Decluttering and Danish Hygge

Decluttering and Danish Hygge

Maybe you have heard that Danish people are among the happiest people in the world. It is true, but we are not born that way. It is in our culture, and it can be learned. Danish Hygge is a big part of this. Hygge is a strange concept to describe, but really, it is mostly about focusing on positive details in life. Details that put you in a good mood. The Danes care about details. We create the Hygge mood, which helps us survive through periods of bad weather. Even when the weather turns good for a short period, we still continue to Hygge. All year around.

Social gatherings with friends almost always take place at home and that’s why we, as a nation, are exceedingly passionate about our homes. Danish Hygge is about caring, and when we do not care for our surroundings, clutter begins to spread its way into our lives, and Hygge is no longer a possibility. By learning some new techniques for thoroughly cleaning up and prioritizing your time so that you can keep yourself organized every day, you will find that you have much more time for fun and Hygge. Believe me. You will have no more anxiety about your home, you will be able to spontaneously invite friends over without a second thought, and you will dare to welcome unexpected guests without hesitation.

In my book, Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom, I share the techniques to clean up the Danish way. It will help you to know what to get rid of and what to save. You will learn tools and techniques to help you focus on why and how to sort through your stuff and how to maintain daily order in an easy way.

Similar in ways to the KonMari method, the Danish techniques for decluttering discussed in my book encourage decluttering by category and getting rid of anything which doesn’t ‘spark joy’. Everything in your surroundings must support you in a positive way, either by function or by ‘heart value’. The rest, you must let go. Have a chat with your things. Ask them, “How do you support me?” When letting go, say, “Goodbye and thank you for the time we spent together.”

I am not advocating that our homes should be so tidy that it is no longer obvious who lives there. A home should reflect the best aspects of who lives there. You need to make your home into a place where you enjoy being. Just as it is important to love your daily life, you should be able to love living it in your home.

Once you know what you appreciate, where your stuff is, and can understand the difference between what is good and what is bad for you to own, you will be free to enjoy the life that you truly deserve. Many people have already been taught to say “goodbye” to their clutter and “hello” to a life filled with freedom, Danish Hygge, and a better overall outlook. So, why should there not be hope for you as well?

For some initial tips on decluttering the Danish Way, read 9 Tips to Start Decluttering the Danish Way.

Lena Bentsen Danish Life Designer
Lena Bentsen, Danish Life Designer

Lena Bentsen is a Danish Life Designer living in Denmark and because of this, Danish Hygge and lifestyle are deeply anchored in her DNA. She wrote her book, Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom because she wants to help you experience the amazing feeling of freedom that comes from living in a home that reflects the best part of you. To create a home that is easy to clean up and built on the foundation of Danish Hygge.

Making Space for More Joy, Harmony and Hygge in the New Year

Making Space for More Joy, Harmony and HyggeOne of the best ways to start off a new year is to make space for more joy, harmony and hygge in your life and this can begin by decluttering your home of all the things that have been taking up space in the past year (or more).

Danish Hygge is about caring, and when we do not care for our surroundings, clutter begins to spread its way into our lives, and hygge is no longer a possibility. The key concept for Danish Hygge is to enjoy life in peace and harmony.

Once you know what you appreciate, where your stuff is, and can understand the difference between what is good and what is bad for you to own, you will be free to enjoy the life that you truly deserve. Continue reading

Clear Out Your Closet – The 80/20 Rule

Clear Out Your Closet by Lena Bentsen
Are you tired of opening your wardrobe every day and not knowing what to wear because there is not enough clothing that feels right? Clear out your closet! If you would like to know how to distinguish between clothing to be kept and what needs to be removed, read on…

I would like to help you experience the beautiful feeling of freedom that comes from having a wardrobe holding only your very best clothing and accessories – your treasures. A wardrobe with only your treasures is a step towards Danish Hygge. Since 2005, I have helped numerous families get a unique home with spirit, charm and Danish Hygge by cleaning up, organizing and decorating with care and I share the method with you in my latest book, Enjoy Your Wardrobe. Here are some short tips from the book.

