Despite what you may have heard, Swedish death cleaning is not an organizational method, per se—although it will certainly get your home in shape. But with Swedish death cleaning, the difference is that you're not downsizing just to keep a tidier house. The Origins of Swedish Death CleaningCredit: Damian Lugowski / Getty ImagesIn Swedish, döstädning translates literally to "death cleaning." It simply took the publication of the bestselling book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Swedish author Margareta Magnusson (Scribner, January 2018), to bring the concept to a global audience. How to Do Swedish Death CleaningIn the book, Magnusson—who describes herself as somewhere between the age of 80 and 100—says to begin Swedish death cleaning early.