While we are encouraged to put in place Advance Health Care Directives, and ensure we have substitute decision makers in the form of an Enduring Guardian for our health and well-being and with a Power of Attorney for our finances and property, there is what might seem to be the more mundane issues of personal property – all the things we’ve accumulated over a life time living in a material society that encourages the collection of stuff.

This is where it can be hard to let go of all those things that have sentimental value, personal stories associated with their purchase or in other cases gifts from family and friends or acquired at anniversary times.

Enter what’s known as the Swedish Death Cleaning concept. It could be said that it’s a fancy way of saying we need to get things sorted, except that there is a bit more urgency in that it involves not leaving a mess behind when we depart this mortal coil. Click on this link to find out more.

Swedish Death Cleaning is the brainchild of author Margareta Magnussen, who coined the term in her 2017 book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. Magnussen asks her readers to consider the loved ones who must comb through your possessions after you’ve died, providing suggestions for making their experience as easy as possible.