Crossing Nebraska

There is richness to be discovered in living more simply. This is a reoccurring theme of this blog. I’ve considered Duane Elgin’s practice of Voluntary Simplicity   several times , for instance, and the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi . I’ve also espoused some of my own ideas on what I call Aspirational Contentment . These all relate in some way to making room in one’s life for life itself to unfold more authentically—whatever that may look like for any given individual. Continuing in this vein, I’d like to offer some thoughts on Margareta Magnusson ’s The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter . Magnusson explains the overall concept: “I think the term do ̈ sta ̈ dning [Swedish for death cleaning] is quite new, but not the act of do ̈ sta ̈ dning . It is a word that is used when you or someone else does a good, thorough cleaning and gets rid of things to make life easier and less crowded. It does not necessarily hav...