My mother always told me "You've enjoyed it for awhile. Now let someone else enjoy it." Helps me let go of stuff.

My husband and I let a lot of stuff go, just let it go, Tuesday. It's time for another family to enjoy it. I sort it by color and area (always have), "next to go", and put it in the attic. You can do it. I will admit: I do buy stuff as I go along, but I move stuff along! Ha!

"I think I will finally admit that I do not like snowmen, santas, anything red and most things green, and nothing homespun. Those things can go to someone who is normal. ; )"

That was me some years ago-I live in Miami, I"m a dedicated beach/ocean/shell/nautical anything lover and I do not own a single piece of red or green clothing nor is a single item of decor, bedding, furniture, drape or paint in my home any shade of red or green. So....out went all the snow, reindeer, santa, winter wonderland holiday decor. I pared down to silver, white and gold and eventually dropped the gold. All my ornaments are beach/ocean/shell/nautical. All my gift wrap is silver or white, as are all ribbons and bows. I have to admit my holiday decor gave me a great deal of joy each year.

And then this year we bought a house in the Florida Keys and all that formal silver and white seemed so wrong for a place that's by definition fun and colorful and kitschy and holiday getaway already! So for down there I bought a little bitty fake white tree with multicolored lights (my tree at home used only white of course), and I repurposed a few colorful ocean/shell/nautical things that still had a bit of color and dash. And it looked wonderful if I do say so myself :). I didn't even use any of the silver/white wrap; instead I found a paper at Target with an aqua background and candy cane print that looked fun and whimsical and wrapped everything in that to go under my new bitchin' Walmart tree lol.

So although I'm not tossing all of the carefully collected stuff I have, accumulated I"m thinking a lot more may go next year if I stay with the new theme! You just never know do ya?!

I wish you much success in your endeavor Lynn. I know it isn't an easy task.

When we downsized this fall I knew I needed to take a critical eye at my holiday decorations. Luckily I never got into the habit of decorating for any other specific holiday. I used to have 2 trees at my previous home - one artificial which I put up after Thanksgiving and one live.

This year I opted for just the artificial tree. It's much smaller than I'd like in this new home with taller ceilings but to be brutally honest with myself it is perfectly fine. Christmas was just as nice as before. Now I need to bring my storage totes into the house and start sorting and donating.

So I'll be thinking of you as I start this process. Stay strong!

Maire

Maire, you just gave me a great idea. We tend to put our (live) tree up very late, like Christmas Eve. This year I fell for a fake tree, as well. I think, going forward. I will put up the faux one around ThxG and then the real one Xmas Eve; perfect solution to having the tree fresh on the holiday but having some decoration up earlier.

I still can't figure out how to hang stuff on my heavily flocked faux tree, so this year it only had lights.

A friend’s mom has at least that many bins full of FABRIC out in their garage - they don’t have room for even one car in there, those bins are on 3 shelves all down one side of the garage. She goes on vacation with an empty tote bag to bring home more fabric. The other side of the garage is all Christmas stuff.

If it doesn’t serve a purpose then why keep it. When we moved I really had to make a major effort to decide what to put into the storage POD and what to donate/trash. I did find that I am pretty good at packing breakables without any damaged at all between putting stuff in the POD and unpacking it at our new house.

I'm dealing with this now. I culled a grocery-bag's worth of candles and other items and some strings of incandescent lights etc. when putting up my Christmas decorations this year. I also decided to pack much more carefully and was able to eliminate a tote that way. A few questionable items have been packed away as I decided that was enough for this year; next year I'll cull again. I don't need to make all the decisions at once over items that I have enjoyed for years. However will be using a critical eye for everything going forward.

Thanks for all the support, stories and helpful hints! Every time I took a short break yesterday, I whipped out my cell phone to read more. They kept me energized and going, so you all did help! I’m about halfway done, with two more bins so far filled with donations to drop off.

And, as you all recommended, I’ve decided that I won’t be decorating as many rooms next year. It’s just that because we host Christmas Day here, that I feel it’s important where our friends spend such an important holiday is decorated festively. But from now on, a bit less so and only in the living, dining, and family rooms, the kitchen (and front foyer). Those rooms are where everyone congregates.

