Like before death: unusual cleaning in Swedish
Cleaning is a chore that brings little pleasure. Constantly returning numerous things to their places so that they can be found if necessary. Constant attempts to make the house more comfortable by hiding everything unnecessary and unsightly away, out of sight... Sound familiar? How about making this process simpler, easier and more useful? You just need to change your approach to it, simplifying life not only for yourself, but also for your heirs. Today I will talk about cleaning in Swedish, which will help you look at your routine in a different light!
The content of the article
Like it's the last time
One day, Swedish artist Margareta Magnussen thought about what her children would face after the death of their mother. Taking a look around her house, she came to a disappointing conclusion: the heirs would be left with a complex and lengthy cleaning task. And then I decided that this needed to be fixed.
Between thought and action, Margareta wrote a book with a rather gloomy title - “The Delicate Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.” And despite the fact that this publication was originally created for people over 50, the thoughts of the 80-year-old writer found a response even in young hearts. And all because the cleaning method outlined in the book is a wonderful guide to putting order in your life.
How to free everyone from the eternal mess
The ideas Margareta describes are not new. Everyone knows that you shouldn’t store unnecessary things, even without the artist’s moralizing.But how can you learn to identify everything that is worth getting rid of? It turns out you just need to ask yourself, would someone be happier if a certain item remained in the house? “No” as an answer is a sure signal that it’s time to get rid of it.
At the same time, Magnussen draws attention to the fact that since a person owns something, it means that this thing has some kind of value. Money was paid for it, it serves as a reminder of the event - it doesn’t matter. In any case, you should not thoughtlessly throw away everything that was classified as unnecessary things during the “pre-mortem” cleaning. It's worth remembering - they can make someone else happier.
Well, the third thing Margareta teaches is that you shouldn’t rush. Whether going through the contents of closets, clearing out the attic, or simply looking through old photo albums, you need to learn to separate the valuable from the useless. This cannot be achieved in a day or two. Old habits and attachments will definitely slow down the process. But by starting with the simplest things, over time you can get rid of all the dust collectors that are of no value to posterity.
The basics of proper Swedish cleaning
It is important to understand that this concept is suitable for absolutely everyone. By following it, you can identify those things that are truly important. There are not too many of them, so by getting rid of everything unnecessary, you can significantly simplify any other cleaning option. The main thing in this matter is not to rush, but also not to stop.
It will be easier to deal with the last point if you voice your intentions to your loved ones. The spoken words create a sense of responsibility, and this is a good incentive to not stop Swedish cleaning until its logical conclusion is reached.
Friends, acquaintances and even strangers will help make it easier to get rid of unnecessary things.How? It's simple: what is not outright trash can be donated or sold. This simple approach solves two problems at once:
- a person is not tormented by doubts, throwing unnecessary things into the trash;
- giving away an item can make someone a little happier.
Margareta also recommends starting with your closet. By getting rid of clothes and shoes that are not used (small, uncomfortable, ugly, stored “for growth,” etc.), a person spends the least amount of emotions. But the result becomes noticeable almost immediately. This will make parting with other unnecessary things easier.
Well, having completed the next stage of Swedish cleaning, it makes sense to thank yourself for the work done. You can do something that you have wanted for a long time, but never managed to do. Going to the movies, dinner in a cafe, getting your hair done, getting a manicure... Now you will find time for this, because putting clothes into closets or wiping dust from numerous trinkets is already going much faster. It is likely that for such small joys there will also be funds raised from the sale of things unnecessary in this house, but useful in another house.
Even if we don’t accumulate rubbish, our things are still rubbish for our children from the very beginning, they will throw out all my favorite dresses and sundresses or give them away, they will also throw out my shoes, cosmetics, the cat will be placed in good hands, our old furniture will also be thrown away. And even if I throw everything away now, where will I sleep, what will I wear, etc., so I definitely don’t need my pre-death cleaning, my children will decide for themselves what to keep and what to throw away. Of course, I try not to accumulate unnecessary junk, but minimalism is definitely not my thing.
Out of all this nonsense, they will come up with a more terrible name for the problem, but you can just regularly clean it properly and not accumulate trash.