My results after one year of Swedish Death Cleaning. It's so much more than just a decluttered home!

When my uncle decided to put me down as his next of kin to deal with his stuff after his death I asked him to read the book. He is now cleaning up his apartment and got all his paperwork done for me. I had read the book and got a good laugh and so did he. I’m clearing out a lot of stuff myself at 58. He’ll be 80 this year and still very actively living.

My parents sent a list of any "valuable" items in their home to all the children (8) when the were in their sixties (my mother) and seventies (my father.) They asked each of us to note what was most important to each of us and send it back to them. That list was kept and often, they would gift an item to one of us. When they were gone, I had to go through the house myself, and often found, attached to the back or base of an item, masking tape with a sibling's name on it. It made it so easy to disperse the items to those who my parents specified. There were pieces that had no names on them and my brother and I, as executors of the will, had to determine to whom the items would go. But we still had the list, and that made it so much easier.

As an Aussie lady in her 40's, I did the Swedish death clean 3 years ago when I got fed up with the junk I owned. I now have an amazing home I am proud to walk into every day and it takes no time to clean. Everything in its spot, and everything has a purpose or use. Life changing, for real!

Husband came in with 10 pairs of gardening gloves on sale… I had him return them!!! Good sign!!!

My mother did this in stages for over 10 years before she moved into long-term care. It did make life much easier for us. She was a very pragmatic and realistic person. Miss you Ma.

So grateful to find this. Autistic. Single. Sixty. Four grown kids. I really appreciate you. The video is so well edited and pleasing in every way. Very moving.

I was relieved to see you mention "after one year of Swedish Death Cleaning." It makes me a bit more relaxed to understand that this is a lengthy process. I started it a few monthjs ago. My greatest challenge is finding places for my items to go, since I don't want to be responsible for sending them to a dump.

"Give each other experiences, not gifts." Great concept. ❤

I did a serious decluttering about 15 years ago (when we just called it "decluttering"). It helped me finish some projects too, like painting the baseboards and adding a shelf unit in the kitchen. It turned my dismal little house into a really delightful place.

I'm 74, and a recovered shopoholic. Several years ago, I started making large monthly donations to the local Goodwill. At that time I hadnt heard of death cleaning, but was just sick of all the stuff around me, mainly clothes Id bought and never worn. This has been an interesting process, with imaginary "layers" of stuff, being donated each month without fail. Each layer could only be parted with after the last was gone, it seemed. My large house now has plenty of "negative space," which is pleasing to me, and the monthly donations continue, with a real sense of accomplishment. 🌺🌺🌺

I wish my dad would do this. But, he's gonna want every single item examined, considered and worshiped forever. Oh, dad.

Getting rid of 90% was best decision we ever made!

Our Children aren't going to be left with a whole bunch of stuff to get rid of, We don't want to leave them with that. But I notice, as a person ages, they want less things around, that are messy or hard to keep up with. I learned this years ago, and just keep working at it. It makes a person feel so GOOD.

I have been decluttering/minimizing for close to 15 years now. But only when I wrote my last will last year did I realise what I still had left that needed to be taken care of - mostly hobby stuff my family would not know how to proceed with, and digital stuff like pictures and contacts online. There somehow is never an end to the whole "getting your things in order"!

I am a new subscriber. I so needed to hear this I am 73 & started to declutter,but back sliding,holding back. You just gave me that boost to restart . During the height of covid I gave away 13 /33 gallon bags of dress clothes,some with tags still on them. I donated them to a Mission House for those that need clothing can come into the store & have free outfits, the director told me I will be clothing a lot of people, that to me was better than money. My other household items I donated to a community store & items sold & the money is put back into the community for the children for their trips, & craft making plus other things they need. I slacked off due to health issues. Now I am going to restart slowly due to health . Thank you so much Have a lovely day !

I was born into a minimal home in 1948 way before other people discovered this lifestyle. I have always been a bit minimal except fory clothes. I always liked a big walk in closet until I retired and didn't need all that stuff anymore. I live in a very small apartment now and have a very small wardrobe and only a small amount of belongings. I don't have a family so I want all my stuff gone except for the essentials before I go. I am very happy with what I have because it is just what I need and enjoy having around me.

I was watching videos on organizing and I was actually browsing Amazon for containers and organizers etc, when it dawned on me that I was reshuffling the stuff that I hadn't worn or even remembered that I had. Once I started declutterring, I was left with a mountain of organizers, plastic totes, containers etc. I've got so much room in my house it's amazing!

The problem is that the people who NEED to do this the most are the ones who won’t part with anything and tend toward hoarding. I pity those families that have to deal with it all. Watching you from Oregon and love your calm, beautiful channel.

A key to sanity is controlling the inflow of items. I've learned to avoid "sets" which are designed to encourage consumers to spend "just a bit more" for extra items you don't need or use. You're left juggling extra possessions in an effort to access the items actually used then throwing away the unused portion/item of the set. Whether it's cookware, glassware, cosmetics/polish, tools, office supplies, cleaning supplies, linens/sheets, socks, food, etc. I buy the best quality of an item that I want/need and avoid extras of any kind.

Beautifully said! I have spent countless hours, weeks and weeks, dealing with my mother’s possessions. It was incredible and very hard. I’m motivated not to do this to my family. It’s a great gift. By contrast, my mother in law had her home ready and all important documents were prepared and took the stress and guess work out of her estate and made the grieving process easier. That’s how I want to go.