Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogue Obama here. Cleaning out the home
Speaker 1: of a loved one who has recently died or entered
Speaker 1: a nursing home is something most people dread, especially if
Speaker 1: they have no idea what to do with all the
Speaker 1: items their loved one has accumulated. Enter the Swedish death
Speaker 1: clean It may sound morbid, but it can actually lighten
Speaker 1: the burden of grieving loved ones. Popularized in the book
Speaker 1: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by eighty something
Speaker 1: artist Margaretta Magnuson, Swedish death cleaning is basically decluttering in
Speaker 1: your later years so that someone else doesn't have to
Speaker 1: do it for you. Magnuson herself is Swedish but has
Speaker 1: lived all over the world. Her book was an immediate
Speaker 1: sensation in Sweden and garnered serious interest in the US
Speaker 1: once it was published here in. In the book, Magnusson
Speaker 1: explains that the Swedes call it though staddening, a combination
Speaker 1: of the words for death and cleaning. Though it's a
Speaker 1: relatively recent concept. We spoke via email with and Charlotte
Speaker 1: gavel Adams, Professor Merita of Swedish Studies at the University
Speaker 1: of Washington. She explained that the word isn't listed in
Speaker 1: any Swedish Academy dictionaries, and that she first heard of
Speaker 1: the concept ten years ago from a man in his
Speaker 1: seventies who was clearing out his artworks and books so
Speaker 1: that his sons wouldn't have to do it when he
Speaker 1: passed away. She said, he's still alive, though he used
Speaker 1: the word in a humorous tone. I think the Swedes
Speaker 1: are as uncomfortable discussing death as Americans, and of course
Speaker 1: we're not alone in that. According to a survey by
Speaker 1: the Academy of Medical Sciences in England, six out of
Speaker 1: ten people know little to nothing about those last hours
Speaker 1: of life. In fact, one third of participants declined to
Speaker 1: answer the questions, leading researchers to surmise that they're uncomfortable
Speaker 1: or unwilling to talk about death. Even so, the concept
Speaker 1: has clearly struck a nerve. Boston based professional organizer Riha
Speaker 1: Becker added Swedish death cleaning to her list of services
Speaker 1: after reading Magnusson's book. She said via email, I've worked
Speaker 1: with so many relatives of people who never streamlined their belongings,
Speaker 1: only to leave a massive amount of stuff to the
Speaker 1: unfortunate next generation. Author and motivational speaker B. J. Gallagher
Speaker 1: has been on the receiving end of this accumulated stuff
Speaker 1: not once or twice, but three times in the last
Speaker 1: eight years. One of those homes was her mother's residence,
Speaker 1: where she lived for four decades. Gallagher said via email.
Speaker 1: Along the way, I decided I wanted to start liquidating
Speaker 1: my own estate before I become elderly and or incapacitated,
Speaker 1: because I don't want my son to have the same
Speaker 1: headache dealing with my household at the end of my life.
Speaker 1: I decided that the greatest gift I can give my
Speaker 1: son is the gift of no burden. So that's what
Speaker 1: I've been doing the past couple of years, long before
Speaker 1: I ever heard the term Swedish death cleaning. First on
Speaker 1: the chopping block was her art, clothes, and jewelry, because
Speaker 1: they all have significant value and aren't simple curbside donations,
Speaker 1: she said, I've used eBay and social media to sell
Speaker 1: these items with great success. I made thirty thousand dollars
Speaker 1: last year selling my clothes, jewelry, and art, and it
Speaker 1: feels so great to lighten up and clear out spaced
Speaker 1: my closets and in the rooms of my house. Although
Speaker 1: it might seem like an awkward conversation to have the
Speaker 1: ironies that streamlining personal belongings during those golden years actually
Speaker 1: improves the quality of life. Becker said. Some people feel
Speaker 1: squeamish about the idea that they're essentially preparing their personal
Speaker 1: environment for their eventual death, but it makes so much sense,
Speaker 1: and once completed, the person who chooses to do Swedish
Speaker 1: death cleaning can enjoy a simpler life, surrounded only by
Speaker 1: the things they truly need or love. Still, it can
Speaker 1: be a difficult topic to broach with the loved one,
Speaker 1: as no one wants to imply that Grandma or mom
Speaker 1: has one foot in the grave. So if you think
Speaker 1: the person in question might be somewhat rightfully put off
Speaker 1: by the phrase death cleaning, take a different approach. But
Speaker 1: we also spoke via email with Julie Bestry, a Chattanooga,
Speaker 1: Tennessee based professional organizer. She said, when people contact me
Speaker 1: about their parents wanting to suggest downsizing for them, I
Speaker 1: always encourage them to position it from the perspective of
Speaker 1: how it will improve their parents lives. Now rather than
Speaker 1: their families or children's lives later. Accent how a less
Speaker 1: cluttered environment means there are fewer things to dust, vacuum,
Speaker 1: or make space to store. Perhaps mention a friend whose
Speaker 1: parents had excess and fell, breaking a hip and recuperating
Speaker 1: at home wasn't possible because the cluttered spaces left little
Speaker 1: room to move about with a walker. Once your loved
Speaker 1: ones are on board with a full house declutter, you
Speaker 1: can offer to lend a hand on a gradual basis,
Speaker 1: or use the surfaces of a professional organizer. Then start slowly.
Speaker 1: Becker said, my client chooses the room that's bugging them
Speaker 1: the most. We handle every item while the client makes decisions,
Speaker 1: and then we move on to the next room. This
Speaker 1: process may sound time consuming, but we can often complete
Speaker 1: an entire room in two to four hours. Here are
Speaker 1: a few other tips for successful death cleaning from professional organizers. First,
Speaker 1: dispose of anything that could be hurtful or embarrassing. I
Speaker 1: can say from personal experience cleaning out family members homes
Speaker 1: that finding a loved one's sex aids is awkward. Then
Speaker 1: bring other friends or relatives and on the action, ask
Speaker 1: them what items of value they want and write it
Speaker 1: down or note it in the will. This will limit
Speaker 1: hurt feelings and fighting after your loved one is passed on.
Speaker 1: They may even decide to distribute the items before passing,
Speaker 1: and finally consider packing a throwaway box items that can't
Speaker 1: be parted with for sentimental reasons, but that no one
Speaker 1: else will have a use for. When all of a
Speaker 1: sudden done, a few people are likely to feel that
Speaker 1: they've lost anything other than a cloud hanging over their head.
Speaker 1: Becker said, clients are always relieved to have thinned the herd.
Speaker 1: They actually feel a lightness that they may have never
Speaker 1: experienced before. As I like to say, it's only stuff.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Alia Hoyt and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a production of I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and
Speaker 1: lots of other neat topics, visit our home planet, how
Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts from my
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