I’ve been in a bit of a nesting/cleaning mode the past few weeks.
So far, I’ve gone through 80% of the closets, drawers, and cabinets in my house (excluding my yarn stash) and have donated boxes and bags of excess clothing and household items to charity. Honestly, I believe the gust of wind you might have felt was my house exhaling a huge sigh of relief.
I bragged to my knitting group about my progress and one knitter nodded her head and said, “Oh, yes. Swedish death cleaning.” I had never heard of such of thing (my roots are Norwegian, not Swedish) and thought she was kidding.
She has since loaned me a fascinating book written in 2018 by a woman “somewhere between eighty and one hundred years old” who has death cleaned for so many others that she’s “dammed if someone else [will have] to death clean after [her].” Having cleaned out my parents’ house, I completely agree with her. With the exception of my precious yarn stash, which my family knows to distribute among my knitting friends, I don’t want my husband, kids, or siblings to have to deal with what they will see only as clutter.
Perhaps I’m procrastinating on “more important” work that has to be done at my desk, but I now feel the need to revisit all those closets, drawers, and cabinets for a second sweep!
Oh yes, I turned 80 in November and this is all I’ve been thinking about, I can’t leave
all this for my children to clean up. Like many of my friends, I have 2 hobbies.
Quilting is the other one, I have been through both stashes and I need to do it again.
The nice thing about knitting is the tools are not bulky my yarn is manageable.
I will check the library for the book and pass this on to my friends.
Thank You, Ann
Thank you so much for sharing Ann. I cleaned when my sister died and started “I don’t want anyone having to do this for me.”
cleaning is a monthy thing for me . as i have a small place , hope to part with some in a sale this spring
I am of Norwegian ancestry. I am 77 years old and n Ed to do this.