24 | April• 2018HOMEILLUSTRATION: ISTOCKwhich provides death-cleaning-type
services. “Doing this sort of work
should be looked at as a walk through
history. When it does involve the
elderly, it can be an opportunity to
learn valuable stories.”
Very often, however, the challenge
is in initiating the process,
accordingtoCaplan.herefore,if
your goal is to initiate the process
withanelderlyparentorfriend,
begin gently. “Start by reminiscing,”
Caplan suggests. Slowly, from
there,youcanbegintoworkin
questions, pointing to things and
asking,“What’sthis?Doyoustill
usethis?Howdoyoufeelabout
this?” Gradually, he advises, you can
make your way towards suggesting,
“Perhaps it’s time to part with this?”
or “So, someday, is there someone
you’d like to have this?”DOSTADNINGor ‘death cleaning’
is a Swedish phenomenon in which
elderlypeople(oftenwiththehelp
offamily)settheirafairsinorder
–sometimesforthepurposeof
transitioningtoassistedliving.
“It’sallaboutlosingeverything
you don’t love or use,” explains
cleaning expert Jasmine Hobbs.
One way to become less afraid is to
understand that death cleaning is
notreservedfortheelderly,despite
its name. “Anyone can do it at any
age. he idea is to organise your life
andmakeitrunsmoother.”Ifyou
need help decluttering, don’t be put
of by the morbid-sounding title.
At the core of death cleaning is
minimalism, but the process can
also be an opportunity to embrace
nostalgia, says Lorne Caplan,
founder of Free Home Cleanup,What Is
Swedish
‘Death
Cleaning’?
Apracticalwaytodeclutterthat’s not
nearly as scary as it sounds BY LAUREN CAHN