Books flying and clothes dancing

Books flying away (page 63)

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter ~ text and drawings by Margareta Magnusson, 2018, self-help, 8/10

In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.”  This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage, but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you.  Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism.  Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming.  She suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects).

At 128 pages, this is a quick read, and I love the author's drawings.  My favorite is the books flying away (shown above).  Books and papers are my biggest problem, so it isn't surprising I marked these two quotes:

"I own too many clothes and too many books and I do not need sixteen plates when there is only room for six around my table" (p. 53).

"I only keep books that I still haven't read or books that I keep returning to" (p. 62).

Old clothes dancing away (page 58)

And then there's this great drawing of old clothes dancing away.  I found a video from the Washington Post about Margareta Magnusson, which summarizes her hints on decluttering.  It's only 2 minutes and 20 seconds long and well worth it.

"If your family doesn't want your stuff when you're alive, they sure won't want it when you're dead" (from the article).

Okay, this is the day.  I'm gonna take a couple of boxes of my books to the used bookstore and donate a stack of old clothing (and dishes, since my table has only three chairs).  Fly away to new homes, books!  Find yourselves someone new to wear you, clothes!