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Undecorating from Christmas?  I’m sure some of you are already done.  I’m not.  There are several things holding me back including time and desire, but mostly nostalgia.  This will be the last Christmas in my condo.  My little condo.  The first property I bought on my own after my divorce.  Since this will be the last Christmas here, I’m enjoying my tree and decorations just a little bit longer.  I’ve been putting it off, but it’s time to undecorate with a purpose.

Over the years, I’ve collected numerous decorations and ornaments.  They fill several storage bins, six to be exact.  But in order to allow renewal in my life, I also need to allow it in my home.  It’s time to remove those things that aren’t working for me and I’ll start by not storing away Christmas decorations that I no longer need.  It’s time to cut the storage bins down from six to two.

It’s funny that I have this odd collection of ornaments that I use, ones that I don’t use and even some that sit broken or falling apart.  I have one bin of lights that go unused year after year.  Why?  And I have plenty of ornaments that just never get put out, year after year.  I just keep storing them away.  Keeping things you don’t need can drag you down.  It takes your time.  Time to go through your decorations to find the ones you want to put out and time to put them all away again.  Imagine how much easier it would be to manage two boxes of ornaments instead of six?

As I start to undecorate and go through the containers at the same time, I’ll ask myself some questions to help me weed out what I really want to keep versus the things that I’m keeping out of obligation or because I thought I might need it in the future.

  • Did I use it this year?
  • Do I have a sentimental attachment to it?  (And if I don’t, will someone else who might want it?)
  • Can I donate it or sell it?
  • Did I answer No to all of the above?

If the answer to the last question is yes, then the item goes in the trash.  It can be that simple.  It might hurt a little, but next year it will be so much easier to do Christmas.