Book Review: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

I am hitting the age where I have conversations with friends about the ailing health of parents and other relatives. Some have lost loved ones recently. As a result, my friends have had to deal with the possessions of these family members. Some have had to downsize parents into assisted living or memory care facility. Others have lost loved ones who had not had the time or inclination to tackle their possessions before they passed. So many of our conversations have been about how to distribute items to those who might want them and what to do to with items no one they know wants.

It’s an overwhelming thought to tackle someone else’s detritus be it heirloom quality antiques or a beanie baby collection.

As a regular collector of not just pens and inks, but also camera equipment, yarn, books and so much more. I often wonder what will happen when I need to downsize my home, or god forbid, Bob has to deal with all my crap.

This is where The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson comes in.

“It is amazing, and also a little strange, how many things we accumulate in a lifetime.”

While anyone can use some of the ideas from Swedish Death Cleaning as it is one of a multitude of techniques for decluttering, I think the perspective of what is excess junk vs valuable keepsakes is a nice variation.

“Start with the large items in your home, and finish with the small.”

The audiobook is narrated by the amazing Juliet Stevenson which makes it sound like a wise great aunt is extolling her life advice to you as you listen. The audiobook is also just tree hours in listening time which could easily be completed in a few days of dish-doing, walking or cleaning while listening.

“This cycle of consumption we are all part of will eventually destroy our planet—but it doesn’t have to destroy the relationship you have with whomever you leave behind.”

The book, while short, introduces a lot of ideas for thought but the overall steps or how-to is not as apparent. This is definitely a book for someone looking to consider the best way to remove excess, detritus and extraneous items from their lives before it becomes someone else’s responsibility. There are some tips like starting with large items first like furniture and move to small items that may have considerably more sentimental value like jewelry, letters (or fountain pens). The author says when she tackles projects like this, she always starts with clothes. For me, I have a huge sentimental attachment to clothing so I am more apt to start in the kitchen and other common areas. I am not emotionally attached to towels, tupperware or pots. Well, maybe not most of them anyway.

“Recycling and donating can both help the planet and also bring things to people who may need them.”

There is also a lot to gain from considering ideas from this book, even if you are still in your 20s or 30s and a long way from your imminent end.

As many decluttering books mention, if you have too many things, it is often hard to find what you need when you need it. This loops around to some of the concepts from the minimalism movement including the $20/20 minutes idea.

“To hunt for misplaced things is never an effective use of your time.”

How does this relate to fountain pens and stationery?

Let me loop this around to fountain pen and stationery collectors. How much stuff have you accumulated over the years? In your enthusiasm for the hobby did you purchase a bunch of budget pens or every color variation of a specific pen you liked? Do you still want or need all of them? Do you have boxes full of ink or samples you never use?

What about notebooks? Stickers? Washi tape? Is it time to host a swap with friends? For years, my friends and I have hosted a clothing exchange where we bring all our unused, unwanted and no-longer-fit garments, shoes and accessories and swap with one another. Once we have all acquired new items, everything left goes to a pre-selected charity and we load up one vehicle (sometimes two) with the items and feel good about getting new items while also clearing our closets of things that no longer work for us. The goal is always to take home way less than we bring.

I have wanted to do the same thing with stationery and craft supplies. To invite other stationery folks for snacks and swap seems like a great way to spend an afternoon. Or take excess items to your local pen club meet-up. Some pen shows are setting up swap tables and some events even have local art supply charities set-up a table so that anything not collected will be taken to their facility for resale or donation to local schools.

If that feels too overwhelming, consider donating usable items to a local school or take them to a local thrift store.

While I am sure that a stationery cupboard cleanout might be the most sentimental part of a Swedish Death Cleaning, knowing that you were able to distribute your items to people who might enjoy them as much as you did is a good feeling.

As for the book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, I think it gave me some ideas as to where to start and made it a little more acceptable to talk about what needs to happen with “all the stuff”.

It did make me think that I spent the first half of my life accumulating items and the second half trying to figure out how to get rid of it all.

Have you tried to tackle a declutter or Swedish Death Cleaning recently? How did it go?