This is My Daily Journal and today is Wednesday, February 28, 2018 and the last day of this precious month – which through the ages – has kinda been set aside to think more on the subject of love. If you’ve followed through with some of the early posts from early February – before Valentine’s Day – you are hopefully in a much better relationship with those in your life – than you were before February 1.
A March Challenge – Let’s DO This
SO – with our relationships hopefully improving – let’s turn to our homes – BECAUSE – during the month of March – I want to challenge us all to practice the art of cozy living. YUP – you read that right!!! We’re going to see how close to a storybook life – we can build for ourselves and our families – in just one month. And do you know what? I’ll bet we can build a storybook life worthy of logging down in each of our daily journals – because we can make the month of March – so precious and priceless – we won’t ever want to forget the small details.
My Daily Journal: Let’s Make March – The Art Of Cozy Living –
The Danish call the art of cozy living – Hygge. And Hygge – pronounced Hoo – ga – simply means – “the art of inviting closeness into our lives. It’s doing small and simple things that makes our hearts and homes come alive with warmth and love. It’s teaching ourselves to enjoy life’s simplest pleasures. It’s the art of purposely bringing coziness into our lives and especially our homes. Hygge – is acquiring a coziness within ourselves that goes deep down into our soul. And that coziness is so strong – it just radiates all around us. The Danish are said to be – the happiest people in the world – so they’re doing SOMETHING right – and I’m thinking it has to do with their devoted practice of Hygge – so let’s DO it …
I’m saturated with Hygge – I just didn’t know there was a weird name for it – lol
HOWEVER – even I can do better at acquiring more of the art of cozy living – and I’m going to do what I can to make the month of March – the coziest month this canyon has ever seen. I hope you’ll want to do the same in your own homes and families. And LISTEN now – THIS CAN BE SO MUCH FUN – AND SO REWARDING!!!
I mean – for goodness sakes – what better gift can you give you family – than to give them and teach them – the art of cozy living? I think we can absolutely LOVE our lives – in 30 days –
My Daily Journal: How To Create Hygge
If we want to have a real and sincere – month of Hygge – and maybe we’ll want that month to continue on and on and on – but it must start with a pretty tidy home. Our most read articles are not about heart health – or reversing cancer – although those 2 rank in the top 5 – and I get private messages about both of those weekly – but our most read articles are about de cluttering and speed cleaning our homes.
There is no real secret to having a neat and tidy home. You just get up in the morning – forget the phone and the tv and skip that 2 hour coffee break with donuts – and you just put one foot in front of the other – start at the front door – and go clockwise around the room and just DE CLUTTER!!! If an item doesn’t belong in the living room – for instance – old clothes – lol – or a dozen pairs of shoes – or toys, books and on and on – the list is endless – then PUT THEM WHERE THEY BELONG.
Can you see the top of your kitchen table – OOPS – well now you can’t ours right now – but that’s because I’m working on my junk journals there – but normally – there shouldn’t be anything on your kitchen table but maybe a center piece. And kitchen counter tops? Only necessary items should be there. No dirty dishes setting here and there – no flour bag you’ve left out – or the coffee can where you refilled your coffee pot and then left the coffee can setting out. When you’re DONE with something – PUT IT AWAY!!!
It’s a rare thing to go into our kitchen and even find dishes in the sink. UNLESS – I’ve been to the grocery or on errands and Geezer has been home alone and in the house – 🙂 And it isn’t because we’re retired and I have more time than others do – it’s because – as soon as I dirty a dish or pan – I wash it right then and put it away. That takes me about 1 minutes or less – most times. When cooking a meal – I keep a sink full of hot sudsy water and I wash and clean up behind myself – as I cook.
SO cleaning or speed cleaning – that’s a post for another day – but if you’re going to have a month of Hygge – you must de clutter and tidy first.
My Daily Journal: Plan a Cozy Meal –
THEN – plan simple but enjoyable meals for the end of each day – maybe by even candle light and yes – even if you have 4 kids still in the home – they will LOVE candle light suppers – even if it’s bologna sandwiches or hamburgers
And about that supper – take a walk after that evening meal, weather permitting – Walk around the house – around the block – sit on the porch and just gab for a bit – take a few minutes to stop talking if you’re outside and just listen to the birds chirping. Geezer mentioned that just yesterday “We were sitting in our face to face porch swings and we were just quietly talking and he stopped and he said “Listen!” Then he said “Do you hear all those birds chirping? They’re as glad the weather has changed as we are.” 🙂 I’m telling you – that Geezer notices EVERYTHING. He’ll come home from a hunt and talk about the sound of the leaves rustling – and the wind in the trees and he’ll tell a 15 minute story about watching the squirrels scurry about. Geezer is an old soul just saturated with Hygge … lol I knew he was an old soul – saturated with something – but just finding out myself – about the Hygge – lol
My Daily Journal: MORE Cozy Ideas
Find more time to read and relax and just sit and talk and put down those crazy phones and put that mouse down and slowly back away from the computer – SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY – watch a good movie and pop popcorn – or play a board game. Tell stories and let each one take turns. MAYBE even turn the lights off and tell stories by candle light – wouldn’t THAT be fun???
BE PRESENT with your family and/or spouse. LISTEN to what folks are really saying!!! Leave the drama on the television and turn that television off. Build harmony and stronger relationships with those you love most.
The Junk Book I’ve just completed is called “Thinkin’ Bout Home” and it’s about the old home place that we all have in our hearts – where we grew up. And it’s full of memories, stories – quotes – images – from the era “I” grew up in – and I call the 1950’s “The Storybook Era” My next Junk Book Journal is called “The Art of Cozy Living” and I’m telling you the truth – I’m turning to mush – just building and filling this book 🙂 And the one after that “Grandma’s Secret Recipes – The Lost Art of Cooking From Scratch” – those are both in the works – Thinkin’ Bout Home is complete and waiting on Kim to help me do my video and post it – But what I’m getting at IS – Some of us HAVE the knack for coziness – and it’s up to us to teach that art to others.
“I want to set hearts yearning for innocent pleasures and simpler times” –
It’s a GIFT to be simple and it’s a GIFT to be free – and it’s a GIFT to be able to pull ourselves back down to where we ought to be.”
In Round Knob Canyon – we live a very simple life – because we were raised very down to earth and it stuck 🙂
We LOVE doing our own things. I love cooking and baking from scratch and making my own skincare – And I love cleaning and tidying – and I LOVE making our home warm and cozy.
GEEZER – on the other hand – loves working with his hands. He’s built most of our furniture – GADS – HE BUILT this HOUSE!!! He loves just sitting at his work bench in the work shop and building knives or goofy contraptions – that I have to just ask “What IS that?” 🙂
There is SO MUCH MORE to life – than having everything – and life’s experiences can be so much better than any movie you’ve ever seen!
Let’s do this together – how about it? Let’s start tomorrow – and work towards teaching ourselves ‘the art of cozy living.”
This is a Challenge from me to you – for the month of March. I’m on it and I hope you’ll join me.
Peace and just tons of love – coming to you – from Round Knob Canyon