I’ll have to wait until Saturday morning for DH to help me pull apart our big artificial tree (I’m allergic to real ones) and get down the last 5 boxes that are stored too high for me to get by myself. I was hoping he could help me last night, but he’s been slammed at his clinic all week with influenza patients, and is exhausted when he finally gets home. There seems to be an exceptionally virulent strain going around this year. A lot of folks getting hit quite hard with it. I’m hoping it’s the same one I caught flying back from Cancun, so I’m immune to what’s going around now! We’re heading to Taos next week to celebrate our anniversary and I don’t want to get sick! Plus, I need to get the house back in order for our housesitter! Well, I’m off to get back to work again on it. Oh, BTW, I read your post , Mtn, last night late and went to bed still chuckling over your “un-normal decorating”!

Oh boy, I can see why you’d feel overwhelmed. I’m a little overwhelmed by our 5 or so Christmas bins (Our artificial tree get split between 2 bins.) It took about 2 hours for my daughter and I to pack away our tree and decorations this year, which felt tolerable. We got rid of the stuff that no longer sparked joy as we went. I could have gotten rid of more, but I hung on to a few things that my littles still enjoy, but I don’t.

Nobody should have to feel depressed at the thought of putting their decorations away. Maybe you could pick a “magic number” of bins that you feel would be manageable and enjoyable to handle. Then, choosing the items you love most, pack those away in your specified number of containers. My family finds that we work well within limits: Items must fit this shelf, that drawer, that tote, etc. and then cull until they do so. It’s not easy, but it feels so much better when it’s done. I’ve experienced the thrill of finding treasures second hand, especially when money was tight, so it helps me to think that my giving stuff up will bring someone else pleasure.

Good luck, Lynn. I too did some purging this year. A couple of years ago, I decided on doing exactly what you’re doing, and just primarily decorating the main rooms. I do put a few things out in other rooms, but it’s just a throw pillow on a bed, a small (I mean really small like 12”) fake tree or angel or nutcracker on a table, towels and maybe a little Santa in a bathroom or something like that. Easy peasy to do and put away when you keep it to just one or two things.

I’m guilty too! I did go through and got rid of decs a few years ago, but apparently not enough. I did give DD a frw things this year. We are moving and i decided I wanted all the xmas decs in plastic bins instead of random boxes. I filled nine bins, plus two ornament boxes and two kitchen garbage bags (because they had no more of the same bins left) and two wreath holders. Yikes! I could probably get rid of a few more things but most of it I still want, at least until I figure out what will and wont work in the new place. I know, seems counterintuitive to schlepp it all to the new place, but there really isn’t much I would be willing to part with now...maybe what i dont end up finding a spot for next year. And key is not buying any more decorations!

Mtn - how well did the flocking hold up? As a child my DD always wanted one and I was tempted to give her a small one this year for her home.

Decorating the day after Thanksgiving really extends the holiday season and more than makes up for the fact that it's fake. I am still planning on buying a taller one for next year - stringing lights on my old one has become tiresome.

Congrats Lynn - you'll deserve your trip to Taos after all your hard work.

maire

Folks will remember your home was warm, clean and that you were good company. In the grand scheme of things, one really beautiful area will make just as nice an impression as a dozen. And most important, you can feel relaxed!

When you are feeling owned by your holiday decor it's time to eliminate not only the items but the stress caused by the expectation of the vision you are supposed to create. For me, that expectation was not coming from my family at all. It was internal, driven by a lifetime of fantasy and marketing. I stopped all holiday decorating years ago. Oh I'll set a pretty table or wrap a ribbon around something but that's about it. My holiday boxes (and don't forget I decorated for 2 holidays) sat in our attic until I was purging for our move. I now have 1 box roughly 14" cube with a few treasured ornaments and dreidels. They haven't seen the light of day in years, though. The hanukkiah/menorahs I do keep with accessible. It has lightened my mood during that time of year immensely.

Mtn —- I am honestly shocked you HAD any red!

I’m trying to figure out my own Christmas tree style but I think it’s going to revolve around handmade things and lots of color.

