LOL. About this time I get that same feeling, but I'll wait until after Jan. 6th (Old Christmas) to start putting stuff away. Going to wait to sweep floors and clean too because there's no use until then.

Ah, well, at least it's doodads & not dust that's making you daffy! I cleaned like a maniac on Christmas Eve, dusting from top to bottom, cleaning each stair for example, three times, to completely remove dust, debris, cat hair. I'd already given the stairs a cursory once over daily the week prior to Christmas Eve (as I normally do).

Wait, there's more! (I know, you're on the edge of your seat now!). I did additional cleaning Christmas morning. Lots more. Dusting, stair cleaning, vacuuming, used the crevice tool.

So...on this fine December 28th one would think when I wiped a cloth over my stairs that a clean surface would be smiling back at me, or at least only a slightly soiled one. Wrong! It was filthy. Furry, dusty, grimy, gross filth.

Do aliens land a space ship on my rooftop & shake stuff all over my floors & furniture while I slumber? Where does it all come from? Doesn't even make sense!

Christmas doodads are at least...cute!

stinky -THANK you for posting! Today and yesterday I've been putting away Christmas decorations AND cleaning out a closet, etc. Feeling like my house is soooo grungy in places, and yet, like you, I cleaned it scrupulously just before Christmas. Puts me in a very bad mood.... I hate seeing the dust, hate caring about the dust, hate cleaning the dust up....

I know someone who fairly extensively decorates for Christmas. However, by about mid-day Christmas, she absolutely has to put away every single Christmas decoration, including completely dismantling and storing away the Christmas tree. By the evening (even if she's hosting a meal), there is no trace of Christmas decoration left in the house. I don't think you're alone.

I take everything down the day after Christmas, once it's over I can't wait to get at them and get my orderly house back. I just got back from my gfs house and she had just finished doing the same. So the only solution is to put it all away now and you'll feel sane again. lol

Ha, Bestyears, you mean the aliens land on your rooftop too? LOL! All we can do is laugh about it I guess! I try to embrace the dust, become one with the dust, but I really just want to be without the dust for more than 48 hours at a time! I'm glad you posted too. Nice to know I have a dust buddy (not just dust bunnies!).

Pricklypear, that's amazing. Good for her. I don't have much in the way of seasonal decor, but plan to keep the tree up & lit at night until January 6, which is Epiphany. Wreath will stay on the door too. ( The twelve days of Christmas begin on December 25!).

I realize since most of us start putting things out well before the 25th, the twelve days of Christmas can feel like the 12 weeks of Christmas!

My trees are all down and put away too. I think all the trees (mine are artificial) are dusty. My DH thinks I am crazy, but I can't clean til it's all put away. I must admit all my outside decos stay up till Jan 1. I don't want the neighbors to know about my craziness :)

This year we put up a small tree on Dec. 23 and 3 vases of seasonal greens purchased at the supermarket. I have never felt so relaxed about Christmas. I think I will do it this way every year.

I am putting things away right now. Well, not right now - I'm actually taking a break and posting this message *right* now. Tree is down and most of the doo dads are put up. I still have a few of my regular things to put back in their places.

As far as dust goes, I live in West Texas. We live with dust. It's a part of life. I visit my sisters homes who live in the Midwest and marvel at how clean and dust-less their furniture, baseboards, etc. are. So even though I am dusting and vacuuming today, you probably won't be able to tell it by tomorrow. By, y'all. Off to put some more "stuff" back in the holes left by taking down the Christmas decorations.

While I greatly admire all of the beautiful houses that are decorated with some seasonal do-dad on every flat surface this time of year, I just can't do that.

Where do they keep it all? What do they do with their regular stuff during the holidays? How long does it take to put all of that out and then put it all away?

It looks exhausting. Lovely, but exhausting.

I feel like we stow more than enough just to do the mantel, tree, and a simple wreath on the door.

I get the urge to purge the garage and house pretty much anytime there's a big change, whether it's a change in seasons, a change in decor, or just a change in my attitude.

My motto is to never decorate so early that I have to dust the doodads. If I put the tree up more than two weeks before Christmas, my enthusiasm seems to peak before Christmas gets here. This year we didn't get out to cut down a tree until a week ago, so I'm still enjoying it.

The first thing that came to mind was the way I decorated for Christmas when I was in my twenties. Lots of little things all over the place. Too many doodads. I got over that and now prefer a sparser look.

Then I saw may flowers post and -aha- yes. I don't put anything out until a week (max.) before Christmas and all comes down New Year's Day. So it's not out long enough for me to get bored/annoyed with it. Or to have to dust it. lol I feel for you all that need to dust so often.

