Christmas Clean-Up

What goes up, must come down. That’s always the sad reality of Christmas. At least the peripheral stuff. The true meaning and joy of Christmas is there to stay while everything else has to be cleaned up, exchanged and used up.

This week I’m hauling out my boxes. Over the years I’ve realized that the best thing is to always put everything back into the same box it came from. With that in mind, when I clear off space to decorate in November, I put those items into the co-ordinating box that I take that decor out of. So now, when I take down the décor, say, on the fireplace, the items that go on the fireplace during the year are inside the fireplace decor box. I don’t have to find them elsewhere. Maybe this is something everyone has always done, but it took me longer to figure out.

Another time saver is it to put the extension cable and lights with each garland. If the lights can stay on, even better, but it’s nice not to have to look for extension cables next time. If you don’t do this someone in the house will find some use for them during the year and you may not find them when you need them.

As I take things down, I use the opportunity to dust or wipe down places that I don’t do on a regular basis. For example, wiping down the banister and spindles is as good a time as ever when you’re already taking down the garland. High, hard to reach places, windows and ledges can use a quick dusting or cleaning while you’re up there.

And you thought you could just take everything down lickety split? Well, you can do that too.