Learning to Let Go Through Swedish Death Cleaning

Last month, Peacock introduced “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,” a new reality TV show that demonstrates the benefits of this organizing approach. The show is based on Margareta Magnusson’s book Döstädning - Ingen Sorlig Historia, which has been released in the U.S. as The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. 

While the book is quite thorough, the show is not as focused on the actual process of organizing.  It’s more about the emotional benefits that can be reaped when you recognize that your stuff has a life beyond your cluttered home. Under the careful guidance of a Swedish professional organizer, interior designer, and psychologist, we watch as sequined gowns gathering dust in a basement take center stage in a drag fashion show in the first episode. 

Swedish Death Cleaning offers a way to reframe our relationship to what we own by challenging us to take responsibility for what we choose to keep (or not) throughout our lives. To practice death cleaning, you must embrace a new mentality of “less is more.” 

Items that you no longer need or want should be removed from your home to spare someone else the burden of removing them after you’re gone. In her book, Magnusson suggests starting with large, bulky items, and saving personal things like old letters and photos, for later. Let loved ones know what you’re doing and allow them to help. They may relieve you of the task of finding new homes for some items. When you come across items that are only sentimentally valuable to you, keep them to enjoy and store them in a box labeled, "Throw away when I'm gone." Magnusson recommends practicing death cleaning over a long period of time and notes that it's never too late to start, until it is.

Just like the show emphasizes, there is something very liberating about letting go. Here are the top reasons why we should all consider a doing a little death cleaning:

1. The opportunity to reminisce

Swedish Death Cleaning at any age can be a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, recalling fond memories before tossing old trinkets that you're done with. Who do you think would most enjoy one last look at your possessions, you or your loved ones?  You will enjoy this trip down memory lane in a way your relatives likely will not.

2. Less burden on your loved ones

Emptying a household is a heavy responsibility. One of the best points Magnusson makes comes early in the book:  Never assume that someone will want -  or even be able - to take time off work or from their own life, to deal with the things that you didn't care enough to deal with.  "Regardless of how much they love you, don't leave this burden to them.  It will disturb their good memories of you."

3. The less you own, the less encumbered you are

Look around your home, Magnusson suggests, and notice how much of what you have has probably been yours for so long that you no longer see, use or value it. Saying goodbye to these things is sweetly liberating. A thesaurus search of "stuff" gives the suggestion "trappings."  Don't be trapped.

4. Your home will be easier to keep clean and organized

The less you have, the less you have to dust or keep track of. An organized space invites calmness, not stress. 

5. The practice might teach you about your habits

A little Swedish Death Cleaning earlier in life can give you good insight into what you tend to keep.  Do you notice any trends or mistakes? The hope is that you can make wiser decisions in the future if you better understand your shopping patterns and why you've chosen to keep certain items.  But if you find things that *you* don't know why you've kept it, then they can hardly have great value to your loved ones, which brings me to my next point.

6. YOU get to decide where things end up  

We once worked with a client whose daughter had threatened to throw away everything in his house after he died. Fearing she meant it, he decided to donate carloads of clothing and household goods, and was happy to release everything to new homes instead of the dump.  It's really very simple: Either you choose what happens to everything you own, or someone else will, when you are gone and no longer own it.  Because as the saying goes...

7. You can't take it with you

Someday you will be gone, but your things will not.  The fewer things you have, the fewer things you have to take care of, and the fewer things there will be to leave behind.

Need help embracing the “less is more” mantra? Book a session with us! We’re happy to help you do a little death cleaning.