Where do you start in a full house?
With the easy rooms. Margareta Magnusson's much-loved döstädning method - Swedish death cleaning, the gentle practice of putting belongings in order in good time - says to begin with easy categories and save the sentimental things for last. That maps neatly onto cataloging: a workable order looks like this.
- Garage, cellar and storage - bulky, unsentimental, fast
- Linen, kitchenware and everyday china
- Books and shelves, one case at a time
- Clothes and personal effects
- Photos, letters and keepsakes - last, once the rhythm feels normal
What does scanning while sorting actually give you?
Every object gets an answer. Scan as you sort and each thing gets a photo, a description and a place, filed to its room in samla.ai, the AI app for cataloging collections. For the quick keep-or-let-go pile there is Look up mode, part of the free plan: point the camera and get an idea of what something is and what it might be worth, on the spot, before deciding anything. The values are estimates for informational purposes, never professional appraisals - for pieces that look significant, a professional appraiser is the right call.
How do siblings agree on who gets what?
The hard part is rarely the objects - it is agreeing about them. A shared catalog gives everyone the same list to look at, wherever they live: this stays, this goes to Anna, this gets sold, this goes to the charity shop. Family sharing is part of the Pro and Ultra plans, and any single item can be shared as a public web page for a quick 'do you want this?'
Why does documenting an estate matter more every year?
Because more is changing hands than ever. Cerulli Associates estimates that 124 trillion dollars of US wealth will transfer through 2048, with about 105 trillion dollars of it expected to flow directly to heirs. Belongings are part of that transfer, and the undocumented ones are exactly the ones that get argued over or sold for a fraction of their worth. A catalog made together, while there is time, is a kindness to everyone involved.
FAQ
What is Swedish death cleaning (döstädning)?
Döstädning is the Swedish practice of going through your belongings in good time - sorting, giving away and letting go - so the people you love are never left to do it all at once. Margareta Magnusson's book made the method famous: start easy, finish with the sentimental, and talk as you go.
Do we have to decide everything at once?
No, and you should not try. Scanning first and deciding later splits the work into visits: the catalog holds every object with its photo and estimate, so keep-or-let-go conversations can happen over weeks, from different cities, one drawer at a time.
What if we disagree about what something is worth?
Let the estimate be the neutral starting point - it reflects what similar items tend to go for, and it is an estimate for informational purposes, never a professional appraisal. For pieces where the number genuinely matters, a professional appraisal settles the question better than family memory does.
