Packing up the Holidays

The holidays are here but all I can think about is having to put all my decorations away
afterwards, hopefully before valentines day this year. So how do we make a generally
fun experience (decorating), not terrible doing it in reverse (packing up), cause honestly,
packing anything sucks. Especially when you're trying to put away your holiday
memories and traditions without accidentally shattering them, while also being mindful
of the fact that you need to find these things next year. So… what can you do?

Looking at it all as one big task will be to overwhelming and your decorations will be
up until next December. If you think about it all as small tasks it’s going to be tedious
and you’re going to procrastinate until something forces you to do it, and I don’t know
you, maybe you don’t have someone who will judge you harshly enough to drive you
to finally do it.  My suggestion is you break it down into a few sweeping tasks. Take
down all ornaments, the ones decorating the tree, the ones in bowls decorating the
table, on wreaths, and in garland. Then move onto gathering all the wreathes and
packing them away, and then the garland, and then the tree. envision yourself removing
all of those items task by task, you’re pretty close to done, aren’t you? That was only
four tasks and your already almost done! You can do it like that or you can do it by
section, fireplace, table tops, wall hangings or you can do it room by room, living room, kitchen, lobby, den.

So, once you get everything away how do you keep them straight and easily findable
for the next holiday season? You can either sort out a clear labeling and storing system
for yourself, or you can get clear bins. I still suggest you store your stuff in a methodical
order, so you know what you’re going to pull out first and what you’re pulling out last.

The best way to keep yourself from accidentally destroying childhood memories is to
be prepared while packing everything away. Have your bins as close as possible to
minimize travelling distance between it’s where it’s been and where it is going. Also
have whatever you’re using for cushion on hand from the tree, to the old news paper,
straight into the bin. Don’t pause, don’t pass go, right into storage. That’s the safest
thing you can do. Don’t forget there's always a chance you drop your bins on the way to
wherever you store them. So, don’t overstuff your bins, pack them lightly and with lots
of cushion.

Finally, don’t forget that it’s okay to wait a little while. It would be super depressing if
you cleared everything up along with the wrappings from the presents. It’s the most
wonderful time of the year! Let it linger a little longer. Just try not to wait until
Valentine’s Day.