Gaaagh, Christmas decorating/un-decorating....my nemesis!!! I love our home when it's decorated for Christmas and though I've tried to cut down on the amount (limited for the most part to main living areas and just a tad in guest rooms which will be used), it just would look incomplete with less (I've tried!).

And, when I really analyze it, a lot of our decor isn't a lot of small items but things that just take up volume such as greenery, wreaths, throws, pillows, about eight potted artificial poinsettias, stuffed animals (I know, sounds tacky but it's done tastefully! ;) ), candles, and wrapped packages used for decor. Actually probably only a couple of bins devoted to small filler items.

The last two years we went away for Christmas----aaaahhhhhh!!----and I think that is what we'll continue to do periodically just so when we do host Christmas we can really get into it rather than having it be a PIA (oh, who am I kidding...it's still a PIA!). When/if we ever downsize, we'll keep the same decor style but obviously won't need as much of it.

And, now I'm off to----for the zillionth time this week-----put the decor away. Or maybe one of us will say to the other, "Hey wouldn't it be more fun to......?"

I am down to 3 tubs of holiday decorations. Plenty.

Several years ago I decided that it was fun to look at decorations in the stores, on line, and in catalogs so conveniently delivered to my door. But I don't have to have them to enjoy them. So I stopped buying.

Lynn it is impressive the way your abundance of decorations are stored. I do recall enjoying your holiday pics. Thinking of Kondo (ebook only that I won't have to clear out later) do remember her emphasis on the importance of touching and holding each item as you reconsider it's joy sparking ability. I did do this with a few retired decorations and then put them back to sleep for another year in the storage box.

Lynn I do think you will be much less stressed by decorating only the public rooms. That will streamline the entire process and allow you to really purge the unwanted items. We decorate the living room, family room, DR and kitchen fireplace, but even at that I put our less and less each year.

How is it going now that you have DH home to help?

Storing "stuff" reminds me of a hilarious George Carlin comedy routine (from the 70's??)! He was on this funny "rant" about people buying bigger houses, etc.....just to......

"STORE MORE STUFF"!!!!

Faron

Faron, that's one of my favorite routines. That and the difference between baseball and football. Did he also note that people park their $25,000 vehicles I the driveway and their worthless junk in the garage?

Getting ready to put on Christmas in Connecticut and take down the tree decorations so the tree can go to the curb Monday morning. I didn't use as many decorations this year as we didn't entertain, so it was easy to put away. I've been doing "themes" (color and concept, which sounds so Pinterest-y but trust me it's not) the past few years so only using some stuff each year anyway.

Fortunately we have a warm-up coming so I can take down the outside lighted garlands in relative comfort. I'll miss them the most. I just love the neighborhood outdoor lights -- in moderation -- and it's kind of bittersweet when they start going off after New Year. Sad to see them go, but sad to see some stay on way too long. Kind of like eating a second Dove ice cream bar. The first one was so good, why can't you finish the second one?

Too funny BPH! And so true!!

Faron

Finally finished sorting, purging a bit, and putting away the holiday decorations and it feels SO GOOD! Husband was pleasantly surprised that the loft in the garage was sporting some breathing room LOL although he did comment 'and you'll be getting rid of more when we move right?'.

Something that occurred as I was working on it is that shopping/buying resources have changed over the years. Example: I had several boxes full of boxes, holiday bags, bows etc. Back in the day part of the post-holiday score for me was finding all that at rock bottom prices. I'd buy and store for the next Christmas but now with dollar stores and TJ Maxx/Homegoods resources it just makes no sense to do that. Why keep a full box of bows when for a buck you can buy all you will need for the holiday and indeed the whole year? So that is a wake up call for me as well.

Sorry, I’ve been working hard all weekend and today to NOT just pack away all of these decs, but instead to cull, throw away, set aside to donate and/or repack them more efficiently. DH has, sadly, not been much help as he’s been inundated over the weekend with a lot of patients sick with this latest, horrid influenza. Ugh! But, I am done!!!

Running: good point about not storing gift bags and bows from year to year!

