There is no time limit when to put away our spouses things. I hang a shirt of my husband's in my closet, to remind me he is still with me even if I can't see him. I still have a closet full of his clothes. Sometimes I think I could still smell his scent on his clothes after 5 years. I try going to exercise classes and be with grandchildren during the day.

I went through the backpack I took to the hospitals every time I went to see him. It was tough. I would step over it all the time until the other day. I have one graphic t-shirt of his buried under my own clothes that I will find and wear someday. He said he didn't want it. Now I'm imagining he left these things for me as momentos for the future for me to feel close to/remember him? May the God of all comfort be near you.

Fortunately my wife was a nurse so she has a bunch of friends that I asked to do the clothes and they actually told me I couldn't go see the van at the storage lot after the accident. Fortunately for them there was a heavy downpour the night before.

I still have a good amount of stuff of ours out, not sure but at some point I need to put the stuff away.

Porkchop, you are not alone. I went back to work 2 weeks after my husband passed. He was also a stay at home dad the last few years so he was always there when our son had time off from school. For the last few years we had always gone somewhere for spring break and summer break. I had just been discussing this year's vacation plans with him before he passed last November. Spring break was tough for me - I missed him so much, I missed the plans we had and could no longer see through together. Like you, I am also dreading summer. My hubby's things are still in the drawers, his clothes still hang in the closet, his shoes are still on the floor and his colognes are still on the dresser. I finally vacuumed and dusted the room last weekend so I did move a couple of things around, very little though. I know I have to eventually start going through it all, but it is so very difficult. As we say, one day, one moment at a time - one drawer at a time, when we find the strength. BTW, please consider having a memory quilt made of your husbands shirts, sweaters, etc. I plan on having one made for my son.

My husband always laid the pants he was going to wear that day on the bed in the morning. (He wore sweat pants until we were ready to got out later). He died about 2 hours after waking up that morning so I left those pants on the bed for a few months. Then I realized it was making me sad to see them and realize I was never going to go anywhere with him again so I put them away. I still have his closet full of clothes.

I kept my husbands bed side table the way he left it, even his water bottle with water still in it. I sleep with my husbands shirt every night. I have his clothes in his closet. I lost my husband in October and I miss him every single second of the day.

I teach at university and was back less than 2 weeks after his death. Like you, I was for the first time, dreading the end of classes and the beginning of summer. What would I do with all that time??? I was anxious and slightly terrified. The memory is a little fuzzy (funny how I thought I was completely lucid at the time but looking back, not so much), but I did a whole lot of nothing. No, not correct - I did a whole lot of grieving and healing. I rested, spent time sitting on my porch in the heat and sun, staring at nothing. I did a few little trips, mostly to see family, but nothing too big or requiring much planning. It was good and I very much appreciated the time to allow the grief to move through me. I felt much different about things when classes resumed in the fall. That was 9 months after he had died.

We each have to navigate this process as best suits us, but for me, the quiet and stillness was really helpful.

My husband passed at the end of March. I am a teacher and went back to work three weeks later. It was definitely a distraction and although I cried when I was alone, in my classroom I could do something normal when everything else was not. My husband owned a few small summer businesses so we worked together every summer for over 27 years. Yesterday was the first day off from my teaching job and it was horrible. I was a mess. I am trying to run some of the businesses which creates so much anxiety and then there is the constant waves of grief, sadness, and fear about the future. Today is day two of summer vacation-I hope it is better than yesterday.

My husband passed just over two weeks ago and I understand what you mean. We have two young teens at home, one just entering high school and I have my husbands things around the house. I need them to be here and I did ask my boys if they were ok with it and they said yes so they will stay until I decide to move them. I had to return to work 1 and a half weeks later and it was hard and is still hard, but I know that he wouldn't want me to let things fall apart. Sometimes it is easier to go to work because at home I know this is where he should be. My husband stayed home too. It hurts to know that I will never see him again, that our boys will grow without him, but we must carry on. I will do everything for our boys to ensure they have a great summer and to honour my husband's memory. The day he died he told me don't cry, be happy and although I can't promise to always smile or not to cry I will do everything possible to make this ok for us. I hope that you will make some wonderful memories with your children this summer, I hope to as well.