The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Memorial Service Planning After Cremation: How to Structure It - Funeral.com, Inc.

Memorial Service Planning After Cremation: How to Structure It

Planning a memorial service after cremation can feel like standing in two realities at once. In one reality, you’re grieving, trying to get through ordinary mornings with an extraordinary absence....

Celebration of Life Planning After Cremation: What Makes It Work - Funeral.com, Inc.

Celebration of Life Planning After Cremation: What Makes It Work

A celebration of life planning process can feel surprisingly tender after cremation. The urgency is different than planning a traditional funeral in the first few days. You may have already...

The Carrying Board: A Safer Way to Move a Body at Home (Design, Materials, and Use) - Funeral.com, Inc.

The Carrying Board: A Safer Way to Move a Body at Home (Design, Materials, and Use)

Right after a death, the world often narrows to the next small step. A phone call. A glass of water. A quiet decision about where everyone will sit. And sometimes,...

Burial-Transit (Disposition) Permits: How Families Request Them Without a Funeral Director - Funeral.com, Inc.

Burial-Transit (Disposition) Permits: How Families Request Them Without a Funeral Director

It often starts with a simple question that doesn’t feel simple at all: “We’re handling this ourselves—how do we get permission to bury, cremate, or transport our person?” In the...

The 3-Day Home Vigil: A Simple Plan for Visitors, Quiet Hours, Meals, and Shared Responsibilities - Funeral.com, Inc.

The 3-Day Home Vigil: A Simple Plan for Visitors, Quiet Hours, Meals, and Shared Responsibilities

There is a particular kind of hush that arrives after a death. Even if you expected it, even if you were “prepared,” the home can feel like it has changed...

Body Fluids After Death: Using Incontinence Pads, Positioning, and Clean-Up Basics for Home Care - Funeral.com, Inc.

Body Fluids After Death: Using Incontinence Pads, Positioning, and Clean-Up Basics for Home Care

The first hours after a death can feel strangely split in two: part of you is floating in grief, and part of you is watching the room—listening for a phone...

Odor Management During a Home Vigil: Cooling First, Then Essential Oils and Airflow - Funeral.com, Inc.

Odor Management During a Home Vigil: Cooling First, Then Essential Oils and Airflow

The first time a family asks about odor during a home vigil, they usually whisper it—half from embarrassment, half from love. They are trying to do something tender and brave:...

Closing Eyes and Mouth Naturally: Gentle Techniques for a Peaceful Resting Expression (No Glue) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Closing Eyes and Mouth Naturally: Gentle Techniques for a Peaceful Resting Expression (No Glue)

Right after a death, a room can feel both unbearably still and strangely busy. Someone adjusts a blanket. A phone buzzes with missed calls. A cup of water sits untouched...

Dressing the Body for a Home Vigil: Practical Tips for Rigor Mortis, Clothing, and Dignity - Funeral.com, Inc.

Dressing the Body for a Home Vigil: Practical Tips for Rigor Mortis, Clothing, and Dignity

Updated: January 17, 2026 There is a particular kind of intimacy that happens in the hours after a death. The home may be quiet, or filled with people moving softly...

Washing the Body After Death: A Step-by-Step Guide for Families (Home Funeral Care) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Washing the Body After Death: A Step-by-Step Guide for Families (Home Funeral Care)

There is a moment after a death when the house feels changed in a way you can’t explain. The air is the same, the light through the window is the...

Room Temperature for Home Vigils: Using Air Conditioning, Fans, and Simple Setups for Comfort - Funeral.com, Inc.

Room Temperature for Home Vigils: Using Air Conditioning, Fans, and Simple Setups for Comfort

The first time someone reaches for the thermostat after a death, it can feel strangely ordinary—like you’re doing something small when everything is anything but. A family member stands in...

Cooling the Body at Home: Dry Ice vs. Techni-Ice (Polymer Packs), Safety, and Best Practices - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cooling the Body at Home: Dry Ice vs. Techni-Ice (Polymer Packs), Safety, and Best Practices

When a death happens at home, time can suddenly feel like a physical thing—something you can almost hear ticking in the quiet after the last breath. Families often describe the...

Home Funeral Guides vs. Funeral Directors: Roles, Boundaries, and When You Still Need a Pro - Funeral.com, Inc.

Home Funeral Guides vs. Funeral Directors: Roles, Boundaries, and When You Still Need a Pro

In the first hours after a death, families often discover how quickly grief becomes practical. Someone is crying in the kitchen. Someone else is on the phone. A hospice nurse...

Minivan vs. SUV for Transporting a Body: Space, Loading Height, and Safety Basics - Funeral.com, Inc.

Minivan vs. SUV for Transporting a Body: Space, Loading Height, and Safety Basics

In the hours after a death, families often discover that grief comes with logistics. Some of those logistics are expected—phone calls, paperwork, letting relatives know. Others can feel surprisingly practical:...

Filing a Death Certificate Without a Funeral Home: A Family-Friendly DIY Overview - Funeral.com, Inc.

Filing a Death Certificate Without a Funeral Home: A Family-Friendly DIY Overview

In the first days after someone dies, time does a strange thing. The hours feel heavy and unreal, but the practical world keeps moving. A doctor’s office calls back. A...

Digital Accounts After a Death: A Practical Closure Checklist - Funeral.com, Inc.

Digital Accounts After a Death: A Practical Closure Checklist

After a death, families are asked to do two hard things at the same time: grieve someone they love and manage a modern life that runs on logins. For many...