Now I can focus on our upcoming 35th wedding anniversary trip to Taos. Ahhh!

Good idea, Maire Cate!

So… Any interest in sharing your final bIn count? :D I need the inspiration! Sounds like you did a big job.

Marie Cate, could you share where you got your giant roll of white paper? I like that idea. (My BIL, a minimalist long before it ever became a “thing”, uses brown craft paper for all gifts, but when I tried this, I had a hard time getting the tape to stay stuck.)

Enjoy your anniversary trip, LynnNM! It must feel so good to have the sorting and packing behind you.

Now 11 bins, and 3 smaller boxes, Robo, down from 25. It's still too many, IMO, but it’s a good start.

Thanks, LM, it does!

Lynn, Wow. What did you do with the 14 bins then?

Maire, I love my flocked tree. It's only been up since Dec 23 so I can't say how the flocking wears, but mine was a floor model from Terrain. I hate to take it down. It only has white lights but I find it so pretty. What I like about it is that the snow is very heavy. Our live tree has all the ornaments.

I agree about simpler paper (I had a lot of fun using mini pompoms on craft paper for recent gifts), and I am a bow and ribbon addict. I have had some since before I was married; fabric, French wire, etc.

Robo, Well of course, starting out, my Christmas was red and green like everyone else's. I even had a red dining room once. Well actually it was more of a deep pink-red.

Mtn, good question! For now they’re nested in a stack out in our garage. My goal this coming Spring is to reorganize our garage, perhaps using some of the empties to replace some cardboard boxes storing other things out there. I’m also planning on going through and getting rid of more holiday bins (Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Summer /Patriotic, and Halloween). Two of my closest girlfriends are teachers (home ec and grade school). We were terrible enablers to each other back when our kids were young (LOL)!

Love the white gift wrap idea! I've got 2 rolls of very cute aqua-background holiday wrap so although I'm not discarding all my silver/white wrap and bows, if I don't use em next year out they will go :).

Wow - that's an impressive reduction!

LynnNM-

Pay attention & make sure puppy doesn't get packed away!!!! :-)

Faron

...now I’m picturing a storage bin that barks... ;)

That’s very impressive! You have inspired me and I purged and rearranged my much more diminutive Christmas collection.

Faron and Jenn: LOL! Yes, I could accidentally lose my 12-pound Tibetan Spaniel in one of those if I wasn't careful.. They hardly ever bark, so it could be awhile to find her. But my Doberman, Knight, is a BIG boy and he'd never fit in a bin (LOL)!.

Mtn - Thanks for the info on the flocked tree. Wouldn't it be a lovely feature in a conservatory style porch?

Lynn - congrats on a terrific job. I am impressed at how well you downsized your decor. Keep up the good work.

Laughable - a few years ago I bought large rolls of solid wrapping paper at my local Michael's store - it was with the arts supplies. One of my Hallmark stores also sells large rolls of solid but they were out of white. The sales associate told me to come back in spring when they would re-stock for weddings, showers and communions.

I ended up ordering from Amazon and there were several different vendors who carried them. I waited a little too long and and several wouldn't guarantee delivery before Christmas or the shipping charge was outrageous. I ended up ordering white kraft paper from RUSPEPA . I picked matte because I wasn't sure if glossy paper could be recycled and I was worried about having the tape stick. The kraft paper was heavy but there were still a few gifts where you could vaguely see that there was something printed on the box inside.

Some of the other vendors did specify wrapping paper.

RUSPEPA White Kraft Paper Roll, 30 inch x 100 Feet

Sold by:
RUSPEPA-PAPER STORE

$27.99

• Made of 100% Recycled Material
• 30 inch Wide x 100 Feet Length
• White, Heavyweight and Durable Kraft Paper
• Smooth side is ideal for felt pens, finger painting, and fine-line drawing
• Rough “toothy” side is great for chalk, tempera, watercolor, and acrylic paints

Maire

@lynnNM

Sure your Doberman can fit in a bin, you just have to buy one that’s big enough! I think I’ve seen some at Home Depot ;)

speaking of animals in storage bins...years ago I was taking care of a friend’s ball python while they were deployed and had to bathe the snake in one of those sweater box type storage bins because it didn’t want to cooperate and bathe in the regular bathtub - the specialist at the vet said to use the bins and just snap on the lid to contain the snake. It had some sort of skin issue and treatment was an injection a couple of times a week, a bath daily, and cream daily. That snake is also how I ended up with a pet rat - after offering the rat twice and the snake wasn’t eating it, it seemed cruel to keep putting the rat in with it until the snake finally was hungry so I named the rat “lucky” and put it in a cage of its own as a pet.

