88 Days Till Christmas and Swedish Death Cleaning

Okay I realize this is a weird combination for a post, but bear with me.

It’s three months to Christmas and holy smokes where did this year go?! I know for most of you it feels insane to be thinking about Christmas, but for those of us who sell stuff, particularly online, we have to prepare. Which means making sure we have all the shipping supplies we’ll need. (I am now fully stocked on bubble wrap, tape and tissue paper and I think I have the box situation in hand.)

On a personal level, last year my youngest daughter suggested that I get some new Christmas tree ornaments. A little upgrade. Something different. Besides some generic solid colored glass balls, most of the ornaments have been acquired over decades, some as gifts, some at the thrift store, some on travels. They are an eclectic hodge-podge and that’s fine with me.

At this stage in my life, I really don’t need more Christmas ornaments. At best, they are used six to seven weeks of the year. And not to be macabre, but how many more Christmases do I have? Will there be a point when I just want to have a small tabletop tree? (I remember my grandmother’s trees getting smaller over the years.)

In fact I have been selling off some of our Christmas stuff, including this hand-knit wool sock garland and this Corelle Opelle glass snowflake with original box. (Both sold for $58 each.)

Most of my life I’ve been a collector, but I’ve also been good at letting things go. When I graduated from college and moved back home to start the job search, I decided to let go of a lot of childhood stuff. Some were presents from people I was no longer friends with and they meant nothing to me. Others I had “outgrown.” And it felt good.

And for the last decade or so I’ve been actively downsizing collections and getting rid of things I’m no longer using/enjoying. And that’s felt good too. Most recently I’ve been inspired by Margareta Magnusson’s book, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.”  She encourages decluttering and downsizing later in life as a way of making your own life more organized and pleasant while also benefiting those who will have to deal with your stuff when you die.

That resonated with me.

One of the SDC steps includes organizing your financial and life information in one place. And this, above everything else, is so important. When my brother died unexpectedly at age 61, he had no will and what financial papers he had were tucked here and there and everywhere. It was extremely stressful trying to gather them up in the few days we had at his apartment and never knowing if I had all of them. (Additionally I had no login/password information for any of his accounts.) This made closing his estate all the more difficult.

And let me tell you, all the stuff is a big burden on the survivors too. That’s why you see so many huge piles of items at the curb on garbage day after someone has died.

When my Aunt Janet died at 73, also unexpectedly, she had a full house including things that defied reason. Why was she hanging onto those 1980s polyester bow blouses with an inch of dust on the shoulders? Why did she have over 40 silk flower arrangements? Was she really going to reread any of the1000 romance novels stored in her basement family room? [In the end those 1000 novels that she had easily spent over $10,000 to purchase, sold to a book dealer for $50.]

Swedish death cleaning is not really much different that most other declutter/organization programs, other than perhaps its target age. It’s an entry level “get your affairs in order” type of thing and I, for one, am taking a more intentional stab at it.

Ta for now,

Karen

P.S. If I were to acquire any “new” ornaments they’d likely be vintage thrift store finds. Some four or five years ago found a bag of ornaments at Goodwill that included some amazing vintage pieces circa 1930s/40s, including the clip-on bird (shown here with it’s tail tucked inside) and the patriotic glass bell. The old distressed Polish glass tree topper was bought for $3.