The woman cleans out childhood homes after both parents die from cancer (exclusively)

Cleaning a childhood home is never an easy task, but for a 26-year-old woman it has become a deeply emotional journey.

After losing both their parents to cancer Within a few short years, Sarah Jacobson was herself through the possessions they left behind and stirred up memories of love and loss as she tries to navigate in her grief.

Jacobson’s mother passed away from gallbladder cancer in December 2021, three years after she was first diagnosed. She was 63 years old. “She was my best friend. So it was extremely difficult,” says Jacobson exclusively.

Unfortunately, her father was diagnosed with colon cancer immediately after her mother’s passing. He died in March 2025, also at the age of 63, and left Jacobson to process an overwhelming series of tragedies, including the death of her two childhood taxes.

“It was super sudden. I had never experienced loss before. I had never grief before,” she admits. Despite the deep pain, Jacobson has found some comfort in the idea that her parents are together again. “Knowing that they are together again in heaven … That kind gives me some peace,” she shares softly.

But even with that comfort, the physical act feels to clean out her childhood home as an inevitable confrontation with grief. It is a thorough process that she expects will take her the better part of a year.

Sorting through childhood memories, memorables and antiques that her mother had saved carefully with the intention of transferring them has proven to be more difficult than it looks. “She held on to things from her wedding that were unused in a box that became moldy because she was like,” Oh, you know, my daughters will have it one day, “Jacobson reveals.

The decision to manage the process on your own, with the help of their family, rather than hiring a company to manage the estate, is driven by her desire to stick to every detail. “Every box is full, every wardrobe is full, and I want to keep things,” she says. “There are so many meaningful things.”

But after the home is organized and cleaned, Jacobson and her sister have decided to sell their parents’ house, as it is financially impossible for them.

“The home is in a really nice area. It’s over a million dollars. That, it clearly costs a lot of money to live there, and the taxes are astronomical,” she tells People. “We would rather live a good life and maybe get a smaller home and start fresh than being a house poor in a large empty house where my family died.”

Jacobson was also dismissed earlier this year, which she now sees as a blessing in disguise. It gave her the time to be with her father, say goodbye and start sorting through the house.

Although Jacobson seems happy on social media, the importance of losing his parents and meeting so much difficulties is often overwhelming.

“I try to be strong for people on the internet, but I fight a lot,” she admits. Seamless nights and unexpected physical symptoms, including panic attacks, chest density and autoimmune issues, have all been part of her journey. “I didn’t realize that my body was just heartbroken,” she reflects.

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To help manage her grief, she joined a grief group, something she wishes she had done before. “When my mom died, I didn’t put properly,” Jacobson admits. She was withdrawn from people, but this time she sought the community.

After sharing his story online, Jacobson has received personal messages from others who tell, share his own stories about loss and offers support. The experience has been a way to process her feelings and get in touch with others who understand her pain.

In the midst of all the support she has received, Jacobson says that it is her husband who has been her greatest source of strength. “Thankfully, I have him,” she shares. “I met him at the perfect time … He has to be with my mom, he has to be with my dad and see them healthy.” His presence in her life has helped her find some peace.

Although the process of mourning and cleaning out her childhood home will be long and difficult, Jacobson keeps the hope that she will heal and forge her own way forward.

“I hope to continue,” she says. “Eventually my house will be cleaned, and the posts I will no longer post on social media … but the grief remains with you. It’s lifelong.”