Posted by I’ve been doing Swedish Death Cleaning on and off for a few years. It’s a gentle, slow way of downsizing and decluttering that improves your life now and makes it easier for your family after your demise. But I realize it needs to be a continual thing for me. It’s too easy to acquire more things–as I have done! And then add on top of that running a vintage biz where I’m always acquiring things.
Well, I put on my big girl pants and started in my closet. I had some nice Eileen Fisher pieces, barely worn. I liked them but they did me no favors. I’d put them on, look in the mirror and take them off. It was time to let them go so I packed them in a bag for my favorite American Cancer thrift store. (I have yet to part with shoes I am no longer wearing.)
My unused sewing machine went to my eldest who is taking sewing classes and I’ve got a bag of books slated for charity. I’ve also started going through my cosmetics basket. I hardly ever wear lipstick and I’ve got tubes that have been sitting in this tray for years along with some old eyeliner pencils and dried up tubes of mascara. Why?? None of this stuff is even safe to use anymore. Time to trash it.
Even these few small actions felt good. They were steps in the right direction and a good reminder to keep at it. I’ve had to help clean out four homes of dear relatives who died unexpectedly and it was physically and emotionally taxing. I don’t want that to be my legacy!
Then I moved on to my Etsy store. I started a pile of stuff I no longer wanted to sell in my store. Eighty percent of the pile will first be listed on Facebook Marketplace for what I hope will be quick flips. (I’m giving them two months.) Two that I listed the other day have already sold ($20 each) so that encouraged me. (But inevitably now I’m getting the “Is this still available?” messages and when you reply “yes” you never hear back. Why do people do this? I’ve had four of these today.)
Admittedly I will not make the profit that I would on Etsy, but these are all things that have either 1) lingered for years in my store or 2) don’t fit the categories I want to be selling. At this point it’s more about moving them along. Having them gone.
For example, I like vintage hankies and have sold some in the past, but this lovely group was my last and it wasn’t getting any attention in my store. We’ll see if anyone wants them locally.
The antique knives I just added are a heartbreak because they are something I would still like to sell in my Etsy store, but they have been dead in the water forever. Though I checked sales on ebay of similar items and they have been selling there. Humph.
But whatever happens with these, I’m looking forward to having less. Both in my store and life. And here’s the thing–having a more curated, clutter-free home benefits your mental health.
P.S. Here are some of my earlier posts on this topic.
Hunting for Vintage 