Do It Like The Swedes
The fine art of death cleaning
Döstädning.
No, this is not a new IKEA offering, car, or music app. This term, translated to English, is Death Cleaning.
If you’ve ever been tasked with clearing the house following the death of a parent or a grandparent, you know what I mean. We’re often astonished about what is kept, especially those family members who lived through the world wars.
They kept everything!
Let’s not be like them.
You know the stuff you love? The Swedes, bless them, know that the time to get rid of the stuff you love and your adult kids don’t, is before you die. The Swedes begin this in their 50s.
If you haven’t heard, most adult kids don’t want your carefully purchased treasures or family heirlooms. From the china, silverware, and crystal you’ve kept to the artwork and antique items you’ve collected. The time of passing down cherished family relics is gone.
Knowing that fact means you can start to plan what should be done with those items before you die.
The first step is to have a conversation with your children, to ensure you know what they want or don’t want. It’s possible that there’s one item from those things they’ll want as a keepsake. And you might be surprised…
