‘What is Swedish Death Cleaning? And why are you doing it so early on in life?’ These are questions I get asked pretty often, so I thought it would be a good idea to address it here.
While the name might sound morbid, it really isn’t at all and can help your family members after you’re gone and lighten their burden during an already difficult time.
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After reading the book ‘The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How To Free Yourself And Your Family From A Lifetime Of Clutter‘ by Margareta Magnusson I decided that now was the time to start decluttering the things I didn’t need and that my family and friends also wouldn’t need or want once I was gone either.
What is Swedish Death Cleaning
For those of you who don’t know what Swedish Death Cleaning (aka “skånsk dödsstädning” in Swedish) is, it’s the practice of clearing out your home before you die.
The philosophy behind this is that your family will receive the inheritance you leave them in a better condition than if they would have had to clear out your home after you’re gone, so it’s simply about leaving things tidy.
So instead of putting all those extra hours into reading through piles and piles of papers, books, clothes and everything else we accumulate over time, Swedish Death Cleaning is simply about sorting through it quicker by getting rid of things ahead of time – while we’re still alive.
Swedish Death Cleaning also leaves your descendants free from having to make hard choices about what to keep and what to throw away after you’ve passed away. It also gives them peace of mind as they don’t have to wonder which items are important since all of it is sorted through.
A lot of people might think that Swedish Death Cleaning sounds morbid, but I feel it’s quite the opposite. You’re not preparing for your death, or waiting for it. You’re getting rid of the junk and clutter you don’t use or love, things that your family won’t need or want. By doing this process while still alive, they will receive legacies in good order instead.
Swedish death cleaning is a philosophy about handling the end of life which was originally developed by Margareta Magnusson based on her own experiences when cleaning out her parents’ homes.
She believes that Swedish Death Cleaning is a way of approaching death that can ease you into it and considerably lighten the load for your family members when it’s time for them to handle the task
The book contains information on how to arrange things so your loved ones don’t have to spend an eternity in front of piles and piles of papers sorting through them once you’re gone or helping you handle other tasks which need to be done before they are left behind. It also gives suggestions on what items should be saved and what should be thrown away/donated – based on if no one will use/need it after you’ve passed away, instead of having people make hard choices after your death.
Read also: How to be ruthless when decluttering clothes: An essential guide
Why I’m Swedish Death Cleaning
Have you ever had to go through a loved one’s belongings after they had passed? If so, you might understand why I’m choosing to tidy up in advance.
Trying to sort through a loved one’s things after they’re gone is extremely difficult and brings up emotions that are difficult to deal with. Add into the mix the grief you’re also dealing with.
So I want to make that whole process as easy as possible for those who have to do it for me.
I’m still young (ish!) and have the energy to declutter things that I don’t need to keep anymore. I fear that when I’m in my 60s or 70s, even though I may still have many years left, I won’t have the energy or stamina to be able to do it. Or will I even have the desire?
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not tossing everything I own and living on the bare essentials just so my loved ones will have nothing to clear out once I leave this earth! No! I’m still keeping everything I love, everything I need and have a use for.
I’m just being more mindful of ‘things’ and not keeping things that I will store away forever only to have someone else clear it out later. I’m also making sure that important documents are in one place and non important documents are either shredded or kept digitally.
While it may seem daunting going through all your things now, can you imagine how much more you will accumulate throughout the rest of your life that your family or friends will have to go through after you pass?
My thinking is if I do this now, and adopt the ‘one in, one out’ rule, I won’t have to do it again when I’m older and my family won’t be stuck with much to do either.
Conclusion
So this is why I’ve decided to start Swedish Death Cleaning while I’m still in my 30s, and why I truly believe we should all be mindful of starting it early too.
Swedish Death Cleaning was just a natural thing for me to do. Rather than waiting until the last moments (when we are too ill or frail to handle it by ourselves), why not get rid of stuff you have no need for before your time is up? Why not pass on your legacy with good order instead of having family members spend who knows how much time sorting through it all while grieving?
Please remember: Swedish Death Cleaning is not meant to be sad. We all know that someday we will die. So why not be prepared now so that you can spend the rest of your long life enjoying everything there is to enjoy!
What are your thoughts on Swedish Death Cleaning? Is this something you think you would give a go? Let me know in the comments below.
This is an interesting and new concept to me. Scandinavians always have good ideas. Intriguing article.
It is interesting, isn’t it?! I was so intrigued when I came across the book and so glad I read it!
I really like this idea. Definitely something that I want to do.
Thanks Stacey, would love to hear your feedback after you’ve started!
