When a family member or the owner of a property is left to clean their home after a death, it can be incredibly overwhelming whether it was due to natural causes, suicide, trauma or homicide there is usually a person that is left the responsibility of cleaning up the home or room after the death has occurred.
It might be helpful to work on your own if you are feeling emotionally and physically overwhelmed and want to focus on what you are doing without additional noise or conversations. Sometimes these challenges are best faced alone while others may want family members to help sort and make decisions on what to keep or discard.
In some circumstances, you may want to include others to help with certain decisions or because you may be feeling emotionally and physically drained. Whether you handle these chores on your own or with the help of others is ultimately your decision to make.
Here are a few things to help you through this process;
- What to do with personal clothing?
Some people will donate the clothing if it is in good condition, give some items to other family members that might appreciate the memory of “Grandpa’s Hat” “Grandma’s Scarf”. You can set aside a small pile of items you feel family may want to keep as mementos and have them decide if they would like to keep any of the items. Do what is most comfortable and appropriate for you and your family.
- What to do with personal mementos and keepsakes?
As with clothing you may want to keep those things you feel will honor the person, give some to family or put together a few items and let them choose what they may want to keep. One item may not mean anything to one person and to another person be a special memory of that person they want to keep and cherish. You may decide to donate items as well rather than throwing them away if they are in good condition.
- What do I do about the furniture?
Use a furniture cleaner and wipe down the furniture inside and outside to freshen the piece. Again as before, you can decide if you want to keep, pass to other family, sell or donate.
- What to do about the bedding?
This all depends on what you are comfortable with. Some people discard all bedding, some people will clean and keep depending on condition and how they feel about keeping those items are completely up to them. If there is blood or bodily fluids a professional should remove the items (FIRST before any other cleaning) to avoid any biohazard contamination that can lead to serious diseases.
- What do I do about the drapes or blinds?
Dry-clean the drapes, if you feel that is necessary, wipe down the blinds with a soft cleaning solution.
- What do I do about the walls?
An optional inexpensive way to change something in the room – maybe the room is so strongly associated with the unhappiness, or challenge of the final days, that you decide to repaint it. A different color will dramatically change the energy and hopefully help in the healing.
Because some of the worst viruses are known to survive in blood and biological materials, it is always recommended to contact a professional biohazard removal company that know how to properly dispose of potentially biohazardous materials.
HazSTAT is Available 24/7
HazStat is here for you with and can assist you with biohazard cleanup in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville after a suicide, murder, or accident. Our professional team of highly trained individuals can sterilize your home and prevent the potential of bloodborne pathogens from spreading or infecting other areas or coming into contact with anyone in the home. Hoarding cleanup services are also available. Call: 1.855.HAZSTAT (1.855.429.7828) or contact us via email.
