Tidying Up After A Loved One Passes Away

When a loved one passes away, there’s a lot to think about in a short time and for most of us, the process is both emotional and stressful. When it comes to tidying up a loved one’s belongings after they’ve passed, don’t hesitate to take time to get the work done. Unlike some of the preliminaries you need to take care of before a funeral, you can space this chore out over weeks, even months. This brief article should help you navigate some of the emotional and practical hurdles you may face during this process.

Emotions

It’s okay to be emotional when you’re cleaning up these spaces. It’s okay to not be emotional when you’re cleaning up these spaces. It’s okay to be emotional sometimes, and not other times -  grieving processes differs for everyone, and one of the most important things is not to have expectations for how it’s going to go. What can be a good idea is to prepare for emotional reactions if you think they’ll come up. Schedule some time after the cleaning to do something stress-free for yourself.

You also have to keep your emotions in mind when you’re deciding what to keep, what to give away, and what to throw out. There might be a temptation to keep everything your loved one had in their possession, but keeping all of their things in your home might have a psychological toll on you. Again, feel it out; there’s no right answer here. You might try the KonMari method: hold things close to you and if they make you feel joy, keep them. When they don’t, thank them for all they’ve done for your loved one and give them away, sell them, or discard them.

The Tidying

You should try to only handle each object once -  this way, you don’t recreate clutter for the next cleaning session. Bring a lot of bags and boxes. Focus on documents first -  financial and legal documents can be essential to the estate. Bring a lot of help with you as many hands make the task easier. Large furniture can be stored but be aware that storage costs can be pretty pricey. Generally, it’s a good idea to sell furniture you’re not going to keep as soon as possible, unless you know it’s a valuable antique. 

Setting limits on how much you’re going to take home with you and finding out what is going to relatives before you clean is a very good idea - meticulous list-keeping can make the whole cleaning process a lot easier. 

Here at Alterna Cremation, we offer direct cremation services in Winnipeg. We strive to offer more than that, however - we want to offer you as much guidance as possible for what may be a difficult time. Should you have any questions, never hesitate to get in contact with us - we’re here for you.