How to Have a Home Funeral

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Besides being a less expensive option, handling a loved one's funeral at home can be an intimate, therapeutic way to say good-bye. Here are the basics.

Step 1: Decide if it's right for you
Decide if a home funeral is for you. Consider whether you want to be so closely involved with preparing the funeral of a loved one. Then, gauge whether you have the support of friends and family; a home funeral is a group effort.

Step 2: Research laws before the death
Know the laws. Most states require a death certificate, a permit to transport the body, and that the body be buried, cremated, or donated to science. Contact local authorities to learn about the laws in your area.

Tip
Enlist a death midwife to coach you through the process of a home funeral.

Step 3: Make arrangements
Arrange for the casket and final resting place of the deceased. Order a casket, or build it by hand. Contact a cemetery about a burial plot or cremation services. Then, arrange for transport.

Tip
If you want to bury your loved one on family property, check with local authorities to see if it's legal.

Step 4: Wash and dress the body
Have between two and six people wash and dress the body within a few hours of death, before rigor mortis sets in. Close the eyes and lay an eye pillow on them for a few hours to keep the eyelids shut. If the mouth drops open, wrap a cotton bandana under the chin and tie it at the top of the head.

Step 5: Keep the body cool
Keep the body cool with pieces of a 20- to 30-pound block of dry ice placed in bags under the torso. Replace the dry ice as needed. The body can be kept at home for two to three days at a temperature of 60 to 75 degrees with little or no decomposition.

Step 6: Organize a wake
Organize a viewing, wake, or funeral at the home according to the family's wishes. Have a religious figure, friend, or family member officiate the ceremony.

Tip
Personalize the ceremony by setting up pictures and other mementos that will celebrate the life of the departed.

Step 7: Transport the body
Transfer the body along with any personal items to the casket, and transport the body to the burial site.

Step 8: Bury the body
Bury the deceased or inter the ashes after cremation. Now you can come to terms with a loved one's death, knowing they were taken to their final resting place by those they loved.

Did You Know?
The average mortuary funeral service costs $6,000, while a home funeral costs between $1,000 and $2,000.

[runwayr]

when they said dry ice at the begining, I was like "ew.. what are they gonna do with that?"

[canomarquina]

well i think this is one of the coolest videos howcast had done. Is it a strange theme? It is. Is it useful? It is too. Especially if you can save so much money. It is also a very unknown theme so just for this time! Good job howcast.

[TheBirdBuster]

You know on that list of
You will need:

Not once did they mention a body or corpse. Are we burying the casket?

[gothjellybean]

i had a funeral for my grandad in his home and it wasnt cheap...it was bloody expensive?!!

[DaSolidAce]

lmaooo wow build a casket by hand howcast get crazier with each video

[manuelito]

So i don't need my dead father's body?

[TzahrDavidsson]

This could be helpful, in a scary kind of way.

[porridgeeveryday]

bury your victim underneath the patio and dont breath a word to anyone.

[ClaireBee]

Ewww why burry ur loved one on family property? It's gonna be an issue when someone starts moving!

[equestriangirl]

Thats interesting at the same time. i would never have a funeral in my house.

[zx]

next week-how to bury a body in the vegetable patch

[MrRuggedboy]

death is a reality n yes we should know how to deal with it

[LarimerFilms]

Where the fuck do you keep the body?! In your living room? In your basement?

[JonthonD]

Omg, i would hate to wash and dry a dead body :|
especially if it was my loved one

[jinxskywalker]

Step 7: Change your idenity.
Step 8: Congratulations you've gotten away with murder.

[ObnoxiousAgnostic]

damn a whole year! i posted that comment a year ago! if u replied to this comment i would've never remembered making it!

[Cgzollars]

it might be less money but too much work, im not handling any bodies of someone i love =( id be too freaked out already, il just spend the thousands of dollars on a regular funeral

[Speedylightning]

this video is sad, scary and funny alltogether

[Lopeirada]

So ironic that my gold fish died today xD

[obviouslyblack]

@socialstatus2 name calling is unnecessary. there are videos of everything on youtube. i've had classmates go on utube to get a better visualization of neurscience, manifolds, etc.. i've had professors show utube videos as a part of their daily lectures. there is a huge variety of information here, especially on howcast. the title was clearly labeled and you can't blame howcast for it. if i read the title "how to put on lipstick, " i wouldn't be interested so i wouldn't click it then complain.