9 Things to Know About the Swedish Death Cleaning

The modern age we live in is all about maintaining a clutter-free environment as a way of keeping our mind and body working in sync. Having a cluttered home or workspace negatively affects our mood, focus and productivity, which is why decluttering has become such a huge craze!

Is your environment full of clutter that you don’t know how to deal with? It’s time to put an end to procrastination and get to work! The first step towards achieving a better, more successful and overall happier life is getting rid of the things you don’t need.

The perfect way to do so is to follow the Swedish Death Cleaning method by Margareta Magnusson, a Swedish artist and world traveler. In her book, Margareta explained how one can become a decluttering pro through her method called dostadnig (do in Swedish means death, whereas standing means cleaning). Therefore, let’s take a look at the steps you must take in order to follow this decluttering craze!

1. Consult your family – Family always comes first and you don’t want them disagreeing with your sudden decision to throw everything out. Talk to them beforehand to avoid any unnecessary arguments and make sure they understand the benefit and value of what you’re doing.

2. Begin with the storage – If you don’t know where to start from, the best way is to begin from the storage. You’ve probably even forgotten about the things in there because you don’t use them at all, which means those things can be thrown away.

3. Divide items into categories – To make the process easier and more organized, separate everything into categories and work each category one by one. Don’t mix them up in order to avoid confusion and chaos.

4. Avoid the memories – One of the things that distracts us the most when cleaning and decluttering is coming across old memories, whether those are photos, letters or other items. Leave those for the end and focus on other categories.

5. Start with what you see – So, you’ve finished the storage, now what? If you’re not sure whether you should continue with the closet or the kitchen, just go ahead and remove the items that are in front of your eyes. Make sure your environment is always clutter-free.

6. There’s another solution – If you really don’t feel like getting rid of certain items, you can organize them in a way they won’t seem like clutter. Bring some order into your drawers and the problem is solved!

7. Seek for other opinions – If you’re feeling hesitant or have doubts about your decluttering project, have a talk with your friend and let them know how you feel. Seeing their perspective can set you on the right path.

8. Plan it out – For the process to go as easily as possible, make a plan of what you’re going to do with the items. Create a table with three columns and categorize each item under stay, throw or giveaway. Keep things simple and follow your plan and you’ll be done in no time!

9. Remember the Vikings – If you need another reason to start decluttering, keep in mind that the Vikings buried their relatives with everything they owned. Would your belongings fit into your grave with you? If not, you may have too many things.

Decluttering doesn’t have to be a horrible, never-ending task. If you follow the simple steps Margareta highlighted in her book, you will be on your way to a clutter-free life in no time!

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