IF YOU can't shut your wardrobe because of all the clothes, your bookcase groans under the weight of literary luggage, and you're too afraid to open the Tupperware drawer, don't despair. Dostadning may be the answer you're looking for.
Dostadning, or death cleaning, is the Scandinavian art of shedding unnecessary things to make our lives as joyful as possible at any age.
Margareta Magnusson explains the process and how to do it in her new book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.
But it's not all about preparing for the end.
Yes, it will make things easier for your family when the time comes, but it will also help you focus on living, without the clutter.
The best part of death cleaning is that it takes you on a walk down memory lane.
So how do you sort through a lifetime of memories?
Magnusson suggests starting with the easy things, such as the bits and pieces you've already squirrelled into storage areas like the garage and have probably already forgotten about.
It's best to leave personal items like photographs and letters until last.
"I have collected many things over the years, and it gives me such joy to go through them all," Magnusson explains.
"Sorting through everything is sad sometimes, too, but I really do not want to give my beloved children and their families too much trouble with my stuff after I am gone.
"That is why I want to tell others about death cleaning, and how wonderful and challenging it can be."
Swedish-born Magnusson is, in her own words, "aged between 80 and 100".
She first realised the power of death cleaning after her husband died and used this experience to create her practical book, filled with her own memories and anecdotes to guide others in making death cleaning an uplifting process.
- The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Scribe, RRP $24.99.
