Downsizing after a Funeral

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Lifesong Funerals under funeral home
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Downsizing after funerals at funeral homes in Tallahassee, FL is an inevitable necessity when someone dies. Our families must close the book of our lives. First, this means putting legal, insurance, financial, digital, and, if our loved ones were still employed, work-related matters in order. Certified death certificates are required for most of these activities, so at least 20 copies of the certified death certificate should be obtained from the funeral home (if there are a lot of assets or a substantial estate, you will need at least double that number of certified death certificates).

funeral homes in Tallahassee, FL

However, those things are fairly simple, albeit time-consuming, in some cases, for our families to do when compared with the task of deciding how to handle our personal belongings.

What we have and own defines who we are. We might collect books or vinyl records. We might have model car or model airplane collections. We might be artists with lots of art supplies. We might be musicians with lots of instruments, equipment, and sheet music. Regardless of our hobbies and interests, we all have things in our personal belongings that identify us as us, and anyone who knows us well, including our families, know those things are entwined in who we were when we were alive.

Because of that, deciding what to do with our personal belongings after we die can be, for our families, emotional, taxing, and it can include a lot of wavering as to whether to keep things or get rid of them.

For some people, in the immediate aftermath of losing someone they love, there is an urge to purge everything that reminds them of that person. For other people, the idea of parting with anything that belonged to their loved one is something they can’t bear, so they end up not downsizing at all.

Neither of these is an optimal way to move forward after a loved one’s death. Purging everything means that family members don’t get an opportunity to keep things that remind them of their deceased loved one and things that could be used by other people just get thrown away. Not getting rid of anything belonging to a deceased loved one means, in practical purposes, that things that need to be discarded are not and things that should be given away either to family or charities just take up space and provide constant reminders of the loss.

The best way to downsize after a loved one dies is to get other family members or a couple of friends to help you with the process. Not only does this provide emotional support, but it also provides objectivity and makes this task easier to do.

The first step is to create a stage area for downsized item. Divide a room (the living room or den is usually big enough to do this easily) in four sections with empty boxes in each section. One section will be for items to be thrown away. Another section will be for items you want to keep. A third section will be for items that that will go to other family members. And the fourth section will be for items that will be donated to charities. Label each section using a piece of paper affixed to the wall that identifies the section.

Downsize methodically, with everyone who is helping working in one room at a time. It’s easy to get distracted and start bouncing all over place, leaving all the rooms started, but none of them finished. This will make the process harder and longer.

Clothing, glasses, hearing aids, medical equipment, and furniture can all be donated to charitable organizations. You can find places to donate them by looking online or calling local nonprofit organizations.

If you want to know more about downsizing after funerals at funeral homes in Tallahassee, FL, our compassionate and experienced staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations can help. You can come by our funeral home at 20 S. Duval St., Quincy, FL 32351, or you can contact us today at (850) 627-1111.

Lifesong Funerals

We have nearly twenty years serving families of all backgrounds. These families turn to us in their time of need because they are aware that we are leaders in our vocation, have the highest level of integrity and are committed to providing quality service.

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