Great story, Jenn; thanks for the giggle!!! :)

Wow, that’s a lot of bins. We downsized a year ago and I had to get serious about editing out everything possible. I never had an enormous amount of decorations, but am now down to three bins and two bags with wreaths, and two tabletop trees. I didn’t even use it all this year. My nightmare is multiple sets of china and cookware and no place to put it all in the new house.

OMG, Jenn! I was a tomboy growing up and am still not squeamish around bugs, spiders and snakes, but that would REALLY creep me out! Ack!!!

My name is Carole, and I have a Christmas addiction.

I have 20 bins of Christmas decorations. I see you have yours labeled on the outside. I use numbers and have a list written in a notebook. That way I can tell DH, "Bring up bin numbers 2, 7, and 14 first."

Just reading through this for the first time tonight and you've given me motivation.

Don't get me started on dishes. Or wine glasses. Or tablecloths.

Jenn, I’m not afraid of snakes as a rule either, but don’t believe I could bathe one! Thanks for the funny story.

Lynn, great job reducing your decorations. I’ve not done near as well, but maybe percentage wise, I’ve done ok. Have fun on your anniversary trip.

Oh Carole, I am so with you there! At one time, just a couple of years ago, I had something like 15 sets of dishes. I donated, gave away or sold about 5 in the past year trying to downsize. I have at least 30 sets of napkins, probably the same in placemats. Why? Because I love to decorate and setting pretty tables is a (fairly) inexpensive outlet . . . all things considered (LOL). Our home was decorated by me, the way we like it, and unlike many decorators, I’m satisfied and have no desire to alter it. But, I still do need some sort of regular design outlet! I do have mInimal tablecloths, though, as our table is 9 1/2-feet long and, as empty nesters, it’s usually just the two of us at one end these days. And don’t get me started on lamps, as I’m a bonafied “lampoholic ”!

Thanks for the paper details, MC!

My favorite gift wrapping is cloth bags. I bought several for immediate family presents as a way to reduce waste a few years ago and I love them. They really speed up wrapping! Mine are from Etsy but anyone who can sew could easily make these.

The only thing about being a temporary guardian of mr. sneaky snake (that was literally its name) that bothered me was having to put him into a cardboard box (you aren't supposed to do feeding time in the regular cage) and then put 'dinner' in the box with the snake. When the snake was hungry there would be a *thud* inside the box, which was a bit unnerving. Lucky was truly a lucky rat, to be put in the feeding box not once but twice...I waited, checked, snake in one corner rat in the other, took the snake and put him back in his regular cage. Next day, same thing. Like I said, it would have been cruel to just keep trying until Lucky met his demise as mr. sneaky snake's dinner. :P

crl - you mentioned cloth bags which reminded me that my DS and DDIL had all of their smaller gifts for us in very nice re-useable cloth bags - silver with small gray dots on them. They told me that is what came with their Amazon gifts when they paid to have their gifts wrapped.

I do have a couple of those huge heavy duty cloth bags that I bought for $5.00 at Bed, Bath and Beyond just before Christmas. That's the only time they sell them but they're great for large or weirdly shaped gifts.

" I use numbers and have a list written in a notebook. That way I can tell DH, "Bring up bin numbers 2, 7, and 14 first.""

Carole, my sister from another mister! I also have a bin numbering system. Each has a number that corresponds to my master list on which I've also made a brief list of what's in each box. It does make it much easier or it did when I'd stagger the unpacking. First were the boxes of tree supplies-ornaments, lights etc. Then the house decor and last the gift wrap.

I guess a good goal would be to have less than a handful of bins such that we just take a small group out, decorate and done.