Sharon downsized her parents’ home and then cleared out her father’s stuff after he died. “So much of it hadn’t been used in years. So I decided that we wouldn’t do the same thing to our children.” Sharon spent six months looking over each object in her home. Each day, she sold, donated or threw one away. “It was liberating,” she said. “Now, life is much simpler and the clutter (杂乱) is gone.”
This process has its own reality TV show, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Inspired by a best-selling book by Magnusson, 89, three Swedes travel across the Atlantic to help Americans clean house and face death. “A loved one wishes to inherit (继承) nice things from you,” mentions Magnusson in her book, “not all things from you.” If you’re lucky enough to meet your material needs, then letting go of some of your stuff, or not buying it in the first place, can bring immediate benefits. The clutter is linked to stress and anxiety, even depression. Prioritizing relationships and experience over possessions has been proven to boost our happiness.
What is Swedish death cleaning? It isn’t about clearing out closets. It’s about rethinking your relationship with things. Rather than making do with less, it’s about getting more from the things that make you happy. Death cleaning happens to agree with scientists’ understanding of our relationship with things and why we’re unwilling to part with them. Decades of research has shown that we subconsciously see our possessions as physical extensions of ourselves. For most of us, of course, a degree of attachment is healthy, but it’s not the number of things or the quality that matters. It’s about the symbolic meaning of it. That can bring a lot of happiness.
Things take up space in our minds, well beyond what our storerooms and garages hold. By clarifying what’s important and what’s not, you make room. Your loved ones can receive what they might like before you go, relieving themselves of the burden of cleaning up once you’re gone.
【小题1】Why does the author mention Sharon’s experience in paragraph 1?| A．To lead to the topic. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To support an argument. | D．To reach a conclusion. |
| A．To reduce the waste. | B．To remember their loved ones. |
| C．To boost their happiness. | D．To make the reality TV show. |
| A．The quantity. | B．The popularity. |
| C．The significance. | D．The degree of attachments. |
| A．Old Stuff: a Heavy Burden or a Sweet Memory. |
| B．Everyone’s Stuff: Physical Extensions of Himself. |
| C．The Way to Deal with Your Belongings: Give Away. |
| D．Swedes’ Secret to Happiness: You Aren’t Your Stuff. |
