Guardian of Cremation Keepsakes: Keeping ashes at home

by Wendy Jacobson

Image by Donna Sutton*

Are you keeping ashes in the house? Perhaps it’s what your loved one wanted, or what you decided. What will happen to the cardboard box, or the cherished keepsake urn, once you are gone? Although this is a somewhat morbid situation, it is likely to arise.

It’s common for a lot of thought and preparation to go into what to do with cremated ashes. And it’s just as common to find yourself with a cardboard box of ashes with a loss as to what to do with the ashes. In both situations, you are forced to facilitate the long term keeping of your loved one’s ashes.

Answering a few questions might guide you toward a comfortable direction. Consider questions such as:

• Should I bury the remains, spread them somewhere, or keep them at home?
• If I keep the ashes at home, what type of cremation urn, or keepsake cremation urn, do I want?
• What about sharing ashes with others – would they even want to keep ashes. And if they do, would others prefer a small keepsake urn, or cremation jewelry?

If you are keeping the remains of a loved one, that person presumably played an important role in your life. You’ve become guardian of the ashes. Whether the ashes are displayed in a cremation urn or reside in a piece of keepsake jewelry, it is recommended to provide your survivors with a plan before you pass away. It can’t be assumed that your survivors will respect the ashes with a similar sense of safekeeping as you.

Consider writing in detail how you want the ashes or keepsake urn to be cared for after you’re gone. Discuss the plan with your family. You might find that they’re not comfortable with the burden of housing a cremation urn. But they might be happy to consider some creative and meaningful options.

Glass cremation keepsakes

What about the idea of having the cremains incorporated into a lovely piece of art? Distinctive glass cremation keepsakes provide a decorative, discreet, and very creative way to keep ashes. Your survivors might find this option appealing.

A renowned glass artist creates hand-blown glass art with a portion of your loved one’s ashes. Choose from Round Glass Art, paperweights, and keepsakes that suspend ashes in the glass. You also can opt to have a glass oil lamp created, infused with the cremated remains of your loved one.

These are lovely and innocuous options to ensure the ashes of your loved one continue to be cared for.

Keepsake urns for ashes, cremation keepsakes, and cremation jewelry

Keepsake urns or mini urns are smaller replicas of larger cremation urns. Because they are small, they fit into a variety of home spaces. They are easily transportable. And they are often used when sharing a portion of ashes with family and friends. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

In addition to keepsake urns, cremation keepsakes offer many styles that are easily cared for. With your survivors in mind, attractive memory boxes and memory lamps can be incorporated into most design schemes. A cremation keepsake urn is usually chosen by theme to reflect a unique or highly honored characteristic of the lost loved one. The hand stitched Plush Teddy Bear keepsake, or the rose stem cremation keepsake offer very different representations, but are similar in the effect of evoking honor and memories. They are considered an attractive design accent.

Still, if you are looking for yet another option, consider a cremation necklace or bracelet that could be considered an heirloom. Here’s an unusual option: turning the ashes of your loved-one into diamonds. It’s true. There are companies that convert the carbon that is present in the remains into real diamonds by exposing high heat and intense pressure. And surprisingly, more than one diamond can be created from one individual’s ashes.

Whatever you decide, the important thing is to have a plan so that the ashes of your loved one continue to have a place in this world once you are gone.

*Image can be found here: http://bit.ly/2enUHcA

Wendy Jacobson is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis with her husband, two kids and dog. She helped market her mother’s book, “Hands Off My Hope: Life Lessons on my Journey with Breast Cancer” at the request of her mom, who died two weeks after publishing it in 2008. She also is the editor of Minneapolis Happening, a digital lifestyle magazine about what’s happening in Minneapolis and the surrounding area.