Hobbies will always vary, but the way one Vermont woman spends her spare time is both unconventional and noble. As reported Business Insider, software developer Caitlin Abrams began the practice of cleaning gravestones in January 2020 after being a lifelong admirer of cemeteries — and growing up next to one in her native Maine.
Abrams says the process of cleaning gravestones is therapeutic and serves as an escape from the stress of her job and day-to-day responsibilities. She documents the gravestones she cleans on a highly-popular TikTok account with over 1.3 million followers to this day. The videos show the process of the gravestone being cleaned, revealing the information about the deceased person. From there, she utilizes Find A Grave and Ancestry.com to share more interesting details about the person whose grave she is tending to.
Abrams says that apart from alleviating stress, she finds value in preserving history and making sure people’s names and stories aren’t forgotten after passing. After mastering her craft of gravestone cleaning in the past year and a half, she brings with her a kit including garden sprayers, water, D2 cleaning solutions and variety of different brushes to properly scrubs the graves,
Her most popular video to date has garnered 30 million views, detailing the short life of Silas Reed, a baby who only lived 11 weeks before succumbing to “lung fever”. For a direct link to her account with more interesting videos, click here.