How Swedish Death Cleaning Can CHANGE YOUR LIFE

have you heard of Swedish death cleaning maybe been interested in trying it out for yourself but also a little bit intimidated well today I'm going to share all of the ways that it can absolutely change your life really quickly for those of you who are not familiar with Swedish death cleaning it is a gentle method of decluttering that focuses primarily on getting your Affairs in order before you pass away now this is done in part to benefit those who you will leave behind but there are also huge advantages for the person doing the cleaning itself and that is what I want to discuss today the first way that Swedish death cleaning can change your life is that it will reduce your burdens since this is a form of decluttering this benefit may seem a bit obvious Swedish death cleaning is recommended to begin around the age of 65 and you can only imagine the amount of items that you will have accumulated by that time in your life so when you first start out in adulthood and you're beginning to set up your own home you likely have very few possessions to your name maybe just the basic necessities that you need to get by some cookwar some bedding towels and Basic clothing but as you go on in your adulthood you accumulate things for different reasons maybe for Comfort or just because you like them you might bring in extra pillows for your couch so that you're more comfortable some fancier decorations or things that are trending and maybe even some dishes that you will only use for holidays just because you like the look of them eventually though there comes a time when you need to take a step back and take a serious look at everything really asking yourself which items are still useful which things you still enjoy are you using that serving dish that you got as a wedding gift 30 years ago do you still need your large stock pot for soup or do you find that you're using the smaller one more often Often by unburdening yourself from these extras you will be able to make life more streamlined and accessible as you continue to age let's be honest with age we run into some physical limitations that we may not have experienced before you may find it more difficult to navigate stairs for example a Swedish death cleaning will allow you to downsize your possessions so that you're able to maybe have everything on one level and accommodate that one level living or if you are finding it Chen alling to reach the upper cabinets in your kitchen eliminating the excess might allow you to fit everything you need in the more convenient lower cabinets and leave the upper cabinets empty and ultimately if the physical restrictions become too great and you find yourself having to make that difficult decision to move from your home to a smaller apartment or even an assisted living facility you will feel ready to do so after having done a Swedish death cleaning because even though moving from a home that you've lived Liv in likely for many years will always be an emotional experience having the Dignity of being able to go through your personal belongings yourself ahead of time is going to make it feel more like this move is something that's happening for you instead of to you Swedish death cleaning will keep you from being shortsighted the acronym YOLO is pretty popular these days it stands for you only live once which is kind of obvious I suppose but people like to use it as permission to live life to its fullest and ultimately not worry about tomorrow it's kind of almost glamorous sounding inviting you to throw responsibilities out the window and just do as you wish of course it is everyone's desire to enjoy life but the concept of YOLO is a bit shortsighted and even a little selfish in my opinion we have ancestors that came before us and descendants that will come after us we are all going to get older and as we do it's a comfort to know that life will carry on sure we may only live once but that doesn't mean we should leave a mess for our loved ones to have to clean up after we've passed away to me one of the most impactful statements from Margaretta magnuson's simple book was this the things you leave behind will become a barrier between your loved ones and their personal grief after you've died grief will come there's no avoiding that but if you're able to thought go through the process of Swedish death cleaning you will be able to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the burden that you leave on your loved ones after you've passed and knowing that should give you an overwhelming feeling of Peace although Swedish death cleaning is primarily in regards to physical belongings I do believe that working through the process will prompt the desire to get other aspects of life in check as well such as making a will eliminating debt or signing up for a life insurance policy that can at the very least cover those final expenses this process will likely take many years and while you are busy doing the work it should put a smile on your face to imagine your loved ones sitting around telling happy memories about you instead of digging through box after box wondering why you kept so many things or stressing out about how they're going to afford your funeral speaking of memories another way that Swedish death cleaning can change your life is that it will give you the Dignity of telling your story your way I think there's a misconception that Swedish death cleaning involves a really sad long goodbye to your cherished items that you really value and that just simply is not the