Swedish Death Cleaning - Less is Always More - BB's Clutter Solutions - Professional Organizer

From Bedlam to Brilliance

How many of you have heard of the Swedish Death Cleaning organizing method? I must admit when I first heard about it, I thought it was a little weird, however, it makes perfect sense. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson describes a way to organize your earthly possessions before you die so that your family won’t have to fight or stress over what to do with the things you leave behind.

This has truly resonated with me because over the past several months, I have helped many family members clean out their parents’ apartments, houses and condos. It has taken many hours to sort through all the things and make decisions on what to do with everything.

I realize we keep things around that we like and use, but in reality, how many coffee pots do you need? How many crockpots do you need? How many suits, especially if you are retired, do you need? How many pairs of black pants do you need? I think you get my point – the list could go on forever and ever.

The above picture shows how many bags of clothes one of my client’s mother’s had. These bags didn’t include coats, jewelry, linens, kitchenware, etc. Luckily, this family got along well so they took what they wanted with no fighting and were able to let go of many, many other items. These family members had to come from other parts of the country, and they spent hours and hours going through everything. There were lots of non-profits that were able to use what could be donated, yet other items just had to be trashed.

Do whoever is left with cleaning your estate a favor. Go through your items periodically so they won’t have to fight, stress, or spend an inordinate amount of time deciding what to do with the things you leave behind. In addition to periodically going through your own items, you may be able to gift some things to those who love what you have, and you will also be helping yourself to not having to deal with your own excess “stuff”.

Less is always more!!