There is no set time that is appropriate for sorting through your partner’s personal belongings. There is also no concrete plan for determining what you should do with them once you have sorted them! For most widowed people, the desire to begin the process of facing these physical reminders of a life lived begins with a trigger of having to move, looking for something or a sudden revelation that the time has come.

Your friends and family may have opinions about when you complete this task, how you sort, and what items you choose to keep. But at the end of the day, you are the one to decide when to proceed with this emotionally daunting task, and what will become of the treasured (and the not-so-treasured) items that have been left in your care.

This workshop will provide guidelines for ways to memorialize your loved one through their personal belongings; discuss how you can share treasured items with others who miss this special person, too; and facilitate open and frank conversation that leaves you with ideas and encouragement for the day when you are ready to begin sorting and managing the physical items your loved one left in your care.