I finished putting the decorations away and the last box is ready to be put into the loft tomorrow morning. Tree came down yesterday, ornaments and trim were packed up by last night. The tree was dry, dry, dry and so droopy. Not sorry to say goodbye.

Since I decorate relatively early, after Christmas everything has been up for awhile. Somehow a tree and all the decor after the holiday reminds me of a woman in a formal ball gown the day after the party :). Sort of bedraggled and out of place; it's time to move on and clean up!

And, this year I must do some serious decluttering because within a month or so we are having impact windows installed-every window in my house is getting replaced. This means every room, including my rooms of shame, must be cleared out for the workers to get in and remove then replace windows. Great motivation to get moving.

Ann

I'm with those who don't decorate until one maybe two weeks tops before xmas and keep the decorations up until the 6th Jan. It's so ingrained in me to leave them up for the twelve days of xmas, I just can't bring myself to take them down earlier, it just feels wrong. But by then I am so glad to get them down and start cleaning up and getting things back to normal.

I didn't have time to decorate much this year so it's easy, peasy pie to take it down thankfully. Refreshing, really that I didn't have to stress over decorating or putting it away.

I bought some new things, so that's always a pain to figure out where to put away the new stuff. Most of it is already put away and some is being put away as soon as I get off the computer this morning. I'll leave the tree up until Monday or Tuesday but I usually like to have it down by New Years Day and I'm done by the time I go back to work.

NateBear, the trappings (doo dads and overall excess) of Christmas obviously exceed your comfort zone. I do believe that the materialistic concept of Christmas is way overdone! Try to do things more simply next year, such as decorating with half of much or very little. I'm quite sure this will help to reduce your stress, as it has done for me. Let others over-decorate as they wish while remaining true to your own (more quiet) needs.

I decorated early this year for a party and have been taking things down since Wednesday. As far as storage, we have a big storage area in the basement - around a thousand square feet just for storage, so otherwise, it would indeed be a hassle. When we built the house, a huge storage area was on the list!
I don't put Christmas stuff everywhere, but I do decorate each room with something. Maybe a tabletop tree or wreath. It all adds up to a lot of work and can be exhausting!
This year we had two full sized trees, three 5' trees and several small table top trees in addition to everything else.
Dh would be happy with Momma's plug in white ceramic tree and nothing else. (but I do ALL the work)

I don't do very much, either, at least by comparison to the Southern Living School of Lush Christmas Decorating Everywhere...some magnolia and candles on the mantel, sometimes with little poinsettias, or oranges and pomegranates, or something else...not much...simple wreaths from the fellow who sells them from the back of his truck up the street every year on the front doors, a runner and some things on the table, and the creche on the chest in the hall...then the occasional silver bowl of red balls, or something similar.

I take it down in stages, depending on what's on the social calendar, which greens have dropped dead, and whether or not I feel like it on any given day.

As to the dusting, we live in the city, and there's likely to be dirty dust around, plus a little cat hair, at any time. I've responded to that by lowering my standards a little.

So I admire those of you with the discipline to keep everything spotless, and to get it all done on a schedule. I'm more likely to curl up in my chair with another cup of coffee and a book....embracing my inner laziness.

I love my Christmas decor altho don't do it to excess and have never felt the need to take everything down Christmas Day evening or the next day. In fact I've often left many things up well into January.

IMO decorating for any season, or at any time, is very personal and one has to find what is comfortable or it becomes a chore. Decorating for me is fun and when it ever becomes a chore I change how I do it.

This year I did less than usual as didn't bother with the big tree - it's not pre-lit and I dislike putting lights on it. So I have my 4' tree, 4 tiny (12" - 18") trees, a nativity scene, and some groupings of my candlestick collections. This year I used all dark green candles so I'll eventually just change the color of the candles as have the candlesticks out most of the time year-round. I use few small things as find them difficult to display nicely but they look fine in with my transferware and some silver in the kitchen hutch. The Nativity and those few small things in the hutch will be packed away by the end of December but everything else including the 4' tree will stay awhile. I turn on it's lights first thing in the morning and off last thing at night and I'm still enjoying it. My mantel is more 'winter' than Christmas so may stay until end of January when I'll make it more 'Valentines' by changing the green candles to red. :D

Christmas, for me, is a season, not just a day.

As to where I store my non-Christmas decor when I decorate for Christmas it's in a closet with shelves where my extra decorative accessories 'live'.

I love looking at the 'Over-the-Top-Christmas-Decor' one sees on blogs or in magazines but I just don't want to take the time or expend the energy for that. In fact I have some really good faux coniferous garlands that have lived in a tote for a few years now as I can't be bothered decorating my stair rails. I'm keeping them 'just in case' I want to use them in another way.

