death cleaning
noun: “the process of cleaning and decluttering one’s home so as to spare others, especially family members, from the chore of it after one’s death: While I’m still strong and healthy, I’m going to commit to some serious death cleaning.”
If you’ve ever lost a family member, you know the conversations surrounding who gets what stuff don’t always end well. And even if they do, cleaning out the home of a loved one isn’t easy – that’s where Döstädning, or Death Cleaning comes in.
Death cleaning can be the motivation to live with less, by considering how much your stuff actually means to you. But it’s also a process that saves your significant other, family, and friends from having to decide what to do with all your belongings while they’re grieving. While death cleaning is usually done towards the end of a person’s time on earth, you can start this process at any age or stage in your life.
Join Hospice Board Member, Bess Kirnie, as she discusses ideas and tips for completing your döstädning. Click below to view the video:
(Click the image to view this video.)
Learn more about Death Cleaning by checking out these resources:
Internet Articles
- Swedish Death Cleaning http://sloely.com/swedish-death-cleaning/
- Three Things You Need to Know about Swedish Death Cleaning https://settingmyintention.com/swedish-death-cleaning/
- Stop Saving your stuff for Someday https://www.lauranoelle.com/tips-decluttering-your-home-keeping-stuff-someday/
- 62 Things to Declutter That you will Never Miss https://www.fillingthejars.com/things-to-declutter-never-miss/
Books
- Gilbert, Laura – The Stories We Leave Behind: A Legacy-Based Approach to Dealing with Stuff
- Kondo, Marie – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
- Kondo, Marie – Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
- Magnusson, Margareta – The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
- Rubin, Gretchen – Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness