I gave Swedish Death Cleaning a try to declutter my home—here’s how my family responded.

Like dieting, I’ve experimented with all kinds of trendy decluttering methods to simplify my life. I tried the 40 bags in 40 days challenge but gave up after the 13th bag. I even tackled the famous Marie Kondo method, discarding anything that didn’t 'spark joy.' The issue? I live with three small kids, and my sense of joy is very different from that of my toddler.

I never thought of cleaning as a form of philosophical reflection until I came across Swedish death cleaning. That’s when I realized it was exactly the approach I needed to finally organize both my life and my clutter-prone family.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson offers a method for organizing your possessions before death, sparing your family from the burden of dealing with your belongings. Even though I’m not near the end of my life, as a busy mother of three, I can clearly see the value in adopting this unique approach to tidying.

How I Applied Swedish Death Cleaning to Declutter My Home

I bought the book and immediately got to work on decluttering my home. First, I tackled everyone’s wardrobes. Following Magnusson’s advice, I made two piles: one for keeping and one for discarding. I was surprised to find that my 'discard' pile was much larger than the 'keep' pile. In just one afternoon, I wiped out my laundry duties. No longer chained to the laundry room, I became a much happier mom.

Next, I bought some cute, collapsible fabric totes and gave one to each of my three kids. With a little help, they were tasked with placing only the toys they enjoy playing with into the bags. Everything else was donated. The daily clean-up became 10,000 times easier and tear-free.

Interestingly, my kids no longer complain about being bored, which I attribute to not being surrounded by an overwhelming number of choices. Asking them to clean up their toys has gone from the most dreaded part of my day to a fun, quick 10-minute race to see who can fill their tote the fastest.

My husband and I created what we're calling our 'death kit,' which contains everything our family would need in case something happens to us. From banking and mortgage records to a list of passwords and instructions for handling our few remaining possessions that weren’t donated. Honestly, it feels so good to have it all done. My husband says he feels less stressed now that most of our affairs are in order.

I also put together a personal box where I stored all the strange, deeply personal items that might mean a lot to me but may be completely meaningless or even embarrassing to my family after I pass. The box is labeled, 'If I die and you find this, you must throw it away, no peeking or I'll haunt you… seriously.'

The Results

What Swedish death cleaning truly excels at is encouraging participants to create a simple, manageable life, leaving more space for joy. My family and I don’t need expensive clutter to feel happy. In fact, we’re finding that cutting back has given us the freedom to spend more time together doing the things we actually love, instead of constantly cleaning.

My home is less cluttered, easier to clean and maintain, and my family is calmer and more eager to play together. I attribute all of these positive changes to the brilliant philosophy of Swedish death cleaning.