Minimizing My Life: How I Hygge

Let me paint the picture for you: You are in your comfiest clothes (you know the ones that make you happy to put on after a long day), sitting in a cozy spot in your home, a candle lit nearby, a hot cup of tea in your hand and a great book in your lap. You are at total peace and you feel a warm sense of happiness. That is hygee.

Hygee, pronounced hue-gah, is the Danish concept of coziness. It's the "art of creating warmth, comfort, and wellbeing." Hygee is about slowing down and enjoying life's simple pleasures. When you hygge, you enjoy the moment without worry or stress or pressure to do anything other than being yourself. I would venture to guess that you could use more hygee in your life. We all could. 

Part of the process of minimizing your life includes creating an environment that is simple. That being said, minimizing your life doesn't require having to live without. You would not enter my home and ever think I'm living without. Quite the opposite. I have plenty of stuff even after minimizing my home. The difference is that after minimizing, my home is now filled with only quality items that serve a purpose and bring me or my family happiness. When you hygee your home, you create a home that is a cozy reflection of who you are. 

Simplicity is the name of the hygee game. Make time to slow down, unplug, and find peace in spending time with the people and activities that you love the most. I used to feel guilty when I would indulge in a good book on the couch with a latte in my favorite mug instead of doing something that the world deems productive. How could I do such a thing when there is so much else to be done? There's always laundry piling up and the bathroom toilets are gross and there are emails I need to response to. I could let all of those things dominate my time, fill up every inch of my life, maximize my time, but I don't. I can't. 

Similar to meditation, hygge gives you an opportunity to slow down and focus on being in the moment. Just like when I meditate, hygge centers me. It calms me and allows me to relax and reconnect with myself which always helps be connect better to others. How could you ever feel guilty about that? My most favorite thing is to get under a cozy blanket, turn everything else off, put my phone away, and read. That is my version of hygee. Creating hygge for yourself is easy.

Start with the following:

• Find a cozy spot in your home. A chair or couch that's comfortable. Grab a cozy blanket.
• Turn off any overhead lights and turn on lamps instead. 
• Light a non-toxic candle and put a calming essential oil in your diffuser.
• Put your phone away. No excuses. Taking a break from social media and technology in general is a must.
• Make your favorite cup of coffee or hot tea.
• Grab that magazine that you've been meaning to read or that book that you've been dying to finish.
• You don't have to hygge alone. Hygge with a friend or loved one. Hygge doesn't have to be a solitary activity.
   

I have been hygee-ing for a long time except I always called it "being lazy." Now thanks to the Danes I have a better name for it and recognize that it isn't "being lazy" at all. Adding hygee to your life is beneficial, important, and necessary. Hygee minimizes the chaos and negative noise that fills up our lives. Give yourself permission to live simpler, find peace and savor the moment.