How to pack up a home after a death
When people die, they often
leave behind a lifetime’s
worth of memories
and possessions.
Usually, it falls to the person’s
family and friends to
clean up their homes and
pack up and sort out their belongings.
Depending on the size of
a person’s home, how much
stuff they own and how long
they’ve lived in their house,
the process of cleaning and
packing up can be a long one.
If you’ve been given the responsibility
of handling your
loved one’s possessions after
they’ve passed on, here’s how
to cope with death and the occasionally
complicated process
of packing up a house.
Break up the project
Whether your loved one
lived in a small, one-bedroom
apartment or a massive,
three-story home, the process
of sorting through their
belongings after the funeral
can seem overwhelming at
fi rst.
Splitting what looks like
a larger project into smaller,
more manageable pieces is
part of learning how to cope
with death.
For example, you can decide
to focus on one room at a
time or on one type of object
at a time, such as the person’s
paperwork or personal documents.
Focusing on a single
area can also help to contain
the mess that is likely to develop
as you sift through
someone’s belongings.
If you live in the house
you are cleaning, having the
project contained in a single
room can help you go about
with your other daily responsibilities
without a constant
reminder of it.
Get support
If your loved one named
you the executor of their will,
sorting through their possessions
and cleaning out their
house isn’t something you
need to handle on your own.
Ask other family members
to step in and help you organize
and clean.
“You can divide tasks up
McManus
FUNERAL HOME
based on people’s strengths
and talents,” said Michael
A. Lanotte, Executive Director
& CEO of the New York
State Funeral Directors Association.
a sibling or cousin is an attorney,
you can ask them to
sort through the deceased’s
paperwork, taking out the
documents that need to be
kept and getting rid of the
non-essential papers. Asking
a person who might not have
known the deceased well to
help can also be useful. They
can provide an objective opinion
about certain possessions
that might have sentimental
meaning for you.”
Decide how to divide up
items
People often state how
they want their estate and
possessions divided up after
their death.
If your loved one left behind
a will, then part of the
process of deciding how to
split up their belongings
might have already been
taken care of.
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In some cases, people don’t
specify who gets what in their
will but instead ask their family
members to place stickers
on items in the house to claim
those items.
If your loved one didn’t do
any of that, it’s up to you to
decide what to do with their
possessions. One option is
to have close family visit the
house and take items they’d
like to have. That can lead
to arguments, especially if
there are expensive items
that more than one person
wants.
In the case of valuable belongings
or potential heirlooms,
it might be a good idea
to have the items appraised to
determine their value.
If one family member really
wants a piece of jewelry
or a valuable piece of antique
furniture, a solution might be
to have them split up the cost
of the item and pay the other
family members their share
of the item.
Get professional help
It’s likely that there will
be some belongings that no
one in your family or immediate
circle is interested in.
You’ll most likely also fi nd
some items that are past their
prime and not worth keeping.
You don’t have to take responsibility
for hauling items to the
landfi ll or recycling center.
You can hire a company to
take care of that job for you.
You might also want to
hire someone to come and
evaluate any useful items
that no one in your family
wants.
It might also be worthwhile
to hire someone to
oversee a yard sale or an estate
sale or auction of your
loved one’s belongings.
Although it’s easy to get
overwhelmed by the process
of cleaning up and packing
up your loved one’s home after
their death, remembering
to give yourself time and
space and to lean on others
for support will help you get
through the process.
— Courtesy NYS Funeral
Directors Association
Coping with Death
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