July: Impeccable Home

When in Denmark, do as the Danes do

During July I am going to focus on my home. Initially when I outlined my year, I was thinking about our apartment - that I wanted it to be more of a "home". I wanted to make it less cluttered, more peaceful, more beautiful and more cozy.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I started thinking about "home" in more general terms (not planet earth though, that will be tackled later;)). I have been living in Copenhagen for two years now, but I haven't managed to feel at home here yet. So I decided to expand on the topic a bit, and also use this month to get to now the city better, its culture and its people.

Immersing myself in Danish culture for a month fits my project perfectly as Danish people are known for their love of "hygge", which can be roughly translated to "coziness". Danes tend to have beautiful homes decorated with candles, fresh flowers and beautiful furniture. Their homes also tend to be quite simple and uncluttered (despite usually having amazingly little storage space!). Additionally, according to the Gallup World Poll Danish people are the happiest in the world! Learning from the happiest people on earth, must be good for my happiness project:)

My July Resolutions

• Light a candle
• Make the bed
• Flower Fridays: buy flowers every Friday
• Play music: Put on a CD when I come home from work
• Declutter
• Put things back in place when I am done using them
• Read the newspaper
• Make a weekly menu plan
• Weekly grocery shopping
• Walk somewhere new every week

My July Tasks

• Paint, declutter and redecorate the kids' room. For some reason I find this is utterly scary. As soon as I start thinking about this I get anxious, and filled with discouraging thoughts. It's ridiculous right? I've tried tackling my home before and failed. I've made the plans, but as soon as I actually need to take some action, I find some excuse not to. (no time, not enough money, etc., etc.). But really, it is just a room! I can do this!
• Add and subtract in each room: Subtract one thing from each room, and replace it with something that better reflects our taste.
• Read: Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure, Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, and Feng Shui That Makes Sense: Easy Ways to Create a Home That FEELS as Good as It Looks
• Buy something from a flea market. Danes love to sell and buy stuff at flea markets. I love to visit flea markets, but never end up buying anything. Mainly because I am too indecisive. But I'd love to add something old and beautiful to our home.
• Read about the royalties. Danes love and respect their royalties. I should at least know who is whom:)
• Knit a blanket. I have a half-finished blanket in my drawer that I started knitting about 2 years ago. Time to finish!
• Fix my bike. You can't really call yourself a "Københavner" without riding a bike.
• Visit the little mermaid
• Read a couple of H.C. Andersen's fairy tales
• Go to tivoli and have an ice-cream at the "Vaffelbageriet"

I think July is going to be awesome:) cheers, Di.