Most of us live longer now than we used to live in the past. Consequently, we accumulate more stuff throughout our lives than before. No one wants their house to look like a cramped museum full of all kinds of exhibits, though. To fix this tiny probrem there are two approaches. First, you can just rent your self-storage unit and collect things to your heart’s content. Second, you can free your home from any unnecessary things in many different ways. We have already discussed the most common ideas on how to declutter your house, so today we stop on such a specific approach as Swedish death cleaning.
About Swedish death cleaning
In Swedish this method sounds like döstädning, where dö means ‘death’ and städning means ‘cleaning.’ Following the auther of this idea, Margareta Magnusson, when people grow older, reaching the age of 60 and above, they start to think about what they are going to leave behind after they depart from this world. With Swedish death cleaning, seniors can begin putting their personal belongings in order so that they will not be a burden for their family once the day comes. Now, after you know what it is as a concept, it’s time to bust a few myth about it:
- Swedish death cleaning is only for those who are over 60.
Despite the name, Swedish death cleaning is more about life than death, so you can start decluttering your living space whenever you feel the need in it. - It’s a one-time process.
You may start it any time you wish, and as there is no end to perfection, there is no end to decluttering and renovation as well.
But what exactly Swedush death cleaning offer?
Swedish death cleaning tips
1. Throw away unpleasant stuff first
Get rid of all things that have a negative connotation for you, starting from your bills and ending with a bedside lamp from your cousin that you honestly find hideous. Or a typing machine. Whatever.
2. Deal with memorabilia last
After you’ve finished with “negative” connotation things, proceed to your wardrobe. Take stock of all your clothes and decide which of them you will be wearing until your time comes. Bid farewell to the rest. Leave photos, personal notes, and other memorabilia until the end of cleaning.
3. Say goodbye to larger items
Decide on the fate of larger items before dealing with smaller ones.
4. Give your things in place of gifts
Instead of buying a gift for someone’s birthday or an event, give away one of your things. However, first try to find out if the person you are going to give to your china set or a collection of pictures really needs it or will simply put it away and never use it.
5. Do collective cleaning
Another method of finding someone who needs your things is to invite friends or family to do death cleaning together. Thus, they will be able to choose whatever things they like.
6. Donate or sell
Finally, if a thing you no longer need can’t find a new owner, try to sell or donate it. What’s the point of keeping something that you know will be thrown to a trash bin after your death anyway?
7. Have your own special box
You may have tons of photos, letters, or plane tickets that have great personal significance to you and that you find hard to part with. Find a separate box to collect all such stuff to be kept. You can also digitize your paper memorabilia. That will reduce the space it takes.
8. Create a document with logins and passwords
With hand on heart, we all forget passwords, usernames, websites, account credentials we need so much from time to time. To organize everything properly, you can also create various digital accounts which simplify you the way you deal with them.
9. Reward yourself for your efforts
Do something you enjoy like playing board games, or seeing your friends in the local club after each cleaning session.
Death cleaning helps everyone have a more organized home without clutter. Besides, it gives space for all new charming belonings you may buy and fresh up your home. Don’t be afraid of that. Happy decluttering!
