The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter (The Swedish Art of Living & Dying Series)
The original, official, bestselling guide to Swedish death cleaning—a charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life.
In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming.
Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.
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Community Reviews
This is a book that gives you details about Swedish Death Cleaning.
The book is organised into categories of items to get rid of. She gives plenty of examples on how to get rid of items. The author has death cleaned her parents homes and after her husband passed. When she downsized to a smaller home, she death cleaned and again when she moved into an apartment.
The premise of the book is to get rid of things before you die so your family is not faced with that burden.
I found the book helpful. There are some boxes of stuff I have to go through. I am also faced with having to help my mom get rid of 40 years of stuff in her home.
The book is organised into categories of items to get rid of. She gives plenty of examples on how to get rid of items. The author has death cleaned her parents homes and after her husband passed. When she downsized to a smaller home, she death cleaned and again when she moved into an apartment.
The premise of the book is to get rid of things before you die so your family is not faced with that burden.
I found the book helpful. There are some boxes of stuff I have to go through. I am also faced with having to help my mom get rid of 40 years of stuff in her home.
One of the books I read earlier this year referred to this book, and I thought, what a cool concept! Having just gone through down-sizing my parent's massively-packed large home in the Texas hill country after the death of my mom, I appreciated Margareta Magnusson's insights. The author had to do 'death-cleaning' twice - once, when she lost her mother. Then, her husband. And actually, she employed her skills once again when she down-sized from her home and moved to a two-bedroom condo-style home in Stockholm. The idea is to get rid of stuff now, while you are able and mobile. And, when you can have a say on where and to whom it all goes. She kept joking that it's important to do this now, before you're somewhere between 80 and death - which she admitted she was. I looked her up, and was saddened to read she just died this year (April, 2026). But this short-read imparted a lot of lessons. My husband and I are minimalists, in our early seventies. But it makes me think I need to 'death-clean' my daughter's room - she's now 37 and long-gone from the house. Time to get cracking!!
Interesting concept of cleaning up your mess, before your kids need to do it. Basically downsizing, give away things you no longer need, use or want. The author (a woman between the age of 80 and 100..LOL) explains, she is longer skiing. She once skied in a bikini. So her thought now, throw out the ski boots, but keep the bikini. She isn't skiing anymore (at age 80-100) but she can still sit around or swim in bikini. Sell, or give away things you no longer need so when you leave this world, someone doesn't have to do it for you.
We are currently downsizing. My daughters all left home, but they forgot to take their STUFF with them. So we are death cleaning. This quick read, and it gave me permission to let go of those things I thought I had to hold on to forever.
After moving my father, from his home to a smaller home, I now see the importance of death cleaner. He is still very much alive, but to go through so many things he is no longer using, this was a huge burden to us.
Hopefully, my girls will appreciate my time and energy on death cleaning NOW, so they don't have to deal with it when I am actually gone.
We are currently downsizing. My daughters all left home, but they forgot to take their STUFF with them. So we are death cleaning. This quick read, and it gave me permission to let go of those things I thought I had to hold on to forever.
After moving my father, from his home to a smaller home, I now see the importance of death cleaner. He is still very much alive, but to go through so many things he is no longer using, this was a huge burden to us.
Hopefully, my girls will appreciate my time and energy on death cleaning NOW, so they don't have to deal with it when I am actually gone.
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