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This book stresses, in a light-hearted way, the importance of sorting through your belongings now so that when you are gone, your children will enjoy fond memories as they look at what you've carefully and thoughtfully chosen to leave behind. Margareta Magnusson charmingly refers to her age as being "between eighty and one hundred years old." She herself has performed many a death cleaning, and she relates each experience in her book. This too is good, because all of us will at one time or another find ourselves in the same shoes. In fact, my husband and I have already had to death clean for his great aunt. We didn't know then that the process had a name, but we did it just the same. Believe me, the fun wore off long before the job was done.
The author doesn't tell you exactly how to death clean, but she gives guidelines for how and where to begin--as well as how and where to NOT begin. (For instance, don't begin with photos. You will get bogged down in memories and may never get anything else done.) She encourages you to take your time going through your things. Hold each piece thoughtfully, recollecting the memories that it evokes. Be thankful for the purpose it served in your life, and then let it go--deliberately--finding just the right recipient for your treasure: someone who will appreciate it, who needs it, and who has room for it. Perhaps it is better to sell the item or to give it to a charity, a local library, museum, or other institution. Regardless of where it goes, you are choosing the destination for your possessions with care and love. And, of course, you are throwing away anything that has outlived its usefulness.
Margareta stresses that this is not "spring cleaning," for death cleaning goes beyond the purging of things that have lost their usefulness to you. Rather, it is a new mindset, a new way of living. How? Just as you have deliberately decided what will stay and what will go, you also learn to be deliberate in what new things you introduce into your home. You have simplified your life, and now you must keep it simple. Develop a habit of discarding an old item before bringing in a new one. And with everything you keep, know where you want it to go after you die. Make a list to leave behind for your children. For each larger item, you might even want to pin a note onto it to tell them what to do with it. This way, when you are gone--and none of us knows when that will be--you will still be with them, in a way, helping them get through this chore that will be fraught with emotion.
Whether or not you consider yourself "old," I highly recommend this book to you. Read it, and begin your death cleaning now. In fact, the earlier you begin, the easier it will be for you--and for those who come behind you.
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Popular Highlights in this book
Do not ever imagine that anyone will wish—or be able—to schedule time off to take care of what you didn’t bother to take care of yourself. No matter how much they love you, don’t leave this burden to them.Highlighted by 1,706 Kindle readers- Death cleaning is not about dusting or mopping up; it is about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly.Highlighted by 1,677 Kindle readers
- Life will become more pleasant and comfortable if we get rid of some of the abundance.Highlighted by 1,407 Kindle readers
- Don’t start with photographs—or letters and personal papers, for that matter.Highlighted by 1,294 Kindle readers
- A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not all things from you.Highlighted by 1,237 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Great information, Slimmer than expected, less content or would give 5 stars.
I have purchased several Swedish Death Cleaning/Lagom books. Look at the photos and you will see why I wanted all the help I could get on the first photo... what a mess! That's just one little corner of one room! This book has great content, the graphics are fewer than other books and more cartoon like, not pictures or professional art so I wouldn't consider it a "gorgeous" book. It is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" x 1/2". If this is your first look into Swedish Death Cleaning it's a great 2nd book, I would first get the very small but most clear and concise book Sweedish Death Cleaning for Beginners by Sarah Hodges, then move on to this one. I also recommend VERY VERY highly the book LAGOM The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life by Niki Brantmark. It's 5"x8"x1" thick with contents and index with 288 pages and good sized type font, written in 2017, graphics are BEAUTIFUL and so are photos on nearly all the pages! Of all the books I have mentioned, I would still repurchase all, but as for a gift the Niki Brantmark is what I would purchase again and again. It is more of a coffee table book you can leave out and people will definitely look through it's so beautiful with great written content. It offers more the whole style of Swedish living not just the Death Cleaning. LAGOM meaning (not too much, not too little) what the Swedish embrace as their way of life this book featuring Lagom in your Personal Life, Family and Relationships, and the Wider World. I hope this helps you choose just the right book for what your looking for. Personally, if you have the money get all 3 I mentioned. They are well worth it, even the smaller one since it is so concise of them all in Death Cleaning!
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B M.
Timely action.decent behaviour of delivery boy
Reviewed in India on March 28, 2022