Maybe you have heard of Swedish Death Cleaning? If not, don´t worry, in this blog post I will explain everything you need to know about it, so you can kickstart your own journey towards a simpler and more meaningful life.

Swedish Death Cleaning may sound a bit strange or even scary at first, but you don´t have to be dying to start doing it. It is also not something you do after someone has died. It is a way to declutter that you do, to make it easier for your loved ones after you are gone. Like a preparation for your own death.

Ok, it might sound a little bit morbid, but I will explain it in more detail for you. It´s actually very loving and respectful to think about your family – the ones who need to take care of all the things you leave behind, when you pass away. And that on top of being very sad of course.

It´s rooted in Scandinavia (my home land – Sweden!) and is a practical and unsentimental way to declutter and streamline your life, leaving you with only what truly matters. In Sweden this concept is very common, and not only among elderly. The woman popularizing this method is Margareta Magnusson, an author from Sweden. She presents it in her book, «The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.»

So, what exactly is Swedish Death Cleaning?

Swedish Death Cleaning, or «Döstädning» as we say in Swedish («Dö» means death and «städning» means cleaning), is all about decluttering your space, while considering the fact that someday, someone else might need to deal with your belongings.

The goal of Death Cleaning ist to get rid of unnecessary belongings and clutter. That way your family has fewer things to deal with, when you pass away. But the method also has many benefits while you are still living, and you can do it at any age. 

You could say that the Swedish Death Cleaning is a more extreme form of minimalism. In some ways it is similar to the Marie Kondo method, but instead of holding on to things that «sparks joy» you are letting go of things that you don´t use on a regular basis, and might get rid of much more. 

When you are finished your Death Cleaning, you will have a streamlined, cleaned and decluttered home. You will have a more restful home environment and more space to focus on the things that matter the most.

Swedish Death Cleaning – how to do it

1. Prepare yourself

Swedish Death Cleaning is very practical and unsentimental. It’s about letting go of as many items as you can, without making daily life harder on yourself. 

Before you start the process, think about your goals. Do you want a tidier home ? Less stress? More time to relax? You need to prepare yourself to make some tough decisions, but as you go through the process, it will become easier to part with things you no longer use. 

2. Sort and prioritize

Sometimes when you’re cleaning or decluttering, it helps to start with smaller items like clothes, shoes, pots and pans, etc., but with Swedish Death Cleaning, you want to start with large items and work your way to the smaller things. Do you have any furniture you could do without? Getting rid of large objects immediately frees up space in your home and it helps you in the decluttering process.   

Part of any decluttering process is paring down everything you have in storage. This is especially true with Swedish Death Cleaning. When your family cleans out your home after you have died, you want them to have as few boxes to worry about as possible. 

While you’re still alive, though, you might have photos, journals and other personal items you want to hold on to. These are small items that have sentimental meaning for you. They’re not necessarily things you want to pass down or give to family members after you die. Limit yourself to just one storage box of personal mementos. This will help you identify which items are truly meaningful, and which ones you can give away right now.

3. Find joy in letting go

Most likely you will end up with a lot of things that you do not want to keep, and that family and friends are not interested in taking. Keep only the items that are useful and donate, sell, or recycle the rest.

4. Preserve memories, not things

Save old photos and documents digitally. Something else that is very helpful is to create a list of essential documents for your family’s peace of mind.

5. Share your intentions

Talk to your family about your Swedish Death Cleaning. Make sure they understand your wishes and the meaning behind your actions.

Finally, you will want to create an end-of-life plan – or update your current end-of-life plan – to let your family know what to do with the rest of your things. Maybe you want them to throw away your box of mementos that contains personal journals and memories. Perhaps you want them to donate everything they can. Maybe you don’t really care what happens to the rest of your belongings. And if you have any wishes regarding the items that remain in your home, make sure to write those wishes down in your end-of-life plan. 

Keep it Going

This method helps your family when you are gone, but luckily it also has many benefits while you are still living. After you have finished going through your home with the Swedish Death Cleaning method, your house will be very streamlined and decluttered.

You will have more peace of mind and can focus on the things that matter the most in life. Through the process of this method, you declutter all the things that might be weighing you down, both physically and mentally.

Swedish Death Cleaning is not a one-time event – it´s a lifestyle.  After you have finished, it is important to maintain that way of life if you want to hold onto your decluttered results. Before you make a purchase, consider whether that thing will truly find use on a daily basis.

Conclusion

Swedish Death Cleaning is an great opportunity to simplify, declutter, and live more intentionally. It is also a way of leaving a legacy of order and thoughtfulness and not burden our loved ones with a mess of possessions when we are no longer around.

This is a great way to start, or continue, your journey of decluttering your home. If you try and keep an open mind and heart, you will soon experience the clarity and peace that comes with it.

Reference

1. Magnusson, Margareta. «The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.» Scribner, 2018.