The Swedish Tradition of Death Cleaning

This Swedish tradition of death cleaning may be your most effective guide to decluttering

Decluttering even as overly emphasized still remains an aspect of house cleaning that a lot of home users struggle with. It’s common amongst Africans to be sentimental in nature and sometimes these sentiments follow through even to items as random as a cookie jar that was gotten from our grandparents or the plastic containers from the Christmas party we held years ago. Hey! Don’t get it wrong, its cute and nice to hold on to items because of the memories they stir in us, however, sometimes we unconsciously end up being collectors of many years of junks! This Sweden tradition of death cleaning will most definitely help you unsheathe, unpack and free yourself and your home from years of clutter. The Swedish Tradition of Death Cleaning.

Death cleaning was first made popular in the USA by author Margarete Magnesson who wrote The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of Clutter.

As called in Sweden dostanding is a Swedish word that means death cleaning. Do is “death” and “stadniing” is cleaning. In Swedish, it is a term that means removing unnecessary things to make your home feel nice and orderly when you think the time is coming closer for you to leave the planet. The general idea is to remove unnecessary things and get your home in order as you get older, so you minimize the amount of stuff you leave behind for others to deal with. Maybe it does sound a little morbid, but the concept is much more than that, It’s about organizing your life so everyday things are easier and being meaningful about the things you hold on to.

Jasmine Hobbs, a cleaning expert in London Cleaning Team explains that “the rules of death cleaning are simple. It’s all about losing everything you don’t love or use and not being afraid to talk about it” While some people may assume that it is reserved for the elderly, it is important to note that death is not exclusively reserved for the elderly. According to Hobbs “Anyone can do it at any age. The idea is to organize your life and make it run smoother”

So how does one begin?

These guide will take you through the easy ways to go about death cleaning.

• Be aware of the fact that downsizing is going to take some time
• Visit your storage areas, comb through every room in your home. Be thorough with every room, every nook and cranny of your home.
• Tell your loved ones and friends what you are up to. They might want to help you or even take things you do not need anymore.
• If you know of anyone family or friend that is moving into their new apartment, invite them over so you can show them items and they can pick the ones you no longer have any use for.
• You should note that it’s natural to feel some sort of way, maybe unappreciative, about giving out items you once cherished or received from loved ones. A way to go about this is to spend time with these objects one last time and then dispose of them.

The idea of Death cleaning is really not as scary as it sounds after all, it’s a method of decluttering that can keep you conscious and intentional about the things you keep.  Find more tips about The Swedish Tradition of Death Cleaning here