Everybody has a busy, bustling life that makes us forget almost every other thing. Waking up in the morning, going to work, juggling between personal and professional life, and coming back home – this is how most of us live. Then we wake up the next day, and the grind doesn’t stop. In this commotion, we often forget that mortality is one true reality, and we are getting closer to death every day. Keeping this in mind, a woman called Margareta Magnusson introduced a procedure called Swedish Death Cleaning. This method helps you clean your mess and leave nothing behind for your mourners. In this article, we will expand on Swedish death cleaning and whether or not you should adopt this cleaning method.
What is Swedish Death Cleaning?
Margareta Magnusson is a proud author of a book called “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Make Your Loved Ones’ Lives Easier and Your Own Life More Pleasant.” In this book, she described the concept of Swedish Death Cleaning and how it can benefit anyone that wants to lead a happy, hassle-free life.
You can take it as a procedure to dispose of the clutter you have accumulated over the years and clean your mess before you close your eyes forever. Whether it is your closet or your entire house, you should get rid of all the unnecessary things that you no longer need. This way, when you leave this world, your mourners will have much less burden on their delicate shoulders.
While this method seems morbid and even horrific to some extent, it is an excellent way to deep clean your house and toss unwanted items into the trash. Swedish death cleaning is a perfect opportunity to reflect on life and the afterlife simultaneously. Incorporating this procedure in your everyday life can be beneficial beyond measure.
If you are a youngster reading these wise words, you might find it highly offensive. However, people who have spent half their lives and reached middle age know that the time is running out. So, why should you leave behind your mess and be a source of nuisance to your beloved people? Why should you burden others with your mess after your passing?
Why should others be in charge of clearing out your clutter? That’s the thought-provoking notion Swedish death cleaning hopes to invoke in you.
The Important of Swedish Death Cleaning
It is a possibility that people might disagree with the concept of Swedish death cleaning, thinking that the very thought of dying tomorrow seems ridiculous. However, it is as true as the next breath you are about to take. Life is so unpredictable, where you have no guarantee for anything.
Therefore, you should always live a day as if it is your last and try to make life easy for those you will leave behind. This way, you are not only living in the moment and enjoying yourself but also making it easy for your loved ones to let go.
Besides, living without excessive mess and clutter is a bonus point – a source of pleasure and relief for most people. After all, who wants a messy home? Even the laziest people function better when their surroundings are clean and clutter-free.
This is because when you surround yourself with unwanted items, it tends to take a toll on you, causing irritability. Therefore, clearing the mess benefits others and helps you enjoy the amiability of life.
What Does “Death Cleaning” Even Mean
Even though Swedish death cleaning is all about getting rid of unnecessary items and leading a healthy, clutter-free life, the mere mention of death in the term “Swedish death cleaning” can be quite unsettling for the readers. However, it has a simple meaning.
Death refers to the ultimate reality of life. By using this term, the author means that the cleaning should not be limited to mopping or dusting around the house; it should be about permanently adopting a cleaning regime that lets you enjoy a burden-free, stress-free life.
In Swedish, the word for exercise is dostanding, which is an amalgamation of two words; do means death, and standing means cleaning. You can get a detailed account of the entire concept in Margareta Magnusson’s book.
Multiple pieces of evidence from psychology have shown that a human is more productive in a clutter-free environment. Your productivity flows better when there are fewer distractions around. Moreover, a clear space free of any clutter is more enjoyable than a crammed space with unnecessary items. You can either work and produce exceptional results or relax and leisure around.
Reason Why Swedish Death Cleaning Can Change Your Life
Relieving your loved ones of any sort of burden after your demise is only one advantage of Swedish death cleaning; the list goes on. The following are some more reasons that might convince you to incorporate Swedish death cleaning in your life:
- Swedish Death Cleaning can work as a form of therapy.
- It can be an effective stress-buster.
- Swedish Death Cleaning can be a gentle reminder of your mortality.
· Swedish Death Cleaning Can Work as a Form of Therapy
The idea behind Swedish death cleaning revolves around the minimalistic notion. The simpler the life, the easier it is to be happy. If you end up passing, you will leave behind uncountable memories for your loved ones.
However, if you are an unorganized person who has left nothing but a burden for those who loved you, not many people will be pleased with the memories shared.
Psychology demonstrates that minimalism is the key to a happy, contented life. Now, the question is, what is minimalism, and why is it so important?
A minimalistic approach towards life means acquiring only those items that are absolutely necessary for your survival. Instead of hogging on a lot of space for your uncountable materialistic items, you should try to settle in a clean, clutter-less environment.
The more you run after worldly things, the harder it will be to attain happiness. You will be anxious all the time without realizing that today is what you are supposed to seize.
Now, even if you have accumulated a lot of items over the years, you have a chance to get rid of them using the Swedish death cleaning procedure. Cleaning can be therapeutic. You will feel calmness coursing through your body as if you’ve had been waiting for it all along.
Disposing of clutter can induce happy thoughts and a sense of relief within you. Hence, you will enjoy the newly cleared out space simultaneously, making it easier for others as well.
· Swedish Death Cleaning Can Help You Deal with Stress
When you are around numerous items all the time, it tends to take a toll on you, contributing to your stress levels. You might not find the one thing you are looking for. Hence it makes you frustrated.
While there are tons of unnecessary materialistic things lying all around you, you tend to get irritable. The stress of sorting them out and putting them at their respective place mounts with each passing minute, making it difficult for you to relax.
Therefore, you need to clear the mess and get rid of unnecessary items that you no longer need. When you have more room for leisure work, you will feel relaxed, as if the mounting tension is leaving your body. Moreover, cleaning can be a stress-buster.
It helps you focus and concentrate on the task at hand without getting distracted by anything. The fewer items you have lying around, the easier it is to sit back and relax.
Swedish death cleaning is a technique that helps you clean your house, organize the things you need, and get rid of the unnecessary items lying around. It can be a source of peace for your chaotic mind. When the outside is clutter-free, the inside will automatically rest in peace.
· Swedish Death Cleaning Can Be a Gentle Reminder of Your Mortality
As we have mentioned in the previous section of this article, Swedish death cleaning can be a way to make peace with your mortality. This concept reminds you of the limited days you have on this earth and lets you deal with the fact that you might not be around to clear your mess one day. You can cope with the reality of life that it will end one day, and you will be gone forever.
When you get rid of the unnecessary items lying around, you tend to realize the nothing lasts forever, and you, like any other materialistic thing, will have to leave your loved ones behind. When this reality dawn on you, you tend to remember death and how real it really is.
Swedish Death Cleaning can help you make peace with this reality and lets you cope with it in your own way.
In Conclusion
Swedish death cleaning is a compelling phenomenon that lets you realize the reality of life. It teaches you to clean after your mess. Also, it helps you realize that we all have a limited number of days to live and enjoy life. One day we will be gone.
That’s when our loved ones will have to deal with the burden of our clutter. Therefore, we should dispose of the clutter while we breathe and let others remember us in fond memory.
