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5 Ways to Hygge in 2017

In this fast-paced sometimes overwhelming life, I think it’s fair to say most of us crave less stress and more joy in 2017. As we kick off this new year, I’m excited about the possibilities. I have so many dreams for this year. I love writing about the significance of creating a cozy home, one that is authentic to who we are. But I don’t just love writing about it, I love the mindful process of living it.

We find the most joy in simple things. I believe creating a sense of well-being and comfort at home transforms our life in many ways.

5 Ways to Hygge in 2017

Our home should inspire us!

You might have heard about Hygge, a Danish way of life that incorporates a philosophy similar to my own. Inspiring people to find comfort, greater well-being and more joy in their home is my passion. It’s the foundation on which I started The Inspired Room 10 years ago. It’s so fun to find and connect with kindreds around the world, whether we call it Hygge or just call ourselves homebodies.

Are you excited about the possibilities for your home or even just hoping to rekindle or jumpstart a love of home-creating? I’m so glad you’re here today. Home-bodying is what we do best here.

For those that are just joining us here on the blog, welcome. I also wrote a book in 2016 on decluttering and simplifying your home and life called Make Room for What You Love. It’s about being purposeful in making room for what brings you more joy by learning to declutter things that distract and weigh you down. In 2015 I wrote the New York Times Bestselling book Love the Home You Have and released my first full-color photo book The Inspired Room, both which focus on finding contentment and greater well-being through creating an authentic home.

Bring it, 2017! We’re ready for you.

Here are five ways to Hygge and embrace the joy of home-creating in 2017:

1. Make more room for joy.

At one point or another we thought that stuff would make us happy. We think perhaps we’ll use it someday, and therefore we will be happy we kept it. We kept it because it holds memories that are important, but the more we keep the less we can enjoy each thing. If we aren’t intentional, we’ll end up with way too much stuff in our home and the stuff snuffs out the joy.

To truly find comfort in our home, we need to stop looking for happiness in keeping an abundance of things.

Less brings the opportunity to find more joy.

Excessive things crowd out what really matters, so we must intentionally make room around us to be able to see what counts. Start with a manageable goal, perhaps to open a drawer and be able to easily find joy in what you see. Clear out the excess, the clutter, the junk. Only put back things you love or enjoy.

2. Intentionally seek simplicity.

A simple home and life inspires the most joy. Before you overcommit to a new home project or make a move into a bigger or smaller house or make a change in 2017, ask yourself hard questions and be honest with yourself in the answers. Consider the simplest solution for your end goal first. It’s so easy to overcomplicate everything! What will create the least amount of mess and stress with the greatest positive impact? What would bring you the most joy in your home or life this year? Is this the right season for that type of change or commitment? What are your boundaries for budget and time-investment?

Sometimes you have to commit to more complicated tasks or changes in order to get to a place of greater simplicity and more comfort in your home. If you’re ready for the challenges involved, embrace a season of hard work to do what’s required, but keep your eye on the ultimate goal of simplicity.

3. Feel more connected by disconnecting.

As we become accustomed to a more connected “online” life, we can easily forget how to be fully present in real life moments and experiences at home. The online community can be wonderful, but an addiction to connecting online will start to create disconnection and chaos in a home.

To be more content, creative and organized in our own home, it can help to turn our eyes away from the distractions of all the shiny things that keep our attention online. Being more fully present in our home requires discipline. Try being intentionally disconnected and fully in the moment for a period of time every day. You’ll likely feel less frazzled and more connected to your home.

4. Create serene spaces to inspire your life.

Your home should be a haven that reflects and inspires your family, not a storage locker for all the things you never use or take care of. Make a commitment to self-care and greater well-being for everyone in your family by ridding your home of excessive clutter and chaos this year. Inspire your cleaning and decluttering efforts by creating cozy, comfortable and beautiful areas everyone can fully enjoy throughout your home. Clutter and chaos should not be invited back in to your newly serene and inspiring spaces.

5. Welcome others into your home.

Sometimes as an introverted homebody I find myself wanting to keep my cozy sanctuary all to myself in the cold winter months. But part of the joy of a cozy home is the connections with people. Think of the people you can bless and be blessed by if you invite them in. Extending an invitation to others can even inspire you to make your home more welcoming and cozy. Everyone wins with hospitality. What would add to the comfort for a guest in your home? Your home doesn’t have to be perfect or impressive; that’s too stressful for everyone. Find joy in making your home a warm and welcoming place for you and your guests.

5 Ways to Hygge in 2017

Happy Hygge Home-Making in the New Year!

16 Comments

  1. Diane

    You are oh-so-right…less is more! Thank you for your wonderful blog.

