Swedish Death Cleaning, the Japanese Way — 12 Rules So Your Kids Don't Have To

Swedish death cleaning has a gentler Japanese cousin. In Japan, people sort their homes in their own lifetime, little by little, so their children never have to face a house full of decisions. Here are 12 Japanese decluttering rules for American homes, from drawing your house on paper to the one step two out of three families never take. Four piles instead of two, a maybe box with a date, the guest room that became a storeroom, the good dishes still in their boxes, and why Japan, with nine million empty homes, gets this wrong too. CHAPTERS 0:00 Every closet, every drawer 0:56 The Japanese way to declutter 1:57 1. Draw the house first 3:02 2. Start behind a door 4:01 3. Four piles, not two 5:13 4. The maybe box gets a date 6:20 5. Give back what's theirs 7:21 6. Use the good dishes 8:22 Save this for later 8:41 7. Guests don't need a room 9:53 8. Big things go first 11:03 9. Six months, not a weekend 12:08 10. What Japan gets wrong 13:14 11. Say why it matters 14:16 12. Open one box together 15:33 All 12 in one breath 16:08 Your turn #swedishdeathcleaning #declutteringtips #japanesehome