topic Re: Swedish Death Cleaning in Home

Swedish Death Cleaning

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:08:53 GMT

ĎH and I are fine, but acknowledge that we have way too much unnecessary "stuff". For awhile now I've said our kids will be swearing about us one day when we're gone and they're left to sort through everything and deal with it. IMO it's unfair to saddle them with that burden. We are preparing to do some redcorating so now is the perfect time to start doing some Swedish Death Cleaning. Once attached to inanimate objects, now it feels freeing to get rid of them!

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Maizie Green — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:19:48 GMT

We just went through this with my mom. She passed in August and we had to clean her house out. She had so much stuff. It was not only time-consuming, but very overwhelming at the same time.

it really made me think about my own possessions and I am on a quest to downsize. my home is packed to the gills and I also have two storage units. The problem is my stuff is very nice and I do use it. So making the determination of what to get rid of or keep is very difficult.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

JYWilliams — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:33:59 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch, I have been slowly doing the same. I'm wanting to downsize and I have way to much stuff to take to a smaller place whenever I find one. I'll have to get rid over half my house furniture and items. It's a job in itself.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:19:16 GMT

I am having a large garage sale this spring/summer, I am waiting for my neighbor to figure out when is good for her so we can do it together.

I have many boxes in my spare room, marked and waiting to set out....I don't have children and do not want to leave my stepdaughter that lives near us to have to clean out the house after we are gone.

I enjoy the process, and no greater feeling to open a drawer and i is empy. I have several large pieces of furniture that are family pieces, for now those are safe...I am no getting rid of them or any other large pieces, mostly I have some nice clothig, and decor items. My mom had a doll collection, so some of those are going as well. I am keeping a few...she knew I loved baby dolls so those are not being sold.

I dont want my house to feel sterile, that is not my style but there are some things that can go..I am ready.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Bird mama — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:20:26 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch Wow, talk about a timely topic I lost my sister quite unexepectedly in February and I am the last one left of my immediate family (parents, siblings). Her estate will have to go through probate so I have been mentally 'tagging' the items in her house that will be donated, discarded and come home with me once it's all settled. My hands are somewhat tied until the estate inventory is complete.

My sister was not 'hoardish' and the contents of her house reflect her life as well as remnants of my parents lives. I find myself grieving my parents and my sister as a result. I have been on a mission to declutter and reduce since I retired 8 years ago and I was feeling pretty confident that I reached all of my goals.

t's easy to say wow I need to declutter my own house while I'm in the middle of clearing out my sister's house. It's a sentimental, poignant experience when you go through items that someone you love valued. Once a person makes it through that he/she might not be so inclined to repeat the experience right away in their own house.

I started Swedish death cleaning my own house last week and I'm finding it surprisingly easy to let go of things.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

wagirl — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:23:54 GMT

Been thinking hard about my stuff too. After a huge move, the end of January, and it was grueling😣---I was overwhelmed with the stuff I still have. I sold my 2000sq house in 2021 so got rid of a ton of big stuff but still have the small stuff in a rented storage unit as well as a rented space where I am now and that is after getting rid of even more!!! I have found--that I am not as attached to much of it anymore--it is a weight on my shoulders now--I don't enjoy it as much--am 71 years old---and just plain don't need it!! Also, I am finding that my kids--adults--don't want it either. Interesting as it is their history too --I don't have much of my folks stuff but I would have loved to take more of theirs--So will sort thru it again and figure out where and what and how to donate it.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:35:16 GMT

My condolences to those who are in this season due to their loss of a loved one. I remember doing this when my mom was leaving her home to go into a senior living facility. One of my sisters did most of the heavy lifting, arranging for the sale and/or donation of larger pieces furniture, bedroom sets, dining room furniture, etc. so it wasn't too bad.

A different sister had a stroke a couple of years ago. She had help at home for awhile but that ended up not working out so well. She was a widow and the home was another one that was packed to the gills - so much junk that she would never part with all the while knowing her children didn't want her vast collections of table linens, Precious Moments figurines, mismatched kitchen storage containers, small appliances that hadn't seen the light of day in ages, the crystal punch bowl set that came out once in a blue moon. Eventually she moved into an assisted living facility and could only take a limited amount of of possessions. Her home was listed for sale earlier this year and her children had so much to do, just to get it ready for that. I mean, several days and weekends just to get it ready to be staged. I don't think they told her but I think they may have rented a dumpster or two. It's what started DH & me thinking about our responsibilities and we swore we wouldn't be doing that to our kids. If there's anything they want, they can tell us and they can have it now. Why wait?

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Still Raining — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:49:14 GMT

Been there! Sorting seems to be the big problem. After you are gone, a simple solution is go hire a firm to remove everything and dump it and then have the house cleaned up for sale. Or just hire them now and be done. Our treasures don't have the same meaning for some else.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:05:27 GMT

@Still Raining wrote:
Been there! Sorting seems to be the big problem. After you are gone, a simple solution is go hire a firm to remove everything and dump it and then have the house cleaned up for sale. Or just hire them now and be done. Our treasures don't have the same meaning for some else.

That's true @Still Raining about the value we all put on things being different. It would also be easier to dump it all and be done but there is a lot that's good and useable. We have a local resale shop that supports the Christian schools so we bring things there. Once we get that part done, the trash guys will get the leftovers.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Marsha2003 — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:22:54 GMT

My sympathies to all who have lost loved one.

I just finished going through my parent's house. Luckily for me, her grandson is keeping the house so I only had to take what I wanted. However, the amount of paper that I went through trying to find what was important and what could be shredded was overwhelming.

