How to Maintain a Loved One’s Ashes at Home

There are countless ways to handle your loved one’s ashes after receiving them from cremation services in Phoenix, AZ. You can scatter them, have an urn burial, or store the urn in a columbarium niche. Some choose to keep the cremains at home.

If you wish to keep your loved one’s cremated remains at home, here are maintenance habits to observe.

Keep the ashes in a safe, secure container

The crematory or funeral home likely delivered the remains in a temporary container with the ashes inside a plastic bag. Find a permanent container, transfer the plastic bag into it, and seal it.

A decorative urn is an obvious and recommended choice, but it doesn’t have to be. Any container is fine as long as it is safe, big enough to hold the ashes comfortably, and well secure.

Store the container away from traffic

Especially if it is an urn. Urns are fragile, and an accidental hit from traffic could cause shattering. Even if the container is sturdy enough to withstand the impact, the ashes could spill out and ruin their integrity.

This also includes protection from natural elements. Keep the urn away from sunlight or water. They could cause damage to the surface and make the urn less secure.

Therefore, it is advisable to place the container in a cool, quiet area out of reach and away from traffic.

Create a Memorial Space

Don’t just store the urn in a secure spot and move on, especially if it’s in a private bedroom or a room your loved one enjoyed spending time in. Create a shrine around its location.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate. You can have the urn as the centerpiece, surrounded by photographs, candles, and memorabilia of the deceased.

This will help you memorialize them in a way you will never forget. Also, the decoration conveys importance and forces others to be more careful when they are in the vicinity.

Find other ways to store the ashes

There’s no right or wrong way to store your loved one’s ashes at home. While most people use an urn, you can choose other means, such as:

• Keepsake jewelry: keepsake jewelry can hold a small amount of ashes. You can also have the ashes turned into diamonds or added into glass beads.
• Cremation garden: instead of a singular spot, you create a dedicated space in your backyard with accessories like a bench or stepping stones. You can store the ashes in a fake plant pot or add them to a compost mix to grow a plant.
• Keep the ashes in a sculpture: you can commission an artist to create a sculpture and store the ashes inside.
• Keep the ashes in an urn that holds a candle

There’s no limit to the ways you can store your loved one’s ashes at home. You don’t have to choose a single location forever either. You can divide the ashes, keep them in different spaces, and change locations.

The most important thing is to do it in a secure way that honors their memory.

Contact us if you have additional questions about urn maintenance or need cremation services in Phoenix, AZ, to help bring your ideas to life. We are available 24/7, and our team is ready to help. Call us for the answers you need or set up an appointment with our funeral director.