Now that I have one room in the house - our dining room - restored to a state of perfection such as it has not known for at least 10 years, I am resolved to continue on a de-cluttering campaign, aided by the fact that spring is here and the days are lengthening. Actually a Swedish book, and the concepts it explains, has hit our bookstores recently. 'Döstädning,' or 'Swedish death cleaning' is a Swedish term that which refers to the practice of sorting through and discarding possessions to make the process of clearing out a home easier for loved ones after death. The primary goal is to reduce the emotional and practical burden on family members who would otherwise have to sort through a lifetime of accumulated belongings. While it involves decluttering, 'Swedish death cleaning' goes beyond simply tidying up; it is about intentionally curating one's belongings, keeping what truly matters, and letting go of items that no longer serve a purpose or bring joy. The benefits can be listed as follows.
Peace of Mind: By taking control of one's possessions, individuals can gain a sense of peace and clarity, knowing that their affairs are in order.
Simplified Legacy: It helps ensure that loved ones are not overwhelmed by the task of sorting through a large collection of items. Reduced Burden: By decluttering, the process of downsizing or moving to a smaller space can be made easier.I think that I might buy and read the relevant book which is Margareta Magnusson:'The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter' before I actually start because it might give me a whole series of tips and hints from which I could learn. I suspect that my son and his wife will give this book their enthusiastic endorsement and have already started at least some of this process themselves. Whilst on the subject of learning from others, I am a firm believer in the observation that one can learn something from someone every day if one is sufficiently open minded. But given our Anglo Saxon culture and the prevalence of social media, I have a feeling that we in the UK are not very good at learning from others or from cultural borrowing - for example, in terms of social policy we tend to take our lead from the USA which, in present times, is a terrible role model. We could learn a lot from the ways in which the Germans and the Scandinavian democracies organise themselves. For example, I believe that in Germany individuals from their middle age (when presumably their earnings are somewhat higher than when they were younger) pay an enhanced rate of social security contributions to help to reduce or to offset the increased costs of an ageing society for both themselves ( and their parents) This sounds such an eminently sensible idea but it is not even on the radar of any of our political parties. Sometimes, of course, the Liberal Party used to develop ideas and policies e.g. in the 'green agenda' which were then stolen by the other political parties just before election season.
Our University of Birmingham friend called around as he typically does and we spent some happy time discussing the problems that we had in common in our respective employs. After he left, the carers came round to perform their ministrations upon Meg and I pressed ahead with a lunch of a newly cooked ham, a baked potato and some mange touts. Meg ate most of her portion I am pleased to say and then I had a little doze. It was another superb afternoon so I made haste to get the back lawns cut whilst I could. Actually it only took some 15 minutes plus some extra time to clean up the mower which I do on every occasion. To prevent too big a buildup of grass/mud on the underside of the hood, I also give a spray of WD40 which would drive out any damp in any case. I took care in my mowing to avoid the slightly 'dodgy' side of the mower, repaired as it is with what I term 'little girlie bands' but more properly called hair bobbles. Just before I did the mowing, though, I did a quick think about what I might deploy to act as a table protector and actually found a little foot mat which might serve perfectly for the purpose. I have given it a thorough cleanup and the only problem is how and where to store it as if it developed a pronounced curl, it would not fit its intended purpose. This evening, the two caters might arrive for the bedtime call about 15 mins earlier than usual. I am quite looking a quiet evening where I can read the Sunday newspaper at my leisure and perhaps catch up on the Trevor Philips Politics programme generally broadcast at about 8.30pm on a Sunday morning bit which I now miss as the 'morning call' carers arrive at about this time.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday. Sky News is reporting that around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in every US state, in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida- just miles away from where the president has this weekend played golf. The 'Hands Off!' protests were against the Trump administration's handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues. In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: 'Make democracy great again.' And as I was preparing lunch, I was listening to Radio 4 and I think that I heard a female American commentator observing that the USA was as near as turning into a fascist state as it was possible to imagine. Now of course Trump and his cronies can ignore these protests for ever and a day but eventually this tide of public opinion might have an effect on enough members of the Congress (House of Representatives and the Senate) to swing some crucial votes. Both houses are fairly evenly divided at the moment unlike the UK House of Commons so it is not going to take vast numbers of the Congress to change their minds for Trump's measures to be countermanded or made invalid (not to mention illegal).
© Mike Hart [2025]