It usually happens around January 3rd.
My house, which looked so festive around the holidays, starts to feel out of season, like the girl who is caught wearing white capris in November. I want to tear everything down, pack it away and get on with the business of a New Year.
And, yet, trying to do it all at once is overwhelming and definitely not fun. Therefore, I've come up with a little system for packing away our holidays that works so well, I had to share it with you.
I call it SANTA.
S: Slow Down. Did you know that the "12 Days of Christmas" mark the days from Christmas to January 6th? This means, technically, Christmas doesn't really end until the 6th, so there is no need to go tearing through the house in the days after to stash everything out of site. Do it little-by-little, when time allows. Do not, I repeat, do not become the person who takes down her tree Christmas night. Otherwise, other people (namely, me) will talk about you.
A: Allocate. I set aside a space in our basement that is for Holiday Decor only; nothing else is allowed to fill that space. Sure, I have to move 10 boxes to get to the Christmas decorations, but at least I know exactly where they are every December.
N: Negotiate. I have kids. I have a Christmas tree. I have a 41-year-old-back. Therefore, I work out a sort of "you scratch my back/I scratch your back" deal with them: they are given the job of removing all the ornaments they can safely reach, and I give them some sort of a treat, in the form of TV or computer time. I can't wait until they are taller.
T: Toss. While I am decorating the house in early December, I give all my Christmas decorations a good once-over. Do I really love that large cotton snowman an aunt gave us? What about the patchwork-quilt "Happy Holidays" sign for our front door? I'm not advocating throwing away your kids' love-filled art projects, but all that hideous Christmas stuff collected over the years? Get rid of it (I Freecycled mine; I never did hear how that person felt about getting my mismatched set of scary ceramic Santas).
A: Abstain. In my early-December enthusiasm, I can get a bit out of hand with the decorations. So, I try to remind myself that "What Goes Up, Must Come Down". I no longer decorate the side of the tree that faces the wall. Our front door has a pretty wreath on it, and that is all. We have some lights on the front of the house, but nothing that requires eight hours in a tree to hang. And, nothing, absolutely nothing appears that requires "fake snow", window painting or needle-shedding plants.
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Looking for even more advice on how to get your home and life organized as we start another year? Then check out the new SC Johnson website, Right@Home. They've got a ton of information on topics like cleaning your home, finding fun things to do as a family, or getting recipes for dinner tonight.
This post written for the Parent Bloggers Network.
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1 comment:
My children were able to help me this year to decorate and to take things down. I, however, do most of the work. That is why I only put up a few decorations. Enough to make the house look festive, but easy to pack up and put away after Christmas.
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