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Grief decluttering: How do you let a loved one’s things go?

Ms Margaret Ong, 61 , keeps an old fishing net her husband bought for her decades ago, even though she no longer uses it. It is hard to let go of items with sentimental associations, she says.

Ms Margaret Ong keeps an old fishing net her husband bought for her decades ago, even though she no longer uses it.

ST PHOTO: HESTER TAN

Akshita Nanda

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SINGAPORE – Ms Margaret Ong cherishes a ragged old fishing net, a hairbrush that is falling apart and piles of DVDs. The 61-year-old has not owned a DVD player for years.

These items are mementoes of her husband Leslie Ng, 62, who has schizophrenia and been in a long-stay ward at the Institute of Mental Health since 2020.

Grief decluttering: How do you let a loved one’s things go?

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