Funny, I’m doing it now because we are moving in a few months. It’s so easy to accumulate things and promptly forget about them a few months later. I love donating useful and almost new things that I don’t have need for anymore. Life is about experience and not accumulating things (or so it should be in my very humble opinion). Thanks for sharing,
100% agree Mark! Moving house is definitely a great starting point and a great opportunity to pare down things you don’t need or use any longer.
Very informative post. You’ve inspired me to have a major clear out. I do try and throw things out, but still more work to be done!
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it inspiring 🙂
I am honestly surprised to find out that there is a term for this thing and is actually related to death. To me it is something that I do from time to time. I used to do it each time I move from one place to another (which would be every 3-4 years) or in every season change when it comes to clothes and shoes. However, two months ago my apartment was broken into so I had to do the moving clean up without actually moving. Truth be told when you do this clean up for everything you own you get a sense of freedom and inner peace. After all when we die we will not take absolutely nothing with us.
I liked this idea! I started living in a minimal way in every aspect and this idea fits perfectly. Thank you 😊
Thanks Eri! You’re absolutely right, there’s a sense of lightness lifted off your shoulders after a great decluttering session. In the Viking times, people used to be buried with their possessions – can you imagine that happening today? You’d need a football pitch for each person to fit everything!
I learned something new today. Never heard about this concept before but it’s very interesting. It’s simple yet so important. Definitely food for thought.
Thanks for reading Mehtab!
This is my first time hearing a term like ‘death cleaning’ – really a new concept of cleaning! Thanks for sharing this 🙂 Would love to practice this at the weekend x
Thank you Merry, best of luck with trying it 🙂
What an interesting concept! I totally see the point of it and maybe it’s especially good for when you move house etc. so you don’t have lots of excess stuff in storage and so on. x
Exactly! Moving house is a great opportunity to really get stuck into it!
This is the first time I heard of Swedish Death Cleaning. Interesting sharing. However, there some people I know who cleared and decluttered their stuff after they retired from their job. They just want their life to be easy and simple in their old days. I think that’s a good idea too.
Thanks Fadima. After retirement is probably when a lot of people are thinking about it. For me, I want to be freeeee by then haha!
Honestly, I’ve always thought that Swedish Death Cleaning is a bit morbid, but it totally makes sense to start it early on! As you said, we have more energy to do these things now when we’re still young. I think that deep cleaning your home gets harder as you get older and this is why so many people let so much junk after they pass away. Also, thank you for the book recommendation, I haven’t read a book about this topic yet, so I added this one to the list.
Thank you for sharing 😊
So glad you liked it! And I hope you like the book. Let me know what you think 🙂
I had never heard of Swedish Death Cleaning before and it sounds like a great concept to be fair – I’d like to know I am assisting my loved ones when I am no longer around with something like this.
Thanks Simona, yes that’s exactly how I feel too @)
I haven’t heard of this before but found myself doing a version of it during a time when my husband and I were having these hard conversations about death after he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in 2019 (thankfully, he has battled hard and his last surgeries/treatments were in March this year). I think doing it before you reach that point, as Swedish Death Cleaning advocates, is a really good idea — I can totally see how it would take some of the stress out of preparing for these life events. Thank you for sharing this, it was really interesting to read and nice to find out that what we naturally would do given those circumstances can be something we can prepare for in a meaningful way.
That must have been such a difficult time having those kinds of conversations, especially at such a young age. I’m so glad your husband is doing well now and wish him the best health for the future too x
This is such an interesting concept! I’d never heard of Swedish Death Cleaning before but it sounds like such a great idea, and like it could really help your loved ones when you’re gone. Thanks for sharing, I might give this a go x
Thank you! Let me know what you think of the practice if you do decide to give it a try!
This is really interesting and the philosophy makes so much sense. I’ve seen too many people really struggle to clear our their loved ones belongings. I have definitely started to try and be a bit more careful about what I buy. I know I will continue to buy and throw out or recycle for a long time to come. But it really makes no sense keeping things that I’ve not used in forever!
Thanks for reading Emma! I’m glad you found it interesting 🙂
Hello! I really love this idea and something I’ve never really thought about. I am minimal living at the moment and really don’t have anything to clean out but once I settle I will NEED this post, thanks for sharing! Alicia
Thanks Alicia! That’s so great you have no clutter already. But yes, I agree when we settled is when we tend to accumulate the majority of our belongings.
This is so interesting, but it makes sense. A lot of older people do have lots of things hidden away in spare rooms and their loft!
Corinne x
Exactly! Just collecting dust!