I do not typically think of my death as an imminent possibility. It is something that will happen years and decades down the road once I have lived a full, long life. I am young and have so much to look forward to in the years to come. Even if they add an urgency or immediacy to my actions at times, my own reflections on my mortality are abstract and mental. 

A few months ago, I was talking to one of my aunts about her own contemplations on life and death and she introduced me to the concept of Swedish Death Cleaning. Swedish Death Cleaning is a tangible and practical exercise that allows people to love their past while preparing for the future. I have not done any outside research into Swedish Death Cleaning, everything I know is from two of my aunts. Today, both my aunts graciously spoke with me at length about how they have incorporated this exercise into their lives over the past few years. What follows is a brief summary of what we discussed.

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Swedish Death Cleaning is the physical process of going through possessions accumulated over the years and getting rid of them or relocating them. From talking to my aunts, I think there are three main reasons why the process of decluttering one’s possessions is important. 

1. To leave behind a clean, organized state of affairs for your family and friends.

Both my aunts spoke of going through old yearbooks, books, photos, school material from 40 years ago, and other material possessions that have stuck with them throughout the years. It is a natural tendency to just accumulate more and more things over the years. My aunts felt a responsibility to make decisions and get rid of things so that their relatives didn’t have to make those decisions in the future. 

Another reason for the physical decluttering of all possessions is that there are simply too many things to take care of. The physical and mental stress of juggling all these different possessions eventually outweighs the memories or practical uses the items might bring. One of my aunts talked about how she got rid of a complete metal file cabinet in recognizing that everything she needed documented was online these days. While some decisions to get rid of things are easier, they both reflected on the struggle of removing certain items with sentimental value. But the goal is to leave a clean and organized life behind. To me, this is meant not to discard the past, but to live more in the present.  

2. To relive old memories and then let them go. 

Some of the items with sentimental value, those that are more difficult to throw away, are attached to strong and meaningful memories. Some examples of items that are difficult to get rid of: books unread, dozens of photo books that tell visual stories from decades past, hundreds and thousands of hand-written letters, high school yearbooks, music tapes from a friend who used to work at the radio stations, CD’s, etc. What everyone finds valuable and worth keeping will be different. Both aunts mentioned that it was worthwhile to go back through old things, appreciate the memory, and then accept that the high school yearbook doesn’t have much meaning in the present. 

The goal is to leave behind a purposeful memory of their life. Get rid of stuff without any purpose. It may be a good memory but is it weighing you down in terms of mind and clutter? More often than not, my aunts described a lightness of being as they let things go. 

3. To accept your present and affirm your past.

One of my aunts beautifully described how Swedish Death Cleaning affirms and validates her life and the meaning she created. At some point, you recognize that you have more years behind you than in front of you. You start looking to the future not from an individual perspective, but from the perspective of humanity. How will my family, community, and world change in the future? And as your perspective to the future broadens, it allows you to look back on your past with appreciation. For most people, they live their life outside of the public eye where they do not receive external validation for all the good work they do throughout their life. Going back through everything in your past gives you an opportunity to internally validate your life. 

My aunt also talked about how you often see these images of happy retirees everywhere. While she can still be happy, a process like Swedish Death Cleaning is a deliberate way to attend to your inner self and soul and reckon with the amount of time you have left. Having an awareness of the present is not something to be avoided, but a natural part of life. Clear the clutter, recognize the reality of time you have left, and value who you are and what you have done. 

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Thank you to both my aunts for talking to me. I hope I did a decent job of trying to explain your relationship with Swedish Death Cleaning. Death is difficult to talk about. Honestly, I find it awkward talking about death with people who are older than me. While they are statistically closer to death than me when measured chronologically, death is a fundamental experience to humanity that we all share. I still sometimes feel cruel and disrespectful when I talk about death at times. Perhaps, we have all been conditioned to fear death to the point where it becomes more taboo to talk about it the more likely it becomes. But I think it is important to talk about.