If you have a box of old clothes or shoes that are so worn out that you’d be embarrassed to donate them to the Salvation Army, Goodwill or your nearest clothing bin, it’s time to start your Swedish death cleaning. If there are car parts in your garage or souvenirs from prior vacations that no one uses, it’s time to start your Swedish death cleaning. Even if you’ve pulled out a box of old journals or listened to old journaling tapes and thought, “I don’t want anyone to ever read or hear this,” it’s time to start your Swedish death cleaning.

What Is Swedish Death Cleaning?

Although the idea of this process happened long before author Margareta Magnusson’s best-selling book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning released in 2018 (or last year’s series on Peacock), the term is continuing to trend.

From her Amazon page, “In Sweden, there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning ‘death’ and städning meaning ‘cleaning.'” Put together, Swedish death cleaning means to clear out unnecessary belongings so your beneficiaries don’t have to. Magnusson encourages her readers to embrace minimalism. And she’s used herself as an example.

In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, she discussed her late husband’s tool shed and her drawer of vices. She realized she had to practice what she preached and let go of things that she personally wanted once upon a time and admitted she no longer needed.

Swedish death cleaning isn’t just for pre-mortem preparedness, though. Though you can’t really predict when you’ll die, you can still go through your home and declutter as if you just might. Swedish death cleaning isn’t just for the dead – the methods it employs can be helpful if you’re looking for an extreme decluttering method.

Why Is Swedish Death Cleaning Necessary?

According to LegalZoom, only 33% of U.S. adults have created estate planning documents. The COVID-19 pandemic made 24% of adults who are between the ages of 18-34 write a will, a 50% uptick from 2020 to 2024. But that still leaves 78% without one this year. And middle-aged people (Millennials) and older adults will writing decreased by 7% and 10% in the last four years. If something were to happen to them, family members would be left scrambling to find everything from how to cancel their bills to who gets the wedding rings and the basement cabinet full of wine glasses.

And while family members and friends are trying to put the house in order, there’s also the matter of planning a funeral. The most recent median cost of a funeral is $8,300, according to a recent study conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association. A funeral with cremation is slightly cheaper at $6,280.

But if family members are too busy combing through boxes of magazines and high school yearbooks to get to financial documents, even planning a funeral will become a task. And if there was no will, no executor and no estate planning, then every single item in the home can become a fight between family in probate court.

Even if you’re not scrambling to clear up your belongings before you pass, you can still employ Swedish death cleaning if you simply feel like you have too much stuff. Swedish death cleaning can be necessary if you’re getting ready to move, looking to downsize, or are trying to swap to a minimalist lifestyle.

How Do You Get Started With Swedish Death Cleaning?

Some parts of Swedish death cleaning are much easier to start than others. For example, scientists think about 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010. Fourteen years later, this does not have to continue.

Recycle and resell. Look for ways to reduce, reuse or recycle items that would end up unused in landfills or oceans anyway. For example, if you’re a pet owner, instead of buying more plastic bags for dog walks, check out that pile of paper that’s stopping you from closing your file cabinet. Used paper picks up dog poop just as well as a plastic bag does. Paper-trained dogs can also make use of old paper. The same goes for cat litter, but sprinkle baking soda and water to knead shredded paper into a paste. Then, place it into a cat litter tray.

Old newspapers can become biodegradable pots for starting seedlings or giving away plants in your garden. Old magazines can also become lucrative for do-it-yourselfs who love arts and crafts. Join Etsy, and sell your crafty recycled magazine baskets, wreaths, photo frames, woven baskets, cup coasters, decorative ewers, starburst clocks and dishes.

Don’t underestimate the power of a yard sale, too. If you want things gone much more quickly, see what the stipulations for getting set up at your local swap meet or flea market are for a weekend. Don’t expect to make tons of money – if you want things to fly off the table, price low and be willing to let things go for less. Remember that you’re not trying to turn a profit, you’re trying to get rid of things. After all, Swedish death cleaning is meant to be a slightly extreme method of decluttering, where you’re getting rid of a good deal of your possessions, so don’t be shy about doing just that.

