Blah

This past weekend, I, like most moms that I know, had the unenviable task of de-Christmasizing the house.  It's an atrocious task for the following reasons:

  1. It means putting all the new stuff away.
  2. In order to put all the new stuff away, it means cleaning out all the old stuff to create a place for the new stuff.
  3. In order to clean out the old stuff, it means convincing your children (and a little bit yourself) that you don't need all of that old stuff and can part with it.  This year, I bribed motivated my children by telling them that whatever toys we sold, they would receive (and split) the profits.
  4. While everyone is gung-ho to set up the Christmas tree, it was a ghost town around here when it came time for assistance with de-mantling the tree.  Somehow, even the smallest children realize that unwrapping and hanging ornaments is about one billion times more fun than taking them down and wrapping them back up.
  5. Putting the delicate decorations back in their original boxes, with each one nestled in a Styrofoam clam shell just sucks.  Then, trying to fit all those boxes in a larger box is like completing one of those geometric puzzles that leaves me stumped for days.
  6. Even fake pine trees and garland shed pine needles that defy even the most powerful of vacuum cleaners.
  7. I run out of steam about 1/4 of the way through, since I'm wiped out from all the festivities.
  8. I haven't really dusted since I put the decorations up, so the dusting and vacuuming is about triple the amount of work.  Awesome on the allergies.  Achoo.
  9. The house looks so dull and drab after all the glitz and glow is gone.
  10. It means that Christmas is over.
I'm hoping that in this new year, we can clean out and spruce up the house a bit.  We renovated six years ago, and have kind of let some stuff pile up since then.  I'm hoping to clean up and clean out, and keep the house that way.  

Despite the dirty snow and cold nights, I want to use this new year for a new start.  Not fad dieting, but a commitment to eating healthier.  Everything in moderation, including exercise and activity.  Putting family as the priority.  Not letting the small stuff eat at me.  Flossing daily (ok, at least every other day).  Focusing on the positive to fight the January blahs, despite the newly bare walls.

I feel good that the living room is cleaned and neat, at least for a day.  I do have kids after all.

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