We’ve all done it. Held on to things we’re convinced we can’t live without – perhaps clothes we hope to fit back into or an extra cutlery set received as a housewarming gift from…who was it again? Australians are notorious for accumulating stuff. We even spend an average of $163 a year on self-storage to house it all. The kicker is that almost a quarter of those paying for storage can’t even remember what’s in there!

We make room for things we don’t know if we truly need. But have you ever wondered what happens to all that stuff after we’re gone? Do we dump the lot on our unsuspecting loved ones, or painstakingly bequeath each and every item out to this person and that person? Who’s getting the air fryer? The Ninja Bullet?

When it comes to living a more organised life, there’s few better to learn from than the Swedes. And no, we don’t just mean through Ikea (although that Pax wardrobe system is hard to beat). Minimalistic, clutter-free living is ingrained in Scandinavian culture, and it extends to how they approach death.

Enter the Swedish death clean. Known as döstädning in Sweden, this method encourages you to take a mildly morbid approach to decluttering by removing everything from your life before you die. Instead of waiting until your twilight years, why not challenge yourself to do this now? Remove anything that isn’t essential, creating a minimalist lifestyle that not only benefits you now but also lightens the load for your loved ones later. The key is to be ruthless: If you haven’t used it or thought about it in a year, toss it, donate it, or sell it. If you didn’t want it before, you probably don’t need it now.

Rini Puccetti, who lives on a rural property in north west Tasmania next to Mount Roland, is a strong advocate for the Swedish death clean. She’s the founder of Wilderness Lab, where she produces Tasmanian solid perfumes and lotion bars. Rini took the plunge and completed her own death clean, documenting the process in a YouTube video that has garnered over 200,000 views.

Like many, Rini first encountered the concept of Swedish death cleaning through the book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. She had already begun decluttering her home after her children left when she stumbled upon the idea. “I was sorting through household items and deciding what to donate and what to keep and store,” Rini tells us. “As I moved the items into our storage areas, I began to notice that these areas were getting full and we were actually spending money on creating more space. It suddenly seemed ridiculous to me and I questioned why we were keeping all of these things we didn’t need.”

This realisation made the Swedish death clean concept even more appealing, so Rini and her husband decided to give it a try. At first, the idea of drastically reducing their possessions was daunting. “But once we got into it,” Rini says, “it became cathartic and actually enjoyable. As we began to see our items reduce and our free space increase, we were even more motivated by the changes.” They’d held on to items for years, usually out of sentimentality or for some ‘just in case’ scenario that never happened. Letting go of those things felt freeing. “It was like an emotional burden was lifted, and both my husband and I felt more optimistic and focused on the future.”

Now, Rini’s home is much neater and more serene. “Having less things around you makes it easier to see what you have, it’s easier to clean, and is just more relaxing. Our home is a more tranquil space overall,” she says. She finds herself less stressed about tidying up when guests visit because the house is already tidy!

For anyone considering starting their own death clean but feeling overwhelmed by the task, Rini has some advice: “Just start today, even if it’s just one cupboard or drawer. Don’t get overwhelmed with the big picture and just begin with small areas. As you start to see changes, you will feel more motivated to tackle the big things. Understand your uniquely personal reason for wanting to simplify your life, and use that as your motivation. Remember that it’s a journey and not just a finite task you start and finish.”

Rini has made several videos on Swedish death cleaning, including tips on how to prevent accumulating more stuff in the future. You can check them out on her YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@ItsMissRini.