Let people keep a loved one’s belongings until deciding feels possible, not merely practical.

Pressure to clear a person’s things quickly arrives early, usually dressed up as being practical or healthy. Grief keeps its own time, and belongings hold ordinary contact with someone in a way that photographs do not. Being able to do a thing is not the same as being ready to. There is no correct interval here, and no one is behind schedule.

If you are near someone in this position, wait for them to raise it before offering to help sort anything. If the loss is yours, keep the coat as long as you want to. Nothing has to be decided by any particular season.