Treasures Or Burdens Downsize Your Clutter

The Weight of a move can be lightened with the help of a special swedish technique

- Julie Jacobson

First there was Marie Kondo and her “sparking joy” tidying tips. Now we have Swedish death cleaning, today’s uber-version of cleaning out the top drawer, that seemingly bottomless receptacle for everything you might need.

From the word döstädning – death (dö), cleaning (städning) – the concept has been popularised by Margareta Magnusson and her best-selling book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.

It hooks into the minimalism trend, where downsizing and decluttering have become the buzzwords for a new generation of less-is-more believers.

But as Margareta says, death cleaning is “not about dusting or mopping up, it is about a permanent form of organisation that makes your everyday life run smoothly”.

For anyone contemplating a big move – empty nesters looking to quit the family home, retirees pondering retirement village living – there are many financial, emotional and practical factors to consider.

The thought of sorting through years of accumulated possessions may be daunting, but most experts agree starting sooner rather than later is best.

Getting A Grip’s Robyn Pearce, aka the Time Queen, says we do everything we can for our nearest and dearest while we’re alive, so why leave them with a mess to clean up once we’ve gone.

Start now and do it little by little, she advises.