Cleaning Out a Deceased Love One’s Home
The loss of a loved one whether sudden or expected is something no one can prepare themselves for. Picking up the pieces and dealing with the clean-up and estate services of the deceased can be unbearable during a time of grief. Some may find it helps the process of healing, while others simply find it unbearable. Cleaning out a deceased loved one’s home or office ranks among one of life’s most stressful experiences. Though never easy, these tips may help the packing up process a little easier.
Choose a place of honor to hold or display the objects you treasure the most. Keep a box handy while sorting through items and take them with you as a memento or keepsake of the one you lost.
While sorting, clearly label the bags and boxes for donation. Do not let the boxes become intermingled with keepsakes. You may be in a state of confusion, and you’d hate to throw away the items you intended to keep.
Tackle the project in steps. Do not try and do it all at once, or you may become exhausted and overwhelmed when you are in a state of mourning.
Take photos of the items you want to remember, but are not practical to keep.
Remember that it’s okay to take a minute to read sentimental greeting cards and go through old photo albums but try not to do this with every item or you will get nothing accomplished.
Create a timeframe to finish the entire project. Clearing a house may take several months. You don’t want to feel rushed, but you also don’t want to let things stagnate or you will always have it hanging over your head. Plan four-hour blocks of time.
You may want to sort through the belongings yourself, but hiring help is a great idea to take care of the odd jobs you do not need to oversee. Delegate a junk hauling company for large items you do not need, hire a clean-up crew to take care of the entire house, or have a handyman make repairs before you put the house on the market.
When the job is done, schedule a dinner out with your loved ones so you can honor the deceased and feel a sense of relief that the task has been completed.
When the aftermath is too traumatic for a family to perform, Taylored Restoration can help. We understand what a difficult task this can be and offer a variety of services to help you through it. From certified on-site trauma clean-up to estate cleaning, Taylored Restoration is just one call away in a time of need.