The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter

by Margareta Magnusson

The intention is not that we should remove things that make our lives pleasant and more comfortable. But if you can’t keep track of your things, then you know you have too many.

Mess is an unnecessary source of irritation.

Sometimes the smallest changes can have amazing effects. If you find yourself repeatedly having the same problem, fix it!

To hunt for misplaced things is never an effective use of your time. So, work to keep things organized throughout your life, and death cleaning will be easier for everyone. Your loved ones will not be happy people when they have to do your organizing for you.

A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not all things from you.

You can always hope and wait for someone to want something in your home, but you cannot wait forever, and sometimes you must just give cherished things away with the wish that they end up with someone who will create new memories of their own.

Aging is certainly not for weaklings. That is why you should not wait too long to start your

downsizing. Sooner or later you will have your own infirmities, and then it is damn nice to be able to enjoy the things you can still manage to do without the burden of too many things to look after and too many messes to organize.

A Christmas without a book for a present is a disappointment.