I had already decided that I wouldn't get rid of the possessions of my own that bring me joy. However, I wil have the paperwork and pictures sorted and filed for easy use or disposal. As for decorative possessions, I've told the kids to feel free to hire a dumpster and that they shouldn't feel guilty for a second about discarding things I loved.

I told them that while those things may have value on the open market, they don't need to take the time to recoup that value. Their time is worth more than any resell value.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

santorini — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:31:46 GMT

I might be the only one but I have never heard that term used before. I saw "Swedish Death Cleaning" and thought I was going to read about a horrific incident in Sweden where they were euthanizing senior citizens. Glad to know that's not the case.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

SueyMsB — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:58:15 GMT

@santorini Same.....never heard that term either.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Mary Bailey — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:15:55 GMT

Before I knew it had a name, I started when my MIL passed. I kept picturing our sons going through my stuff and them saying "WHF did she have this for?" LOL They don't want any of our stuff at all.

The only thing I regret getting rid of is old love letters from my HSBF.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:22:56 GMT

@Mary Bailey wrote:
Before I knew it had a name, I started when my MIL passed. I kept picturing our sons going through my stuff and them saying "WHF did she have this for?" LOL They don't want any of our stuff at all.

The only thing I regret getting rid of is old love letters from my HSBF.

Exactly! 😄

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

jackthebear — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:50:14 GMT

@Maizie Green wrote:
We just went through this with my mom. She passed in August and we had to clean her house out. She had so much stuff. It was not only time-consuming, but very overwhelming at the same time.

it really made me think about my own possessions and I am on a quest to downsize. my home is packed to the gills and I also have two storage units. The problem is my stuff is very nice and I do use it. So making the determination of what to get rid of or keep is very difficult.

been there done that

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

jackthebear — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:52:22 GMT

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
@Still Raining wrote:
Been there! Sorting seems to be the big problem. After you are gone, a simple solution is go hire a firm to remove everything and dump it and then have the house cleaned up for sale. Or just hire them now and be done. Our treasures don't have the same meaning for some else.
That's true @Still Raining about the value we all put on things being different. It would also be easier to dump it all and be done but there is a lot that's good and useable. We have a local resale shop that supports the Christian schools so we bring things there. Once we get that part done, the trash guys will get the leftovers.

buy nothing dot org
freecycle dot org
are wonderful methods to dispose of your items
just post and someone will take them away

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Pink123 — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:14:31 GMT

@Maizie Green wrote:
We just went through this with my mom. She passed in August and we had to clean her house out. She had so much stuff. It was not only time-consuming, but very overwhelming at the same time.

it really made me think about my own possessions and I am on a quest to downsize. my home is packed to the gills and I also have two storage units. The problem is my stuff is very nice and I do use it. So making the determination of what to get rid of or keep is very difficult.

@Maizie Green Sorry about your Mom but my parents passed 4 years ago. Stuff is just stuff, it was their stuff. It was nice, but no one wanted anything other than a beige marble very long table to be a family heirloom from me. I gave it to my Mom 27 years ago. That's all my brother kept and it it is now in his new house.

I moved and left everything in my own home for the new owner which they happily accepted. It was off my back as I am not a hoarder.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Desert Lily — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:58:51 GMT

I did the Swedish Death Cleaning when I moved to PA from the west coast. Sometimes I cried over the memories attached.

Most of the things I've kept are from my family's home decor biz, gifts, from travel as a Buyer, or auctions. I kept the items that hold the strongest memories & greatest attachments.

When I mentioned to my brother that I think I could get rid of more things, he said, "What will you care? You'll be dead." And even though that may sound harsh, I think he has a point. So, I'm not worrying about it as much anymore. Lol.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

Goldengate8361 — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:12:29 GMT

I genuinely like having a lot of stuff. I enjoy my stuff and lots of it. I think decluttering is over rated. Just my opinion.

Re: Swedish Death Cleaning

beach-mom — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:41:42 GMT

@Bird mama wrote:
@JeanLouiseFinch Wow, talk about a timely topic I lost my sister quite unexepectedly in February and I am the last one left of my immediate family (parents, siblings). Her estate will have to go through probate so I have been mentally 'tagging' the items in her house that will be donated, discarded and come home with me once it's all settled. My hands are somewhat tied until the estate inventory is complete.

My sister was not 'hoardish' and the contents of her house reflect her life as well as remnants of my parents lives. I find myself grieving my parents and my sister as a result. I have been on a mission to declutter and reduce since I retired 8 years ago and I was feeling pretty confident that I reached all of my goals.

t's easy to say wow I need to declutter my own house while I'm in the middle of clearing out my sister's house. It's a sentimental, poignant experience when you go through items that someone you love valued. Once a person makes it through that he/she might not be so inclined to repeat the experience right away in their own house.

I started Swedish death cleaning my own house last week and I'm finding it surprisingly easy to let go of things.

@Bird mama - I can relate. My brother died at 28. We had to clean out his apartment quickly, so we took everything to my mom's home. Everything but the furniture ended up in her attic.

My brother's first job was for a local newspaper where he lived near a historic town. He covered the part of town where all the antique stores were, and he got to know the owners. He kept looking at this dining room table, but it was part of a huge dining room from a southern plantation, and the owner did not want to split it up. Finally she sold the table and chairs to him.

My mom refinished furniture as a hobby. My brother bought an old bed. After he got it, my mom found a brass plate on the bottom. It had been made in England in the early 1800's. Mom refinished it and it is beautiful.

Both the table and chairs, and the bed went to me.

I'm the last one too. When my mom died suddenly before Christmas I was responsible for everything. DS was one. It wasn't easy. Not only did I have to go through her history; I had to bring everything of my brother's from the attic. It was tremendously hard.

I need to clean out too, but the thought of doing it overwhelms me.