Packing It All Away

The most wonderful time of the year is followed by the dreariest–the cleaning up and clearing out of all the Christmas decorations. The boxes, the sorting, the careful wrapping of lights and breakable ornaments…Ugh. Sounds like a lot of work. And dreary, perhaps, unless you change your way of thinking.

If your house has been Christmas-ized for more than a couple of weeks, you are probably ready to put it all away and start the new year with a clean slate and a clean mantle. I know I am, and I am a huge fan of Christmas and all of the “stuff” that comes with it. If the bulk of the job falls on your shoulders, just getting motivated to bring the boxes or bins out of the attic is probably your biggest hurdle. But once those storage bins are in place, put on some energetic music and begin the un-decorating process.

1. Put a box in each room where Christmas has made an appearance. Have a separate box (or more) for your tree–ornaments, lights, skirt, whatever actually goes on the tree.
2. Tackle the tree first. It’s probably the biggest part of the job. Remove garlands, then ornaments, starting with small and moving to large. Lay the ornaments neatly in layers with tissue between or in small boxes that fit in the larger bin. Tissue does help cushion and keeps things in place. Next, remove lights (unless your tree is artificial and prelit). Wrap lights neatly around cardboard or wind in a 12″ circle and tie with a twist or cable tie.
3. Now that you are on a roll, just procede room by room, packing items neatly, wrapping breakable or treasured objects in tissue.
4. Leave boxes in their rooms until you think you have finished. Then, make a final room by room walk-through to catch anything you forgot—like the ribbon around the flying pig’s neck (or maybe you’ll just leave that)

   

   When you are sure you have it all, label the boxes or bins. You can use a fancy label maker like the Dymo or you could just use a thick, black permanent marker.

5. When you return boxes to their storage spot in the attic or garage, be sure to store them label-out.  Common sense, I know. But if your fifteen year old is helping you, this might need to be stated.
6. Don’t forget to take down outside lights and wreathes. Does anyone like to see Christmas lights up in February?
7. Sit back and enjoy your cleaned-up, cleared-out home–at least, until your family gets home.

I plan to un-decorate tomorrow (or at least by Tuesday) and have everything back to normal before the new year. Some wait until New Year’s Day. When do you make your clean sweep?