Down with the Christmas Tree!

This year is probably the latest I have taken down the Christmas tree.  Today was the first day back to school for our children so I decided to wait until they went back to school and break was officially over to take it down. 

For several years I have been gradually thinning down the decorations and this year I was finally able to go through everything all at once that we have stored, and have out to decorate our home, and really go through it all.. What a wonderful feeling to be able to clear these things from our home and reduce what we store seasonally.  Next time I go to town I will load these items in the truck and donate them.  I know they will go to a good home.

Taking down the tree usually prompts a de-cluttering and a deep clean of the entire house, working my way from one end to the other.  This process does not usually take very long since I deep clean the house fairly often.  I enjoy going through each room and sorting through what we have, what we use, and what can be donated.  I will work on an area of the house each day and load any items to be donated along with the Christmas items.  I find when de-cluttering it works best to get the items out of the house completely so they are not in the way when you are cleaning.