Losing an elderly relative that you love and cherish is never an easy experience. It takes time to heal and accept that things have changed. Often moving on is a painful season but it is a necessary part of the healing process. One of the things that the deceased often leaves behind is a house which was their home for a long time. Family members may often decide to sell it off, or have one of the relatives move in.

In either of these cases, somebody has to start the tedious but completely necessary process of clearing out old belonging that have been piling up for years, or even decades. Deciding where to start is the most difficult part, but the process itself can bring you closer to your family members and help you celebrate the life of your deceased loved one.

Here are some guides to help you carry out the clearing process:

Make it a Team Effort



Involve your siblings and children in the clearing process. You’ll definitely find that you will need the extra manpower along the way. Additionally, you can decide together as a family what to do with certain belongings. This way, nobody’s feelings get hurt.

Learn to Let Go



Despite wanting to keep everything, you really can’t and some things definitely have to be sold off, donated or thrown away.

Set down Principles and Rules



Decide with the rest of your family what you should keep and what you don’t want to keep. A good starting place is to remember what the deceased person’s most cherished objects were and try your best to keep those. Another important thing to keep is legal documents and certificates, make sure you don’t throw these away.

Get Outside Help



You may need professional movers or transporters if you are throwing away large items like beds, sofas or refrigerators, which is why there are moving companies

Sell off Antiques



Not everything old is junk. If a piece of furniture, decoration or knick-knack is in good condition and you don’t want to keep it, consider bringing it (or pictures of it) to professional antique shops or collectible shops to get an appraisal.

Be Fair



When deciding who gets to keep what in a family, try not to have everything fall to one person alone. Let everyone have a chance to freely express what they would like to keep from the house. This may involve some compromise. Not everyone will get what they want. Another tip is that if one person takes a particularly valuable piece of asset, like a car, they should pay some amount of money to the rest of the family members.

Donate to Charity



Some organizations would really benefit from items like electronics, including TVs, refrigerators and washing machines that still work.

There is a certain mixed feelings about clearing an old house and moving on. However, in the end, you should remember that the most precious assets you have is your happy memories with the deceased. This will stay with you forever in your mind, and in your heart.