An ordinary letter can become a family document because somebody resisted throwing it away.

Archives are made by hesitation. Almost everything that survives from a family’s past survived because one person, at one clear-out, could not quite put it in the bag, and that reluctance was rarely based on any judgement about historical value. The letter about a broken boiler and a cousin’s new job is unremarkable until the people in it are gone, at which point it is the only voice you have. Preservation is nearly always accidental.

When you are next sorting through things, keep one ordinary item rather than only the impressive ones. Put it somewhere findable and write the year on it.