Hygge

I have always been a big big fan of the Hygge lifestyle. I try to mix it in with a little minimalism.

I used to be a huge advocate of the minimalistic lifestyle in my younger twenties. But I could never QUITE feel comfortable with going all out. And believe it or not, I figured out why….ANXIETY!

I get so anxious in a plain large open space. As if I’m in a void of no escape. The proper word is surprisingly agoraphobia. I hope you find that as weird as I did when I first found out. When I first learned about it was several weeks after my counselor asked me “Would you say you have agoraphobia?” and I answered “no,” because being in public has always made me feel even more comfortable than being alone. In fact, my anxiety has never had a problem with being around people and being approached by a stranger. I welcome it.

ONE DAY this word popped up on my Pinterest feed:

Cozy and comfortable. Now that’s my cup of tea (pun?). I do agree we should not hoard, it would get too crowded. I don’t like putting my emotions into something physical…except a journal. And I prefer to show my love rather than gift it through something. Man, gift people confuse me beyond any other human thing we do. Don’t get me wrong, I love giving gifts, but only when the gift finds me. I don’t like obligatory gifting. Christmas is the worst for me because I feel pressured to find a gift for people. I think this stems from my parents being very big on sharing emotions with my brother and me. We just don’t care about gifts as much as we care about quality time. Quality time needs to be spent somewhere with a cozy and comfortable atmosphere. Hyyge.

I didn’t have to really adopt this lifestyle, it’s already apart of my lifestyle. I think that’s important to feeling happy with how you live. I do go through things every few months to get rid of the things we no longer use or want, and I have designated boxes for our memorabilia. I know…I just said I don’t like to attach emotions to things, but some times it just nice to keep selective items. For instance, Isla received two special Valentines from two boys in her kindergarten class. When she’s in high school and sees those, she will laugh and/or cringe, and seeing that will be so worth the 10 years it takes for her to see them again.

I like movie tickets. I started collecting movie tickets in my first year of high school. I like collecting pretty rocks. And I have quite a bit of books. And with Daniel and I sharing a room we need to place my items and his items in a way that they both get celebrated. I display my rocks and our most beloved books on the bookshelf in our room. My movie tickets are in a cute box that is displayed on the bookshelf as well. It’s a hanging bookshelf, so it only takes up wall space, which I like, and we can view the things we love easily. Our bed is a simple gray and pleases both of us, with our tranquil teal colored walls and little pops of yellow. Daniel wants a TV but I refuse to let us have one in there. It’s our sleep place. Though, when we’re sick and need to be in there a lot for resting, then yes, the TV can go in there because the bedroom becomes a living, abut dying, space.

The living room is the living room. I have blankets handy, plenty of seating, and things on display that we can use. We have our big bookshelf with all the books, and our TV stand has our board games and photo albums displayed. Next to it is the gaming systems.

Basically, I hide nothing. I hate not seeing the things that make me happy, which is just about everything we have. The only things you won’t see are the extra things that aren’t currently in use, like paper towels and toilet paper, soaps and towels, travel supplies and winter coats, etc. I love it. My daughter prefers the living room over her room because it’s much cozier in the living room. It’s not bad, her room is very pleasant, but it’s her room. Her place. The living room is our place and I can proudly say that my daughter prefers our place, being with Daniel and me even if we’re all doing our own things. She feels comfortable and knows that she can bring her toys in the living room and play as long as she picks them up at the end of the day.

I’m not advocating that anyone should take up this lifestyle. What I mostly want to advocate is my love for the lifestyle. Everyone should love their lifestyle, not adapt to love it. Maybe some changes can be made, but if walking into your office and seeing a million things all over the place that make you smile makes you happy, then you fill your room with that! Throw out the bad. I do think it’s important to always remember that things are just things and the brain can literally never forget.