Tips on how to sort out a recently deceased parent's attic.

Tips on how to sort out a recently deceased parent's attic.

When a parent dies, they leave behind countless objects and mementos that their family must consider going through. For many people, the prospect of sorting out a recently deceased parent’s attic is a daunting one. However, it is a necessary task for many reasons; including the fact that sorting out a recently deceased parent’s attic can yield important family memories such as old family photographs, family history souvenirs, and more. The following are some tips on how you can sort out your parent’s attic after their passing.

Set up bins for important documents

You should always set up some bins before you start working that will be used to store any important documents, such as family trees, birth certificates, hospital records, and so on. These bins will make sure that you don’t lose this important paperwork while you’re sorting through the attic. 

Have boxes and padded wrapping on hand for fragile items

There may be fragile items in your parent’s attic, such as fragile glass ornaments from their childhood, old crafts that they kept which were passed down from generation to generation, and so on. Before you start going through the attic, make sure you have padded wrapping (such as bubble wrap and packing material) on hand so you can wrap up fragile items and safely store them in a box or container. 

Keep the people sorting to a minimum

It can be tempting to have everyone in the family over to sort through a recently deceased parent’s attic. And while having some family there can help bring up good family memories as you find interesting objects and mementos, it’s important to keep the people to a minimum. The reason for this is that too many people will make the process unnecessarily complicated; it can also result in some arguments regarding where certain objects should go, what should be done with them, and so on. It’s better to keep the sorting to a smaller amount of people so that the task of delegating who gets what can be done after in a more appropriate setting.

Find out whether your parent had wishes/intentions for certain items

If you can, find out before you start sorting if your parents had any particular wishes or intentions for certain items. It’s better to know beforehand so you can set these items aside to make it easier to give them to their intended recipient. 

Don’t forget to look through sealed boxes and containers

Remember not to leave any “stone unturned,” so to speak. You never know where old family photographs or other family history objects have been stored, so make sure to look through sealed boxes and containers.

Let yourself take a break if you need to do so

Sorting through the attic of a recently deceased parent can be emotionally and physically draining. Let yourself take a break if you need to get your bearings, have a cry, or otherwise take a rest.

When you’re sorting out a recently deceased parent’s attic, don’t forget the above tips.