  2. Shannon // Style Emulator

    Love your tips to hygee. I’m planning to work on welcoming people into my home more this year. I’m an introverted homebody, too (introverts, unite!), and inviting people into my sanctuary isn’t something I always feel inclined to do. But when I do, and when we have hours long conversations overlooking our lake, life feels so much sweeter. Thank you for the encouragement. <3

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Hi Shannon, indeed! I so agree. And yes, introverted homebodies unite! XOXO

  3. Linda Stoll

    I love the whole invitation to come home to rest and replenish so we can get back out there again to do what we’ve been called to do.

    Now that’s inspiring …

  4. Mary

    I love this post Melissa! We just finished a home project–we took our Master suite (that encompassed three small rooms and a huge closet) and converted it to another bedroom, a sitting room and family office/work room. My husband and I moved downstairs into our old office, which is now a cozy bedroom inspired by your small bedroom ideas. We no longer have an attached bath, but that was a small price to pay for doubling our square footage upstairs for family use. I got so many ideas from this website–looking at space and not designated “rooms” and asking how do I want to use this space instead of “what did the builder intend for this space”? THANK YOU for your marvelous ideas and commitment to working with what you have to create joy, This website is true to its name–“inspired” room!

  5. Kathy Cheek

    Melissa,

    I have a quick question, or anyone can reply. What is the best way to hang baskets on the wall since they don’t come with a hanging mechanism. My daughter is in a new apartment and I showed her your pictures of your baskets on your wall and she liked that idea and wanted to know the best way to hang them.

    Thanks so much,

    Kathy

      • Kathy Cheek

        Thank you Melissa,

        That sounds about as easy as it can be, my daughter will be glad to know and she is also grateful for the good idea,

        Happy New Year to all of your family!

  6. Gayle

    I love your comment that home is “not a storage locker for things we don’t use or take care of.” That stopped me in my tracks, and continues to resonate. Exactly perfect, Melissa! I’m working on it every day now.

  7. Jo Jo

    Love the Hygge concept. Living in and making a cozy, welcoming home is what I’m all about. Finding joy daily in the simple pleasures! Today, for instance, it was a rather warm winter day but gloomy and raining. It put me in the mood to show my home some life and I spent an hour just making it sparkle and lit a few candles and enjoyed the coziness of it all. Then later, my hubby and I went out and purchased ( on sale!) a lovely dark brown rattan arm occasional chair BECAUSE we are feathering our newly built home INTENTIONALLY, meaning, only new purchases are things needed and are beautiful and useful. We needed a chair in our bedroom for comfort ( reading, dressing, etc) and purposely shopped and chose a piece that will not only work and live in our master bedroom, but can also be easily brought into our living room when we need more seating ( which we NEED on occasion). Killed two birds with one stone, so to speak! Oh! And cleaning my home today was a breeze because we no longer have clutter ( rid ourselves of it when moved). Living here truly is inspiring andwe do experience Hygge on a daily basis. Thanks Melissa for all your inspiration!! ❤

    • Katherine

      We also have some gloomy weather over here (in Virginia) and I am so happy to be inside by our new wood stove. Makes me want to stay put and invite people over.

      I LOVE finding good buys that can multipurpose! Glad you found that chair:)

  8. Dee at the Carlton

    I love your practical suggestions, especially to make room for joy. We have in the past few years inherited items from an elderly relative & have successfully incorporated some items in to our home as they are authentic to us, while other things have been relegated to cupboards or the garage – this year I will consciously find homes for these surplus items which will appreciate them & it will clear up space in our home without them cluttering up our space!
    I love an organised, serene space because your home should be your sanctuary – I too need to work on welcoming more people in to my space because I love the peace & calmness of my home at the end of the day …

  9. Ms. Maggie

    Good way to do this is move- no, really!!! We had so much in such a little space with lots of inertia and “we must keep this because ____”. I said when ew got to our new place- “only what really means something to us/fits and is beautiful/functional will stay.” I look around now and I think that Hygge is good for us here in the PNW since we have so much time inside as they do in their country (and so brrrr right now). Good to discuss this in this time of more, more, more. I find myself just making sure we keep the wide open spaces on the floor, closets and even walls of our new home, our dream home.

  10. susan

    Living in 896 sq ft with one awesome husband, two labs and two cats can be challenging. This was originally supposed to be our garage/shop. 25 years later, my husband couldn’t pry me out of it, my favorite feature? Acid etched concrete floors and one 12 foot wall with two 8′ tall overhead garage doors when, rolled up in the spring is like removing one entire wall to the beauty of our 86 acre private canyon in NW Montana, happy to have found your blog! I’m a brutal, non apologetic minimalist. Very few attachments to “things”. Went on a rug rolling up, picture removal phase 3 months ago….bare white walls, sparsely furnished with clean lines and neutral tones. I refer to it as my “welcome to rehab” look.

 

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