What is Swedish Death Cleaning? Everything You Need To Know
We promise that it’s not as bleak as it sounds.
So, you've been hearing a bit about Swedish Death Cleaning, and want to know what the deal is? We promise that it’s not as bleak as it sounds.
The phrase may conjure dark thoughts, but the reality of it is quite different. The Peacock unscripted series, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, is the ultimate de-cluttering program. Using Swedish philosophy and a positive view of death itself, the Queer Eye-meets-Tidying Up with Marie Kondo series is both emotional and inspiring.
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Bravo is set to air three episodes of the show on Thursday nights, beginning with “What Lies Beneath” — about how one man struggles to clean out his parents’ belongings that he’s been storing in his basement since their deaths — on August 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.
It'll be followed by “Confessions of a Lounge Singer” on August 24, and “F*ck Cancer” on August 31, in the same time slot.
What is Swedish Death Cleaning?
Amy Poehler, executive producer and narrator of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, sums it all up in the show’s introduction: “Death cleaning — cleaning out your crap so others don’t have to when you’re dead. It’s a very Swedish thing.”
To prevent grieving loved ones from having to wade through a sea of your belongings, “death cleaning” takes care of the clutter in advance. It’s not really about preparing for death, though that’s a part of it. It’s really about permanent organization of messy lives, and bringing out true potential.
What is The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Peacock show about?
The home improvement reality series focuses on one person per episode, with each of them going through the "death cleaning" process, helped along by professionals. In many of the episodes, the featured guests are left emotionally transformed as hard truths are brought out about why they're holding on to certain items. The process continually asks the question: What really matters to you?
The death cleaning is a three-pronged method that's overseen by a trio of experts. Johan Svenson serves as interior designer, Ella Engström handles the organizing, and Katarina “Kat” Blom is the necessary psychiatrist. Together, these three death cleaners perform their jobs with talent, precision, and kindness. Engström helps the subjects perform the necessary decluttering. Svenson gives their homes some tasteful renovations. Throughout all of this, Blom declutters and renovates the soul.
When did the book that inspired The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Peacock show come out?
The concept that inspired the show came to the forefront in 2018, thanks to the book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter, by Magareta Magnusson. The author walks readers through the process of embracing minimalism, and like the series it spawned, she does it gently.
It is a “gentle” art after all, and that's not just a nice turn of phrase. Empathy is a huge part of the book as well as the series.
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“I was drawn to the original book,” Poehler told Deadline earlier this year. “What do we want to be surrounded by? What do we want to tell the people in our lives while we’re still around?”
Nobody is being forced to throw out all of their belongings at gunpoint. Swedish Death Cleaning employs a therapeutic process that celebrates both life and death, and the show's episodes almost always end with the people going through the process having a transformation when it comes to their thoughts on death. It's about minimalism, clutter, and living your best life. But in the end, it’s about acceptance more than anything else — that you and your loved ones will eventually die.
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What we leave behind is something to consider, but it goes hand-in-hand with how we are living in the moment. The three experts teach this with eccentric and loving grace.
They are also great fun to watch. For every emotional breakthrough, there are bags of laughs. One of the guests has a room in their house full of phalluses, so the show's certainly not glum. Whether you like makeover shows, design shows, shows about overcoming trauma — or all three — then you'll probably enjoy The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.
Stream The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning now on Peacock.
