I Tried Swedish Death Cleaning, and It’s My New Favorite Method—Here’s Why

Like many others, I sometimes find decluttering my home overwhelming and avoid doing it longer than I should (which of course allows more clutter to pile up). That’s why I’m all ears any time I learn about a new decluttering method to see if it will help me break through my procrastination slump. 

I recently heard about Swedish death cleaning, a cleaning trend from Margareta Magnussen’s book, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.” The method follows the Swedish cultural tradition of decluttering and organizing one’s life before passing away. 

I was initially skeptical about how this decluttering method would work in my own home, especially since I am (hopefully) nowhere near death, so I asked expert Christina Morton DesAuguste, about her thoughts on the method. 

“I think Swedish death cleaning is a great exercise … it helps you assess and curate to prevent things from getting out of hand,” DesAuguste said.

With that reassurance from an organizing pro, I decided to try Swedish death cleaning by decluttering my mudroom. 

Before

While our mudroom wasn’t horribly cluttered, it certainly needed a little editing. Reusable shopping bags were strewn everywhere, and the top of our coat organizer was becoming a catch-all spot for things that needed to find a true home. 

The Process

I first began by removing the items from the room and then deciding if they were worth holding onto if my family members or I were gone. While it sounds like a heavy undertaking, it was actually the opposite. 

Overall, I was surprised by how this mindset made me more willing to toss or find a way to donate items. I threw away worn shoes and coats with holes, and started a pile for gently worn items that could be donated. I also found tons of reusable grocery bags and ruthlessly cut down my collection to only a few bags.   

After I created my piles of toss, keep, and donate, I evaluated if the mudroom was the correct room for them. For example, I had a new casserole dish in a box that needed to be unpacked and put away in my kitchen. I also removed the large storage tote filled with my family’s winter boots and decided they could live in our storage room until the next winter season.

After

My mudroom is much tidier and more organized after going through our things. Our stuff doesn’t feel quite as packed in as it did before, which makes the space feel more welcoming and calm. We even have some empty space in our closet organizer, which gives me a little peace of mind as we buy clothes and shoes for our growing toddler. 

One important thing that DesAuguste pointed out and I noticed as I was going through the practice is that Swedish death cleaning is primarily focused on the curation aspect of the decluttering process. It helps you choose which items should stay or go, but there is more that goes into decluttering than making those decisions. 

“Doing Swedish Death Cleaning alone won’t mean that you’re organized or tidy when you’re done! You have to go through the full organizing process,” DesAuguste says. 

For example, I spent a lot of time deciding how items should be organized or if the mudroom was the right spot for them. If I had stopped after determining which items should stay, the room would still feel chaotic.

Final Thoughts

This method forced me to think about my stuff in a less emotional way, since I was imagining what would happen to my things if I were no longer here. While it sounds morbid at first, the more matter-of-fact mindset was freeing and helped me easily decide if items should stay or be tossed, or donated. 

“When you’re not surrounded by clutter or things that are just ‘nice to have,’ you can truly appreciate the things you do love and that bring value to your life,” DesAuguste says. 

DesAuguste is right. Now that my room is free from clutter and organized, I feel less stressed when I walk into the room. I’ll definitely try Swedish death cleaning on other areas of my home. I think it would be especially useful to organize financial documents or nostalgic items. Those areas are next up on my list!