clients seek organizing advice and how emotional readiness shapes practical support
How meaning-making and practical guidance can work together, rather than at odds
Gentle ways to move forward without pressure, shame, or rushing yourself
This event will be recorded live as an episode of the Curating Grief podcast and includes time for audience Q&A.
Priority question submission will be offered to:
Students enrolled in the Curating Grief: Sorting the Stuff of Life & Loss course
Participants in The Home Lab, Tinka's monthly membership
Whether you’re grieving, supporting someone who is, or work professionally with people navigating loss, this conversation offers a grounded, humane place to start.
Live Gathering
Location: Zoom meeting, join from anywhere. Up to you whether you have camera on or off.
This gathering will be recorded.
We will open the chat for you to share and submit your questions for the live Q&A portion.
Questions? [email protected]
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ABOUT TINKA
Tinka is a social worker by training, a designer at heart, and a firm believer that your home should support your mental health--not work against it.
She holds degrees from Princeton University (BA) and Columbia University (MPH, MSW), and spent over 15 years on the front lines of public and mental health, specializing in suicide prevention, emergency response, and urban epidemiology. Her work was deeply meaningful and it offered a powerful window into what people truly need to feel safe, supported, and at ease.
In 2012, she founded Solve My Space to merge her clinical and programmatic expertise with her creative instincts. Since then, she’s helped more than 800 clients around the world create homes that feel organized, grounded, and deeply personal.
Tinka’s work has been featured in Domino, HGTV, Elle Canada, Apartment Therapy, IKEA, CTV, CBC Canada, and more.
Her approach is equal parts therapeutic and practical. Whether decluttering a kitchen or reimagining a living room, she draws from a unique blend of social work, systems thinking, and design to create spaces that don’t just look good, but feel good, too.
LINKS
Website
Instagram
The Home Lab monthly home membership program
ABOUT CHARLENE
Charlene Lam is a grief coach, curator, and speaker who helps grieving people engage with and curate the things that hold meaning — the belongings, stories, and symbols that connect us to those they’ve lost. Through creativity and reflection, she guides people to work tenderly with what remains, turning the stuff of loss into the stuff of meaning.
Charlene is the author of Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies and the creator of The Grief Gallery®, which presents international exhibitions featuring the belongings of loved ones lost in New York, London, and Los Angeles. Her TEDx talk, “What Grief and Soy Sauce Taught Me About Life After Loss,” has been viewed more than 20,000 times.
A proud Chinese-American New Yorker now based in Lisbon, she helps people worldwide to make space for connection, healing, and meaning through creativity and curation.
Learn more about The Grief Gallery and Charlene Lam's Curating Grief approach to grief support at www.curatinggrief.com