OMG I can't WAIT to take down the tree tomorrow! Our house isn't very big so we always have to rearrange furniture to bring in the tree...etc... I'm just ready to have my "normal" house back! We have only had the tree up for 2-3 weeks but my other doodads have been out since right after Thanksgiving because we had a Christmas party here on Dec. 1.

I have the most dried-out garland on my mantel...can hardly wait to see that mess when I take it down.

Took everything except the outside away on the 27th. Early but had a big party and just needed to feel done. As I removed the table stuff I set it for the pary of 9 NYE. Might need to dust!(kidding as have not put the dishes on) but it looks festive yet the mantel looks bare and D and I are trying to figure out a NYE's look.

"Christmas, for me, is a season, not just a day."~ Luckygal

I hear you!

Someone said "Merry Christmas!" to me on the 27th, then became very apologetic & jittery, "Oh, I shouldn't say that, I mean, Happy New Year!" I said, "Actually, you were right the first time. It's Christmas until Epiphany which is January 6. Twelve days of Christmas, you know." She looked at me perplexed, as if I'd just tried to fill her head with utter nonsense. "No," I could see her thinking. "Christmas is over!"

As for "over-the-top" Christmas decor (or any other OTT decor) I don't even enjoy seeing it around or in magazines. My approach is relatively spare, but then this is the first year I've even had a Christmas tree in a decade!

Bettydee, I live on a dirt road in the state above you, and boy the dust is awful. I can't win for losing!

This year was minimalist decorating. Tree's down, so I don't have all that much to put away.

I will add some winter decor though. January is a gloomy month for some reason. It's like the "Dead Zone." lol

At pottery barn, it's their clutter and their problem...at home, it's a constant reminder that you're the one who has to put it away....

NATEBEAR, I noticed you haven't posted again, hope you're reading the responses. IMHO, you need to get rid of most of those doodads, etc. If you can't wait to take it down, I'm sure you don't love it and are decorating because you feel you have to, not because you want to. This year I kept all my "usual" stuff packed away and decorating with "stuff" I haven't used in years. If I wouldn't put it out this year, out it went. I took some to work and asked if anyone would like any of it. Amazing how much went and I'm happier with less stuff. Think about it.

We haven't put a tree up in years. We just tape up all the cards that come. Some years I remember to get out the tree shaped card holder and tree shaped votif holder. We also have red fluffy hats to wear. Everything else stays packed away. Just too much hastle for DH and I since we have no kids and don't generally host dinners. Oh, and I do have many pairs of Christmas socks to wear.

I do want to look for a 3 ft prelit, predecorated tree for next year. Big enough to enjoy, but small enough to cover with a large bag and store away with no deconstruction!

I don't host parties, my kids are grown, and I live alone, but I still decorate *for me*, whether I have company over or not. I decorate early, and leave it up till the 6th because I enjoy how pretty it looks, and it makes me happy! I use a restrained palette and fairly non-traditional decorations, like twiggy gold glittery branchy things in a cut glass vase, except for my tree which hasn't been up in the last few years - this year as my LR room and bath are not finished and there is a console sink parked where my tree would go!! But gotta admit, I have appreciated the easy holiday install and clean up without the tree which takes an entire day, or more but I do miss the hundreds of blown glass and antique ornaments! sigh.

This is my 3rd year of NOT decorating! Due to moving, things in storage, and this year the painter came a week b-4 Christmas.
I really don't miss it too much. In my larger home I decorated every room except the bedrooms. It took me a whole week-end to decorate and move stuff around - then I would leave it all up until the end of Jan. and another week-end to put it all away.
I do think next year, I will decorate, just to go through what I have ( I have wayyy too much) and toss what can't be used in my new downsized home.

As for the dust bunnies etc. 2 months ago, I throughly cleaned everything - now that the painter was here, I feel like I need to re-clean from top to bottom AGAIN !!
I change my furnace filter monthly and I still get dust and dog hair is a whole other issue!

I hope to start taking my Christmas decor down on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, when the 3 wise men visited the Baby Jesus.

We usually buy the Christmas tree around the 18th.I decorate the house a few days before Christmas with fresh holly and pine and our favorite family "Decoreens" as our kids called them when they were little. I love to keep them up until New Years Day.I will take them down this weekend and pack up for next year. We have 3 bins of Christmas decorations that we store in the attic.It doesn't take very long to dismantle Christmas!It is exciting to me to decorate for Christmas, and then to have a fresh start after New Years Day.

I get sad every year when I take down the decorations yet enjoy the fresh clean after it is done. This year I did very little in the way of Christmas decorating and hubby wanted the tree down Saturday however I could not bring myself to put away the nativity set yet. With the sparseness of this years decorating I already have big plans for next year. I missed the whole house being done. Happy New Year everyone :D