Continue reading

Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom Paperback now Available!

Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom
Great news! My book, Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom: How to create space for Danish Hygge and Lifestyle by cleaning up, organizing and decorating with care is now available in a print version on Amazon. You can find it here.

Danish Hygge is about caring, and when we do not care for our surroundings, clutter begins to spread its way into our lives, and Hygge is no longer a possibility. The good news is that we can deliberately change this situation. When you start caring about your home and your surroundings you will find that you have much more time for fun and Hygge. Once you know what you appreciate, where your stuff is, and can understand the difference between what is good and what is bad for you to own, you will be free to enjoy the life you that you truly deserve. Start now and experience the amazing feeling of freedom that comes from living in a home that reflects the best part of you! Continue reading

The 3 Categories of Clear Out

3 categories of clear out

If you have decided to get even with your clutter, you have also decided to clear out and get rid of a whole lot of things. Otherwise, you simply will not get any closer to your goal.

If a particular item is still usable, there are always alternatives to throwing it in the trash. I do not want to encourage wastefulness, only thoughtfulness. At the same time, I would like to point out that a lot of what we save in our homes, unfortunately is nothing but garbage. For many things, it would be impossible to find someone who would want to take them off your hands.

Things to remove from your life can roughly be divided into 3 categories: Continue reading

Start the New Year by Decluttering

Start the New Year by Decluttering

Why not start 2017 by decluttering? Caring about your home and your surroundings will allow you to experience the amazing feeling of freedom that comes from living in a home that reflects the best part of you! And by cleaning up and prioritizing your time so that you can keep yourself organized every day, you will find that you have much more time for fun and Hygge. And that’s what we all really want!

To help you get started, read my article: 9 Tips to Start Decluttering the Danish Way

If you want to find out more, check out my book, Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom.

I wish you all much love and hygge for 2017!

The Two Types of Clutter: Active and Passive Clutter

The Two Types of Clutter: Active and Passive
Photograph courtesy: http://pre00.deviantart.net

There are two kinds of clutter: Active clutter and passive clutter.

You probably have quite a lot of passive clutter in your home and you would like to do away with it. In the beginning, it was just a collection of different things that you were using. This is active clutter. They became passive clutter the very moment that you no longer needed them and forgot to put them away. That is how a pile of items actually turns into clutter.

Continue reading

Our Surroundings Affect Us

Our Surroundings Affect Us - Danish Hygge
Whether we want to admit it or not, we are affected by our surroundings. The old saying, “clothes make a man” could just as well say, “surroundings make a man.” Our behavior changes according to our surroundings and circumstances. In a museum we walk nicely and quietly. On a picnic it is okay to fool around and get dirty.

When it is already messy in our homes, we give up in advance on putting things in place and might end up simply putting them in whatever pile is nearest. In orderly surroundings, we tend to behave in a more orderly fashion. Continue reading

Finding Freedom for Hygge

Finding Freedom for Hygge
By learning some new techniques for thoroughly cleaning up and prioritizing your time so that you can keep yourself organized every day, you will find that you have much more time for fun and Hygge.

In Denmark, social gatherings with friends almost always take place at home and that’s why we, as a nation, are exceedingly passionate about our homes. Many clutter-heads think that orderly people run around all day, cleaning up. They could not be more wrong. Orderly people have simply realized that clutter steals too much energy. It must, therefore, be kept to a minimum. Continue reading

8 Reasons to Declutter (that you may never have considered)

8 Reasons to Declutter - Danish Hygge
Clutter drains your energy
Clutter drains you of energy so that you do not bother to clean up. We all experience times in life when we do not have the energy to do much more than just care for ourselves. During these times just getting up and making a bit of food is a challenge. Clutter definitely does not make a situation like this better. Quite the contrary. Continue reading