“Swedish Cleaning After Death” Can Improve Your Life Right Now

You are reminded of this every time you move: you have too much crap. It accumulates in closets , under beds, in pantries and garages. And dealing with all this mess is bad for your mental health . The psychological weight of hoarder-level clutter and clutter is easy to understand, but it can affect you even if you don’t navigate the garbage canyons of your home. Even a modest level of clutter can negatively affect your life for a number of reasons: because you often carry around old bonds that prevent you from letting go of past traumas; because you have to spend mental and emotional energy on things that are no longer vital to your daily life; because deep down you know that someone will eventually have to deal with all this after you die. But practicing Swedish after-death cleaning can help—and you don’t have to wait until you’re near the end to reap the benefits.

What is Swedish death cleaning?

The Swedish Death Cleanse is a simple concept with powerful potential. It is based on a Swedish concept called döstädning ( literally “cleansing from death”), which was expanded on in a book by Margareta Magnusson ( “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleansing “). Magnusson was inspired to write the book after she lost her parents and husband and had to wade through what they left behind.

The idea behind this is simple: At a certain point in your life, you should stop hoarding more things and start sorting out the things you have already hoarded so that your loved ones don’t have to do it after you’re gone. Instead of leaving a huge chore for the future, you can make it a thoughtful project now while you’re still in control.

Technically, you should be doing the Swedish purge after death at a later age; Magnusson herself recommends age 65 as a good time to start. But the need to simplify your existence doesn’t necessarily follow a fixed schedule, and you can benefit from the practice at any point in your life, because it’s all about getting things under control.

Don’t get cluttered – rethink your relationship with things

The key to Swedish death cleaning is that it’s not just about decluttering and getting rid of old junk, but about imposing a permanent new way of organizing your life. It’s not so much about cleaning the garage, but how you want to approach the acquisition and disposal of property in the future. Feeling like you’re in charge of your life and have a say in how things work—even after you’re gone—is empowering.

Here’s how to get started:

• Start with simple things. Magnusson advises not to take on emotionally difficult tasks right away. Instead, get rid of the obvious, like old clothes that don’t fit you anymore or that you never wear. Then move on to things that have been hidden in storage for so long you forgot you even had them. Gradually move on to more important things.
• Do not rush. The whole point is that you are preparing for a future that has not yet arrived – no need to turn this into an ordeal. Simply by developing the habit of consciously summing up everything that you have collected around you, you will have an impact on your emotional health.
• Consider the options. One of the keys to this is that you don’t just throw things in the trash, you are thoughtful . Consider what can be donated, what can be given away, what should be thrown away, and what can be sold. There is no such rule that you cannot profit from cleaning death in Sweden. There is also no reason to get rid of something if there is someone in your life who would benefit from it, so keep your circle in the loop as you go through things.
• Become a minimalist. The goal here is to leave as little as possible for others, so leave only what you absolutely need. This means that the crockery and cutlery you never use, the shoes you never wear, all of this goes away. Keep only what you really need.
• Don’t forget to tidy up digitally. Part of the mess we leave people with is our digital footprint: social media accounts, online photos, email accounts, etc. You don’t have to get rid of them, especially if they bring a lot of positive energy into your life. . . But you must make sure that other people have the necessary information and logins to delete and manage these accounts after you leave.
• Think about who benefits. One of the key questions to ask yourself during this process is whether the object or document will make anyone but you happy. For example, a memento you kept on a school trip probably only matters to you—your kids, siblings, or partner won’t get anything from it. These things are prime candidates for cleansing, but only if you are emotionally ready to part with them. One of Magnusson’s mantras is that objects don’t hold memories – you don’t need anything to remember a special moment. And if an object doesn’t improve someone’s life, there’s no point in forcing them to deal with it.

The main thing to keep in mind when considering how Swedish death cleaning can improve your life at any time is that it is not about death , really. It’s about control. It’s about deciding what the rest of your life (and the time that follows) will look like. And it is an act of kindness to all who will have to deal with your mess, now or in the future, including yourself.