case in fact when you first are starting out it's likely you're going to be digging through boxes that have long since been forgotten about those boxes in the back of your closets or or bins that have been stored away in the attic and you will probably come across items that are for your eyes only and be happy to give them one last look before they are tossed in the trash you might even breathe a sigh of relief that your loved ones didn't come across these embarrassing or upsetting things Swedish death cleaning allows you to leave the Legacy that you want without sharing all of the skeletons in your closet and while you sift through random bits and Bobs and frustrated at yourself for having kept them all these years it is almost certain that you will also come across things that spark some absolutely amazing memories the items that we keep have a funny way of doing that don't they just seeing an item sometimes can transport us directly to a specific Moment In Time those memories that had been forgotten with the rest of the junk in the back of the closet suddenly become Crystal Clear once again and that's a pretty special feeling but it's important to note that without you those memories do not exist the memories live inside you not the physical object and so if you want that memory to continue on it needs to be shared with someone else if your loved ones go through your boxes after You' passed away and you haven't shared the stories or memories Behind these items these objects none will be special to them I was listening to a podcast a couple of days ago about a lady that was helping her her elderly mother declutter her belongings go through her things a little bit unfortunately her mother had developed dementia and she could not remember why she had chosen to keep any particular thing none of them sparked any memories for her at all a Swedish death cleaning really encourages you to document in some way whether writing or verbally the history behind objects photos any sentimental things take the time to let people know how you are feeling about something but also realize that just because an item is special to you it doesn't mean that it automatically will be to someone else the great thing about this gentle process of cleaning out your belongings is that you can begin to have those conversations share your memories share your stories with your friends and family and start to gauge the interest that they may have in particular items if you sense that they would really like to be passed down something you can offer it to them as a gift now while you're still living and see them enjoy that item or you can write it down for them to receive in your will after your passing the sharing of stories and memories is sure to bring about a lot of strong emotions and feelings but you won't be doing this all alone and in turn you'll be making new memories with your loved ones the process of Swedish death cleaning can actually create even stronger bonds between you and the ones that you love and what a blessing to be able to think back on all of these memories and feel that sense of gratitude for the life you have lived and will continue to live and that is the last point I want to talk about today Swedish death cleaning will allow you to enjoy the rest of your life more fully when you first begin the process of reducing your belongings you will probably have the general understanding belief that things are just things they're just tools really to help you and Aid you in life but with each day and each decision that is made during a Swedish death cleaning that concept is going to become even more cemented in your mind as you come to realize that you can be perfectly content living with fewer physical objects and once you reached that point of contentment a sense of Freedom will come along with it your stress will go down reducing cortisol levels which in turn can reduce the risk of depression sleep troubles and even muscle pain you'll likely experience increased productivity and focus and may even feel inspired to take up a new hobby or do something you never felt that you had time for before such as reading books or working on puzzles Studies have actually shown that people who have broken free from materialism are able to gain a higher amount of satisfaction and Joy from simple experiences in life such as time outside in nature or a conversation with a friend friend those are some incredible benefits and that really helps to solidify everything I've been talking about in today's video that Swedish death cleaning truly has the ability to completely transform and change your life it's not just for the loved ones that you're going to be leaving behind after you pass the benefits are there for you right now so if you have been interested in trying it out but a little hesitant I hope that this gives you the encouragement that you need to try it for yourself thank you so much for watching today's video and I hope that you'll stop by the cottage again really [Music] soon

Channel: Arrow Hill Cottage

Views: 7,694

Keywords: swedish death cleaning, how to declutter, benefits of swedish death cleaning, the gentle art of swedish death cleaning, swedish death cleaning motivation, decluttering swedish death cleaning, declutter before and after, decluttering and organizing, how swedish death cleaning works, I tried swedish death cleaning and how it works, what is swedish death cleaning, best declutter methods, swedish

Id: zc6FDhSX0sg

Length: 11min 18sec (678 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 26 2024