The TIME Capsule Method™ – Your Guide to Ethical Preservation
Protecting Your Family History with Care, Clarity, and Compassion
As we move into a new year, many of us feel inspired to refresh our digital lives, organize our memories, and revisit the stories that shape our families. And for genealogists and family historians, this is more than a tidy-up, it’s a way of honoring the people we love.
One of the most important ways to do that is by preserving our family history ethically.
That’s why I created the TIME Capsule Method™, a clear, thoughtful system for protecting, organizing, and sharing your stories so they can be passed on safely and meaningfully. Today, I’d like to walk you through what the method is, why ethical preservation matters, and how you can begin building your own “digital time capsule” in a way that respects both the living and the past.
What Is the TIME Capsule Method™?
The TIME Capsule Method™ is my signature four-part framework designed to help you protect and share your family history with purpose:
T – Tell Your Story
Capture the stories that matter, not just the facts. This includes memories, reflections, interviews, audio clips, photos, letters, and the small details that breathe life into your family narrative.
I – Identify What Must Be Saved
Decide which documents, photos, and recordings carry long-term value. This includes vital records, family Bibles, military documents, heirloom photos, journals, and multi-generational treasures.
M – Make It Accessible
Organize your materials so others can find them easily. This includes naming files clearly, backing up your data, creating inventories, and ensuring your loved ones know where your genealogy research is stored.
E – Ethically Share What Matters
This is the heart of the method. Ethical sharing means protecting living people’s privacy, honoring sensitive stories, and releasing information only when it is safe, appropriate, and respectful.
The goal of the TIME Capsule Method™ is simple: Preserve your legacy without compromising someone else’s.
Why Ethical Preservation Matters
Not every story is ours alone to tell.
As genealogists, we often walk a fine line between honoring truth and respecting privacy. Some information is joyful and easy to share. Other information, adoptions, medical history, family disputes, DNA surprises, requires more care.
Ethical preservation matters because:
- Families deserve dignity, even long after we are gone.
- Living relatives have the right to privacy and personal boundaries.
- Sensitive information can cause harm, even when unintentionally disclosed.
- Digital records last a long time, and once posted publicly, they spread quickly.
- Future generations rely on us to handle their storykeepers’ role responsibly.
Ethics isn’t about withholding history; it’s about sharing it wisely.
How This Connects to My Upcoming Courses and Book
The TIME Capsule Method™ is more than a blog post, it’s the foundation for everything I am building for family historians in 2026:
The TIME Capsule Method™ Book
A full guide on preserving, protecting, and ethically sharing your family’s legacy in the digital age. (Coming soon in 2026.)
The TIME Capsule Online Course
A step-by-step program with videos, checklists, scenarios, worksheets, and examples to walk you through creating your own digital time capsule.
The TIME Capsule Podcast
Weekly episodes exploring legacy stories, ethics, preservation tools, and real examples from family historians.
Everything ties into the same mission:Helping you preserve your family history with clarity, compassion, and confidence.
Want to Go Deeper? Join Me.
If you’d like updates, free resources, early access, and invitations to upcoming live sessions, I’d love to stay connected.
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