Swedish Death Cleaning - A global challenge?

The director and cast of the TV series Waack Girls (Amazon Prime) explain why saving stuff is so common in India, and around the world

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If you ever suspected that an obsession with saving things is a mostly American habit, here's proof that it ain't so.

Sooni Taraporevala -- who wrote the screenplays for Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, Yeh Ballet, and other movies -- recently told me that she's been saving treasures in Mumbai, India since she was 5.

Not only that, but when Sooni checked with the young Indian cast members of her new TV series Waack Girls, they insisted that they've also been saving things since they were kids.

In other words, it's an intergenerational, international pastime. Who knew?

As it turns out, Sooni and Waack Girls stars, Mekhola Bose and Rytasha Rathore, have profound insights into why we save things. But then, I'm sorry to say they were exposed to a bad influence: me. 

Yes, I could have taught them to clean out their closets with some Swedish Death Cleaning.  Alas, that isn't exactly what happened when they joined as guests on  I Couldn't Throw It Out.

Hear the stories behind the things they've saved for years. Plus, find out about the wild dance style called waacking, which inspired Sooni to co-write and direct the TV series Waack Girls (on Amazon Prime).  It's based loosely on the life of the main character, played by our podcast guest Mekhola Bose.

Maybe hearing and watching Mekhola will inspire you to try some new fancy moves. That -- like saving treasures for decades -- is something you can do in any country around the world.

(To see Sooni, Mekhola and Rytasha's treasures, go to throwitoutpodcast.com.)

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More info, photos, and transcript: throwitoutpodcast.com
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