Unfortunately, it’s just kind of a part of life to have somebody you love eventually pass away. The grieving process is never an easy one, and isn’t made any easier when you’re also saddled with the task of cleaning out your loved one’s home and figuring out what to do with their belongings.
No matter if you’re going through the loss of a parent, elderly relative, friend, or another individual close to you, dealing with any grieving process or dealing with the loss of a loved one is hard to go through.
Though you might figure having to sort through this person’s home and belongings will only make the grieving process worse, this process can be a healing process for you as you declutter and clean out items.
How to Declutter After a Loss
Decluttering the home of a loved one you’ve lost can be really difficult to deal with, but you have to do what you have to do, whether or not you’re ready for it. These processes are often unfortunately time-sensitive, so it’s best to take care of it as soon as possible.
To help you out with this process, we’ve set up some helpful tips to let you carry out this process efficiently and in a healthy manner that will let you take care of yourself throughout.
- Identify Important Documents
Find and identify important documents (i.e a will, insurance documents, personal identification documents, their social security card, etc.) and put them in a safe place before you start clearing anything out.
- Make a Plan
Start going through your loved one’s home and figure out what they have, and how much stuff they have in general. Figure out what type of transportation you might need to get furniture and other items out of the house, and make a game plan for the process.
- Let’s Get Started!
Take the decluttering process room by room, and don’t try to take on too much at once! Clearing out a whole house can be really overwhelming (especially in a time of mourning), so don’t be afraid to ask for help to take breaks.
- Organized Cleaned Out Items
Beyond taking things room by room, make sure to set up categories for your cleared uot items so that you know what you’ll want to keep, give away, donate, sell, or throw away.
- Donate, Sell, or Throw Away
After organizing and sorting everything, start taking things to their respective secondary locations gradually, so that you don’t have to worry about transporting everything all at once.
The way you approach the decluttering process of your loved one’s home can really help you with the mourning period, and also allow you to reminisce and think of happy memories you have with them that you may not have remembered otherwise. It can also help you see more of who your loved one was before you were born, or just to learn more about them in general.
Looking for storage services to service the cleanout of your loved one’s property? Portable Storage Near Me’s network of personal storage providers will find the right storage company for you and your needs. Contact us today to learn more about our services.