SWEDISH DEATH CLEANING FAIL
The Best Way to Keep Your Secrets Safe After You Die
I found my mom’s letter and now I can’t ask her about it
Everyone has secrets, I suppose. But what if you stumbled into someone’s truth after they died? Upon discovery, you want to pick their brain and get closure — just one more conversation, please.
No can do.
If only my mom had accepted my offer to help her organize, donate, and minimize her treasures when she possessed the faculties to walk me down her memory lane.
Organizing your possessions prior to death is “Döstädning,” but, because I can’t pronounce that, I prefer the less appealing term “Swedish death cleaning.”
Simply defined in an article by Scandification: “The concept revolves around sorting through your belongings with intent, removing anything unnecessary that would likely be boxed up and thrown away if you weren’t around.”
When I learned of it, I immediately let my mom know. She was the perfect candidate.
My vision of clinking wine glasses through laughter and tears, surrounded by heaps of boxed ‘necessities’ from long-gone relatives fell on deaf ears.
