The method follows the Swedish cultural tradition of decluttering and organizing one’s life before passing away.
Meet the Expert
Christina Morton DesAugusteis the founder of The Organizing Company.
With that reassurance from an organizing pro, I decided to try Swedish death cleaning by decluttering my mudroom.
Emily Henderson Design/ Photo By Kaitlin Green
Emily Benda Gaylord
Before
While ourmudroomwasnt horribly cluttered, it certainly needed a little editing.
While it sounds like a heavy undertaking, it was actually the opposite.
Tip
DesAuguste recommends gathering all the like items together first before deciding what to donate or toss.
For example, gathering all of the coats into one pile and then curating your inventory.
I also found tons of reusable grocery bags and ruthlesslycut down my collectionto only a few bags.
After
My mudroom is much tidier and more organized after going through our things.
Doing Swedish Death Cleaning alone wont mean that youre organized or tidy when youre done!
You have to go through the full organizing process, DesAuguste says.
If I had stopped after determining which items should stay, the room would still feel chaotic.
The Spruce / Emily Benda Gaylord
Ill 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!