Donate. Look at things that don’t have multiple uses. Gently used clothes should be donated to your nearest nonprofit organizations (to make sure their for-profit clothing bins don’t end up putting them in landfills). Or, make a few dollars by selling your clothes, shoes and accessories on Craigslist, Poshmark, Etsy and other vintage stores. Freecycle is an alternate option, but the items must be free for pick-ups.

Ask your friends if they’re in the market for a few things, too. If your friend has always coveted that lamp you have, but you’re looking to Swedish-death-clean it away, this might just be their lucky day. Friends are also great recipients of books, dishes, and decorative pieces.

Throw away. Then comes the hardest part: throwing things away that serve no other purpose, can’t be reused and definitely not worth selling. And sometimes these are the items that you make the most excuses for getting rid of. They’re items that no one wants but you, but even you don’t pay much attention to them. Face facts. Pull up your kitchen wastebasket and start discarding items.

Swedish Death Cleaning Might Make You Happier

The thing about death cleaning, though, is that it’s not just dusting and mopping up. It’s meant to be a long-running form of organization that will help you run your entire life a little more smoothly. Swedish death cleaning might just make you happy.

Rosellina Ferraro, PhD, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland, as part of her research on consumer behavior and psychology, suggests that cutting down on the amount of ‘things’ in your home can help you focus on improving the valuable, important, intangible things in your life. She told NBC News BETTER that getting rid of excess stuff around you can help you identify what really matters.

When you’re done with your Swedish death cleaning, you might find that you’re less stressed, contributing to your overall happiness as well. There are studies that draw a connection between clutter and stress. According to the National Library of Medicine, people’s cortisol levels were higher when they felt like their spaces were unfinished or overly cluttered, and tended to be more depressed.

Swedish Death Cleaning Checklist

Here’s a quick Swedish death cleaning checklist that will help you keep tabs on what you should keep, and what you should let go, when you undertake your massive decluttering ordeal.

Clothes

Clothing is a great place to start in your Swedish death cleaning journey. This is also a good time to organize – get your ‘A List’ clothes in order first, picking out the essential pieces that you tend to wear the most, and then create a system from there. Keep formal wear and special occasion dress that’s necessary but not as common in your everyday dress in one section. If it’s summer, tuck the parkas and gloves in the back or in storage, or scoot your sundresses and bathing suits away if it’s the colder months.

• Sort clothes and see what still fits and makes you happy
• Make piles for tossing and donating
• Organize closet by function, color, and season

Furniture and Other Items

This is a broad category, and is likely to eat up most of the time you’re spending through Swedish death cleaning. There are inevitably going to be some items you don’t want to part with, but try to keep an eye of scrutiny; remember that you’re meant to look at this through the eyes of your family following your death. Swedish death cleaning is described as a ‘gentle art’, but it’s also a powerful decluttering technique, so try to find it in your heart to finally thank these items for their time (if you’re a Marie Kondo fan) and part ways.

• Start big – find the items that take the most space and decide if they’re needed
• Work down to smaller furniture pieces
• Keep a designated pile for mementos and heirlooms to keep

Paperwork

If you died tomorrow (which we hope you do not), would your family be able to find your important documents? Bank information? The information for your lease or mortgage?

If you haven’t had the time to gather all of your important info into one physical place, now’s the time.

• Designate one box, binder, or other receptacle for all important paper files.
• Make sure your loved ones know where to find these items
• Make sure everything is up to date

Digital Clutter

You know about how all of your old magazines and travel tchotkies are taking up space, but have you looked at your digital clutter, recently? In the nature of Swedish death cleaning, keep your loved ones in mind, here, and declutter your computer, laptop, phone, and external harddrives. If you have things you’d rather them not see, secure them somewhere password protected. This is also a great time for a digital detox.

As for the rest of your passwords, gather the important ones for your loved ones. Passwords for social media, bank accounts, anything you pay a monthly subscription for, and any accounts you’d like to be closed following your passing can be collected in a physical book and kept with the rest of your documents.

Swedish Death Cleaning is for Your Family – And For You

And when your home feels cleaner and lighter after your Swedish death cleaning is complete, don’t run out and buy the same things to fill up the same now-empty space. Enjoy the clean. Enjoy the extra room. And be relieved to know that your loved ones will have that much less to sift through some day.