What do you do with your deceased husband's personal effects—especially those that are of sentimental value to you?

That is a good question my wife has been gone over three years, I have her clothes still hanging, underwear, perfume, hairbrush with a strand of hair, her pictures that I talk to her every morning and when I go out I have a small picture I place on the table, Yes 72 years of marriage I am waiting for the moment we all wait for but in the interim I love to feel her clothes and presence.

Mom was overwhelmed and couldn't do anything with Dad's things. We offered anything they wanted to family members first, and everyone wanted something to keep and treasure. This made Mom feel much better about giving the rest away. It was all donated to a local church and given to community members in need.

I took all of his diplomas, awards and citations. It will all be scanned and saved digitally since there is too much to keep physically. My husband and I will set up a web page with pictures for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to get to know him better. When Mom passes, she will be added to this web site. Our beloved elders are often known to us only for the relationship and not as people. This will give future generations a sense of their family history and leave a meaningful legacy beyond those physical things we save.

My 89 yo mother passed away in February. We were very close. I had to stop going through her things after two weeks. It got overwhelming. I’m finding it just as difficult going through her things a second time, nine months later. That said, I discovered there are things I couldn’t part with the first time that I’m now able to let go of. I had to stop again though. Just too overwhelmed again. There will be a third time when I’m ready. Maybe a fourth. Give yourself as much time as you need. It’s a process.

My husband died four and a half years ago. I eventually got rid of things such as clothing but the sentimental stuff I placed in a large Rubbermaid bin and it’s in my basement. At first I was regularly adding items to this bin and I used to sometimes spend time looking at these items and grieve. Now I’ve moved twice since his death and it remains in my basement with other items i store. I have no desire to do anything with any of these items. They are there for me if I wish to reminisce and touch things he touched and read things he wrote even smell the sweater I put in there.

I plan to make a shadow box of Mom and Dad's pins and small objects from the various organizations that they belonged to.  The idea of making decorative pillows (with the buttons and pockets intact) from favorite shirts is a great idea.  How about a small quilt that you can put over you while watching TV?  3 1/2 feet by 7 feet in size.  Make Christmas ornaments by putting items into clear plastic balls (get at a craft or DYI store such as "Michael's" or Hobby Lobby"). 
I also have a couple of cabinets with glass fronts that have glasses and dishes from the various china sets that belonged to my Mom and Grandmothers.  

I like the idea of the Rubbermaid bin to store the sentimental items in.  Take your time in sorting out your husband's belongings.  Only you can decide when to let go of your husband's things.   {{{HUGS}}}

I am sorry for your loss.

My dad passed away four years ago and my mother donated most of his clothes, however, she asked us kids if we wanted anything. I took his favorite jean jacket and a few of his sweat pants and shirts. I love wearing these few things. My dad was a chef so I kept his knives and what not because he wanted me to have them because I cooked under him for a period of time. And we cooked together a lot. (That was our thing)
My mother kept a few of his long sleeve shirts and two of his hoodies that he wore around the house. My brother took a few of my dad's things as well.
Some of his other shirts we made into pillow cases for my bed.
You probably shouldn't make any snap decision while grieving.
Take your time and decide what you want to keep if anything and what you want to donate or sell.
Or do what Cocoan8447 did and put somethings in a Rubbermaid bin. I don't think there is a right or wrong way of handling your husband things. You just need to figure out what is right for you.

May God be with you.

My mother kept my father's toothbrush, and his grotty old comb, on the bathroom shelf for years after his death. There they stayed, part of her daily scenery, until she moved house and they, er, didn't get packed (mea culpa), and she never missed them.

If things have meaning for you and do not inconvenience you and are not preventing you from moving forward when you are ready, you go ahead and hang on tight to anything you like. What you have in your home is nobody's business but yours.

If you are ready to part with items, though, thinking of them being of use to another person can be comforting. Anything that is still in good condition will be welcomed by charities for homeless people, for example.

I did this with my own stuff years ago. I made 3 piles, can't live without, not sure and don't want to keep. I let the piles sit for a year. I went through the piles again and resorted. I kept the must haves. These are cherished things, they were very few. The not sure pile split to a few items that graduated to must keep and the rest went to don't keep. I took pictures of all that were going away. Then tried to find loving caretakers for the items going away. These items would continue their lives with someone who could use them or would stir memories important to them. The remaining items went to Salvation Army. If I ever have the time and want to remember the past, I can look at the pictures of the the items. Its been nice when occasionally, I would visit a friend and see them using or displaying something I gave them. Kinda like a distributed museum of my stuff.

When mom passed we kept many of her clothes and shoes that fit (she had beautiful taste), donated the rest to the church thrift store, gave ALL the furniture to the neighbors (she adored them)who found people who could use it, and packed up the plates, dishes, and statues for sorting later when the grandkids need them. We found boxes and bags of greeting cards, but it was too overwhelming to sort through, so we tossed them all. (There aren’t enough hours in a day to re-read every old card!)
The neighbors then went into the house and emptied the rest of the stuff when we weren’t there. It was easier for us to not get attached to the stuff, and great that they knew of others who could use/need the things. If you have a trusted group of friends or neighbors, ACCEPT their help.

I looked out for my elder mom and her husband, he was in hospice at home at the time. I stayed with her for 2 months after passed. Each person is different in how they process grief. Within 2 weeks we called a local VA hospital and removed all his personal items. They sent vans and were incredibly kind. They could use all sorts of things including extra toiletries and some of the medical equipment. He/I had discussed his personal items when we did the FCA book so if he wanted a certain item to pass to someone I knew. Seeing the items daily was painful and she would avoid them or they would trigger sadness. Late at night she peeled wallpaper, removed photos from the walls. She then sorted photos, woodworking items and books to offer his children/siblings. Things like movies, cds, pans, jewelry we packed away where she could look at them if she wanted. She was very careful to allow people to say no thank you if they did not want something and people did say "please donate it". Photos were what people valued and we scanned many to share. Within months she was out there sorting and keeping what she truly valued. 6 mos on she is happy that the items are with people who wanted them and she has a box or two that she visits. She has just gotten to where she is telling stories of their life together. She is renovating her house and she references him. "he would like this, he would not like this."