Have you ever been the one helping to go through a loved one’s treasures when they are no longer around to let you know what’s important to them? I’ve been in that same situation, more than once. It’s heartbreaking – and it could be so much easier with some planning ahead of time. My husband and I recently learned about a concept called Swedish Death Cleaning, and we’ve been working on it in our own spaces, including the house, shop, attic, and sewing studio.
What is Swedish Death Cleaning?
Hang in there with me – it’s not at all as morbid as it sounds. Swedish Death Cleaning, or döstädning, is a decluttering practice of sorting through your possessions to simplify your life and spare loved ones the burden of dealing with your belongings after you die, focusing on what’s truly meaningful to keep while discarding the rest, making it a gift of peace and less stress for your family.
Popularized by Margareta Magnusson’s book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, it’s a gradual, intentional process of downsizing that involves asking if items serve a purpose or tell a story, not just getting rid of junk.
What’s the difference between Swedish Death Cleaning and general decluttering?
While both result in less clutter and more breathing space in your personal spaces, general decluttering is more about the here and now. The focus is on you and making your space more comfortable for you.
Swedish Death Cleaning, on the other hand, has a future intention. The intention is to make life (and decisions) easier now and in the future by identifying items we no longer need and finding them good homes. Communication with loved ones is an important part of the process.
Here’s an example: as we are going through our treasures, we check with the kids and grandkids to see if any of them want whatever the item is. If none of them say yes, we find that item a good home with someone else. If items are especially meaningful and we plan to gift them to one person or another at some point, we are doing it now as part of this process.
The end goal is to have a comfortable space, with all the things we need and that bring us joy, and none of the “extra” things that our kids will need to deal with when we are gone. It also means they are clear about the items that are important to us and our preferences for how they should be handled when the time comes.
What does any of this have to do with quilting?
As a lifelong stitcher from the time I could first hold a needle, I plan on continuing that practice until the day I can no longer hold that needle. My home and sewing studio are filled with completed quilts, projects in progress, my stash, and machines, tools, books, patterns, and other treasures that I will continue using until I’m no longer around to do so.
The projects I’ve created and all the things I use to create them matter to me. What happens to them when I’m gone matters to me. I’ve been heartbroken to find gorgeous quilts stuffed in a box in a thrift store because no one in the family knew what to do with that maker’s quilt.
We quilters pour a lot of love into the projects we make. While I know that some of you are of the school of thought that “once I’m gone, they can do whatever they want with my stitching stuff.” I respect that point of view, but for me, I prefer to make it easy for the kids and grandkids to know my preferences in a way that makes it easy for them to deal with all these treasures.
The Quilter’s Letter of Instructions
I created the Quilter’s Letter of Instructions to document my wishes and have included it with other important papers my family will need. I also have a copy in my sewing space (I’m a little nerdy like that ; ).
It’s a very easy form to fill out and includes all the things we quilters think about when we consider what will happen to our quilty treasures. The form also includes a few questions to ask yourself before you get started. The blue button below will open the file; you can print or download it to your computer to work on when you have some time.
If you have questions about this process or the form itself, please feel free to reach out to me.
For more info about the Quilter’s letter of Instructions – including a guide for getting started: The Quilter’s Letter of Instructions