We love January, it’s a month filled with renewal, refreshing, and the shedding of unnecessary physical or spiritual weight. As you take this time to improve your lifestyle by crushing that cleanse or changing your eating habits, a shift is likely to occur in the way you enjoy your food. You shed sugar like unwanted distractions and bread like a bad habit you can’t help but fall back into. Suddenly, the focus of caring for what you put in your body transcends the restriction of what you have to go without. The new appreciation you have for your food, then turns into a new appreciation for your environment and your life.
Enter, The Dining Room Cleanse–we think that as you pay more attention to what you eat, you should pay just as much attention where you eat it too. Here is what you need to make your dining room feel as fresh as your food and as fresh as you feel.
Designate A Dining Area
Make sure you have a usable, designated dining space in your home. In houses with limited square footage, the dining room is often the first to be converted for alternative use. Contrastingly, dining areas can accumulate an heir of specialty over time if unused, instilling a subtle assumption that the dining room is only for special occasions.
If you are more likely to eat your meals in front of the TV, in bed, or at the office, your body will assimilate these environments to food. So the next time you sit down to study or watch your favorite show, you will most likely want to grab some extra snacks without understanding why.
Find a set of table and chairs that can comfortably fit your entire family or rowdy band of roommates and make a conscious effort to sit there together every evening to enjoy a meal.
Remove Distractions
Remove all distracting elements from your dining room or area. These elements notably include media like television, phones, computers, etc. Remember that you’ve worked hard to cook this meal for yourself and gosh dang it, you are going to savor it. Keep soft toned music in the background if you see fit (change it up for the style of food as a quirky finishing touch) and turn your meal into an experience of treating yourself rather than something else you have to do to stay alive.
In the same vein, be sure to remove all clutter from the space to highlight your well-curated dining area and make it as unobtrusive as possible. The piles of mail, paperwork, and old bills have got to go. Give your mind a break from the whole of the day so you can truly enjoy your meal and make the most of the experience.
Shift The Atmosphere
Atmosphere is everything–if you're changing the way you eat this January, take the time to change where you eat and give your dining room a little boost too!
Curate and cleanse your meal space with a fresh ambiance. Make it feel like you at a luxurious evening meal, even when you're at home. Often, the experience of doing so can be even more comforting than a meal out.
Keep the atmosphere relaxed, lighting the area with natural or soft light. Rearrange or redecorate if necessary to incorporate a feeling of simplicity in the decor. Surround yourself with intentional decor–things that inspire and are meaningful to you. Keep what is paramount, just like your new eating habits, and maybe sprinkle in a few flowers for an extra fresh feel.
It's that simple! In the end, it’s your new life–you get to do what feels right for you! Take our suggestions and utilize them however they resonate, staying true to your one-of-a-kind flavor. Keep it small, keep it tidy, keep it rad, and make sure you show us when you do with the hashtag #lovepolyandbark.
