Tuesday Task: Undecorate

See you next year, Santas!

Today’s Tuesday Task is to undecorate from the holidays. Go as far with this as you wish or are able. Our family’s decorating is pretty simple compared to some, but it still takes effort to get it up and get it back down and stored away.

This year, I finally bought a plastic ornament bin to replace our decades-old cardboard box model. I didn’t have any idea if one bin would hold our collection or if we’d need another, but one did the job! I got this bin from Amazon, and think I’m going to love its less bulky size and sturdy construction.

I packed away the santas and their nutcracker companion and also the nesting wooden santa dolls. Alyssa took care of the stair banister garland. Taking the tree down is always a bittersweet thing for me — I’m very glad to reclaim a feeling of spaciousness in the living room, but I miss the lights, the scent (yes, we go live), and the ornaments that recall all sorts of good memories. I have to sort of gird up my determination to go ahead and do it, knowing all will be well when I get to the other side of the job. Are any of you like that? The Husband actually handled the whole tree this year, so my angst was mitigated.  I still need to carefully ease our artificial wreath into a kitchen-sized garbage bag and hang it on a big nail pounded into one of the attic rafters. This year, I made myself take time to do a bit of decluttering of decorations while I worked. A couple of years ago we transitioned to LED lights and I am finally donating the old-but-still-perfectly-usable strands. They are in the “donate box,” waiting for a ride to our local charity store.

As I type this on Monday night, I am sitting in our living room and enjoying the spare, open feeling I always have after these annual chores are complete. I love the cosiness of the holidays, but I also love this almost Nordic sensation — like I can take deep, cleansing breaths again.

How about you? Are you up for some undecorating today? You are in charge in your own household, of course, so work to please your own needs and circumstances. Report your results here and encourage the rest of us.