21/03/2026
An Inspirational & no nonsense women - her book is essential life & death management of sorts
Where others saw mere clutter, Margareta Magnusson spotted a moral issue: Who is responsible for what she called “the mountain of crap” most of us accumulate over a lifetime?
Her answer was definite: We should sort out and sell or give away almost all of our trinkets, T-shirts, books and baubles before we die—rather than leaving a dreary chore for friends or families.
Magnusson, a seascape painter and mother of five, was in her mid-80s when she wrote a bestselling book, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.” It introduced a concept—cleaning up your own mess before you die—that resonated around the world.
Magnusson practiced what she preached. There was little left to tidy up after she died at the age of 91 on March 12 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she was living in a retirement home. “The only thing I have to do now is talk to journalists,” said her youngest daughter, Jane Magnusson, a documentary filmmaker, who several years ago made a short film about her mother.
Read more: 🔗 https://on.wsj.com/4bpcHhq
