Why I Take Down My Tree The Day After Christmas

I love Christmas. It’s happy and beautiful and festive. But what I really love is getting my house back after the holidays are over. I love the clean, open feeling when I take down all the decorations. It’s like a new beginning for a new year.

The first year my husband and I were together, I went to take the tree down on the 26th and he freaked out. He’s catholic, you see, and believes in keeping the decorations up until after the new year. (It’s called Epiphany.)

I had no idea. I thought this was just procrastination. He insisted we keep them up and I wasn’t about to die on that hill so I made a compromise.

“Sounds good,” I said to him, “But getting these decorations down after New Years is your responsibility. I hit the ground running with my blog and spend all my free time focused on that. It’s how I get a jump start on the year.”

He agreed. And that year we celebrated Christmas until just after St. Patrick’s Day.

So, the next year, when I went to pull down the tree on the 26th, he didn’t say anything. And now my house is nice and clean, my big open areas feel open again, and I’m ready to start the new year.

Who’s with me?

Check out these awesome ornament storage ideas.