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)

I enjoyed the read. The story of the author is impactful and I took some notes on what to prepare for in the future. A great message into the thought process of aging and life and the things we carry with us along the way. External and internal.

If you’re downsizing decades of treasures like I’m doing, you will find this unusual book extremely comforting. There’s all kinds of websites and books out there on downsizing, but I found this to be the best thing I’ve ever read - it acknowledges how much we love our beautiful things and how nice it is to pass them down to other people who will enjoy them. It’s helped me a lot as I’ve lived in my beautiful, too-large home for 51 years. I’m slowly giving my treasures to much younger people, like friends of my adult children.

An 80-something woman provides some practical advice on an emotional subject--preparing for the aftermath of one's own demise. Strangely enough, despite the title, this is not about looking into the great abyss. It's much more about decluttering your senior years and leaving a meaningful material legacy for your heirs. The author argues that nobody's children (or other legatees) should be saddled with a household of stuff that has no real meaning or use for them. The thinning out of one's lifetime collection of things---both practical and sentimental--should be done while you still have all your marbles and sufficient energy. She says give it years and think in broader terms of helping the whole community. I think that her most practical suggestion here is don't start your decluttering with photographs and letters. She argues that there is too much sentimentality attached in those directions and the focus will impede any serious progress toward cleaning out. This is a short book with considerable wisdom and, ironically, is more about living well and appreciating the good things in your later years than the inevitable end. To be sure, there is something very Swedish about the thinking, but this is a book that has the value of encouragement for anyone at any age.

This book is full of the author's personal stories and anecdotes. It is less of a how-to book than I was expecting. I was looking for more advice. Pretty much the only real advice or thought-provoking stuff in there you can get by just Googling the book and reading descriptions of it. I would have given it two stars, except I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for people who perhaps haven't already thought as much about the topic as I have, and who maybe have a lot more stuff. In fact, I read this book and frequently thought "Wow, she still has THAT?"

First and foremost, I love that it's a small book, an easy read. The author tells her life story along with offering helpful content. Death is hard to talk about and planning for death can be hard as well. The author conveys the importance of taking care of your personal belongings while you are still alive for a number of reasons. Your things will not be a burden on your loved ones. Often we have it set in our minds that our family members want things that we value, when in essence those things may only be of value to us. Getting more out of your twilight years instead of caring for "things." The author speaks of giving up her beloved garden. When she moved into a smaller apartment, she had the option to garden in a smaller space and was able to share the space with others, cutting down on the work that she had to do. The grieving process is hard enough, let alone having to deal with getting rid of a loved one's belongings, selling their home, finding a new home for their pets, etc. It was a thoughtful book written in a very light-hearted manner. It's the perfect gift for older loved ones. It can help to strike up an uncomfortable conversation with aging parents. I highly recommend it!

This book stresses, in a light-hearted way, the importance of sorting through your belongings now so that when you are gone, your children will enjoy fond memories as they look at what you've carefully and thoughtfully chosen to leave behind. Margareta Magnusson charmingly refers to her age as being "between eighty and one hundred years old." She herself has performed many a death cleaning, and she relates each experience in her book. This too is good, because all of us will at one time or another find ourselves in the same shoes. In fact, my husband and I have already had to death clean for his great aunt. We didn't know then that the process had a name, but we did it just the same. Believe me, the fun wore off long before the job was done. The author doesn't tell you exactly how to death clean, but she gives guidelines for how and where to begin--as well as how and where to NOT begin. (For instance, don't begin with photos. You will get bogged down in memories and may never get anything else done.) She encourages you to take your time going through your things. Hold each piece thoughtfully, recollecting the memories that it evokes. Be thankful for the purpose it served in your life, and then let it go--deliberately--finding just the right recipient for your treasure: someone who will appreciate it, who needs it, and who has room for it. Perhaps it is better to sell the item or to give it to a charity, a local library, museum, or other institution. Regardless of where it goes, you are choosing the destination for your possessions with care and love. And, of course, you are throwing away anything that has outlived its usefulness. Margareta stresses that this is not "spring cleaning," for death cleaning goes beyond the purging of things that have lost their usefulness to you. Rather, it is a new mindset, a new way of living. How? Just as you have deliberately decided what will stay and what will go, you also learn to be deliberate in what new things you introduce into your home. You have simplified your life, and now you must keep it simple. Develop a habit of discarding an old item before bringing in a new one. And with everything you keep, know where you want it to go after you die. Make a list to leave behind for your children. For each larger item, you might even want to pin a note onto it to tell them what to do with it. This way, when you are gone--and none of us knows when that will be--you will still be with them, in a way, helping them get through this chore that will be fraught with emotion. Whether or not you consider yourself "old," I highly recommend this book to you. Read it, and begin your death cleaning now. In fact, the earlier you begin, the easier it will be for you--and for those who come behind you.

A must read book for seekers of simple life, self dependent planners.

A lovely Swedish lady, aged ‘between 80 and 100’. Her gentle and timely advice is perfect for those who wish to not leave too much trouble to others when they die. The book is not about death! It reminds us that all our stuff can hold us back from enjoying life, it can paralyse us. Not many of us are as wise or as accepting of what is, as this author.

Bellissime illustrazioni, contenuti interessanti. La lettura è molto rilassante. Consigliatissimo soprattutto per la stagione autunnale e invernale, le cui atmosfere sono evocate e valorizzate nel testo.

A small, practical guide for decluttering and leaving less job behind.

Es un gran libro, con muy buenas ideas y escrito con muy buen humor.