reflect and cherish the memories you made

Dec 26, 2024

I’m taking the next 4 days to simply enjoy the aftermath of Christmas. That translates to starting the decoration removal on Monday. Of course, removing Christmas from the barndo also means cleaning as I go so everything is back in order for the new year.

Treat yourself to a relaxing activity because you’ve earned it!

I know I’ve earned a couple days to simply not get out of my pjs, and I’m sure you have too! From high expectations (preparing food and choosing the right gifts) and tons of social interaction — to traveling (for me it was riding in a car for over 3 hours), late nights, early mornings, and a disrupted sleep schedule — it’s exhausting.

And that’s not even touching on the stressful photo battle I fought and lost…

4 Tips for cleaning up after Christmas:

  1. They say you should break Christmas clean-up down into one room at a time to stay organized.
    • I never do that… I take down and pack up everything first, and then go to war on the house cleaning.
  2. They say you should declutter as you’re packing decorations.
    • I never do that… I can’t part with some of my ornaments — even the ones that are too broken/ratty to put on a tree.
  3. They say you should clean decorations, wrap lights carefully, and store everything in plastic totes.
    • I never do that… I cram everything in boxes (they are labeled for the most part) and figure I’ll untangle the lights next year or buy new.
  4. They say you should make it a team effort and involve the whole family.
    • No way I could do that! If I waited around for my family’s help, we could just leave everything out for next year.

I’m ZERO for 4. 😬

Some do it early and some wait…

There was a time I had my house totally put back to normal on Christmas night. I don’t do that anymore but I never leave the decorations until after the new year.

While there’s no definitive statistic, a significant number of people take down their Christmas decorations after the first of the year (TYPE “A”) — and many simply aim to have their homes back to normal before 1/1 (TYPE “B”).

So are you an “A” or a “B” — and how many did you score on the 4 tips above?


Now you know: “Project Iceworm” was a top-secret 1958 $2.7 billion U.S. plan to convert part of the Arctic into a launchpad for nuclear missiles, including a nuclear reactor. Due to shifting Greenland ice sheets, the plan was scrapped in 1967, & the massive underground structure thereafter collapsed