WEBVTT - What Is a Swedish Death Clean? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.520 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:09.879 brain Stuff Lauren Vogue Obama here. Cleaning out the home 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:11.840 of a loved one who has recently died or entered 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.720 a nursing home is something most people dread, especially if 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:16.000 they have no idea what to do with all the 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.840 items their loved one has accumulated. Enter the Swedish death 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.240 clean It may sound morbid, but it can actually lighten 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.360 the burden of grieving loved ones. Popularized in the book 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.920 The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by eighty something 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:33.280 artist Margaretta Magnuson, Swedish death cleaning is basically decluttering in 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.479 your later years so that someone else doesn't have to 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.320 do it for you. Magnuson herself is Swedish but has 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.760 lived all over the world. Her book was an immediate 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:44.680 sensation in Sweden and garnered serious interest in the US 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:48.760 once it was published here in. In the book, Magnusson 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.639 explains that the Swedes call it though staddening, a combination 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.240 of the words for death and cleaning. Though it's a 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:58.520 relatively recent concept. We spoke via email with and Charlotte 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.800 gavel Adams, Professor Merita of Swedish Studies at the University 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.800 of Washington. She explained that the word isn't listed in 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.440 any Swedish Academy dictionaries, and that she first heard of 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:09.360 the concept ten years ago from a man in his 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:12.240 seventies who was clearing out his artworks and books so 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:13.679 that his sons wouldn't have to do it when he 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:17.759 passed away. She said, he's still alive, though he used 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:19.959 the word in a humorous tone. I think the Swedes 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:23.680 are as uncomfortable discussing death as Americans, and of course 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:26.200 we're not alone in that. According to a survey by 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:28.800 the Academy of Medical Sciences in England, six out of 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.440 ten people know little to nothing about those last hours 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.760 of life. In fact, one third of participants declined to 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:38.200 answer the questions, leading researchers to surmise that they're uncomfortable 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:42.320 or unwilling to talk about death. Even so, the concept 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.920 has clearly struck a nerve. Boston based professional organizer Riha 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.760 Becker added Swedish death cleaning to her list of services 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:53.000 after reading Magnusson's book. She said via email, I've worked 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:55.960 with so many relatives of people who never streamlined their belongings, 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:57.920 only to leave a massive amount of stuff to the 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:02.960 unfortunate next generation. Author and motivational speaker B. J. Gallagher 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.440 has been on the receiving end of this accumulated stuff 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.480 not once or twice, but three times in the last 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.320 eight years. One of those homes was her mother's residence, 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:14.079 where she lived for four decades. Gallagher said via email. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.880 Along the way, I decided I wanted to start liquidating 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.440 my own estate before I become elderly and or incapacitated, 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:22.359 because I don't want my son to have the same 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:24.800 headache dealing with my household at the end of my life. 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.200 I decided that the greatest gift I can give my 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.880 son is the gift of no burden. So that's what 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.120 I've been doing the past couple of years, long before 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.640 I ever heard the term Swedish death cleaning. First on 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:38.360 the chopping block was her art, clothes, and jewelry, because 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.680 they all have significant value and aren't simple curbside donations, 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.639 she said, I've used eBay and social media to sell 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.720 these items with great success. I made thirty thousand dollars 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.200 last year selling my clothes, jewelry, and art, and it 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.480 feels so great to lighten up and clear out spaced 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.720 my closets and in the rooms of my house. Although 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:58.080 it might seem like an awkward conversation to have the 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:02.000 ironies that streamlining personal belongings during those golden years actually 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.680 improves the quality of life. Becker said. Some people feel 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.640 squeamish about the idea that they're essentially preparing their personal 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:11.799 environment for their eventual death, but it makes so much sense, 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.560 and once completed, the person who chooses to do Swedish 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.280 death cleaning can enjoy a simpler life, surrounded only by 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:21.120 the things they truly need or love. Still, it can 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:22.959 be a difficult topic to broach with the loved one, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.040 as no one wants to imply that Grandma or mom 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.720 has one foot in the grave. So if you think 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.160 the person in question might be somewhat rightfully put off 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.320 by the phrase death cleaning, take a different approach. But 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:36.440 we also spoke via email with Julie Bestry, a Chattanooga, 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:40.560 Tennessee based professional organizer. She said, when people contact me 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.360 about their parents wanting to suggest downsizing for them, I 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:45.880 always encourage them to position it from the perspective of 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:48.560 how it will improve their parents lives. Now rather than 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.240 their families or children's lives later. Accent how a less 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.120 cluttered environment means there are fewer things to dust, vacuum, 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.040 or make space to store. Perhaps mention a friend whose 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:01.520 parents had excess and fell, breaking a hip and recuperating 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:04.200 at home wasn't possible because the cluttered spaces left little 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.920 room to move about with a walker. Once your loved 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.000 ones are on board with a full house declutter, you 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.120 can offer to lend a hand on a gradual basis, 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:16.120 or use the surfaces of a professional organizer. Then start slowly. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.320 Becker said, my client chooses the room that's bugging them 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.359 the most. We handle every item while the client makes decisions, 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:24.960 and then we move on to the next room. This 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:27.800 process may sound time consuming, but we can often complete 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:31.360 an entire room in two to four hours. Here are 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.600 a few other tips for successful death cleaning from professional organizers. First, 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:39.159 dispose of anything that could be hurtful or embarrassing. I 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.159 can say from personal experience cleaning out family members homes 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:46.080 that finding a loved one's sex aids is awkward. Then 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:49.040 bring other friends or relatives and on the action, ask 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.040 them what items of value they want and write it 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.360 down or note it in the will. This will limit 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.840 hurt feelings and fighting after your loved one is passed on. 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.839 They may even decide to distribute the items before passing, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.279 and finally consider packing a throwaway box items that can't 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:05.520 be parted with for sentimental reasons, but that no one 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.320 else will have a use for. When all of a 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.320 sudden done, a few people are likely to feel that 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.839 they've lost anything other than a cloud hanging over their head. 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.880 Becker said, clients are always relieved to have thinned the herd. 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.280 They actually feel a lightness that they may have never 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:22.599 experienced before. As I like to say, it's only stuff. 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.159 Today's episode was written by Alia Hoyt and produced by 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.360 Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a production of I 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.599 Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:36.920 lots of other neat topics, visit our home planet, how 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.400 Stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts from my 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:42.320 heart radio is thy heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:43.880 wherever you listen to your favorite shows.