The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

I stumbled on The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking in a thrift shop (of course) and what a little book it is – a tiny 221 pages, merely  5″ x 7″ x 1″. Published 2017, so not so late on the hygge bandwagon that I’d call it a copycat. Written by a real Dane! And not just any Dane. CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, Copenhagen. Because I can never resist good data.

Until I picked up this book, hygge was a buzzfad getting a “Nooooooo, not another one” agonized howl from me. Minimalism. Swedish Death Cleaning which, I admit, I enjoyed. Certain-TV-shows-which-shall-not-be-named-isms – there’s one now has me dizzy with disbelief, shoved another certain-TV-show-I-used-to-name right off the “Ugh, can’t stand it” pedestal. I dare not look for others, I’d be too disheartened.

So what is hygge? In a word, coziness. And nothing to do, IMHO, with organizing. Something dearly vital in Denmark, which is often wet, cold and sunless and which the official website doesn’t mention. But Lonely Planet, my favorite travel guide, gives a more forthright assessment.

Except… if you are feeling hygge, you may feel more motivated to be organized. Or, if you are organized, you may be better able to achieve hygge, and enjoy hygge. You can’t entirely measure hygge – I suspect one man’s hygge is another man’s sorrow – but there are identifiable elements to it. I’ll mention one and encourage you to find a hygge-evoking book of your own to find the rest. Lighting. Good lighting from a pretty source. I can’t tell you how often I need to remind my clients that they deserve good lighting, even in the corners of the basement, the deepest of closets and tiniest of attics.

And ohmiunverse, do I vehemently believe that most of us can use a little creative hygge-crafting in the Pacific NorthWet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!