De-Cluttering & Purging

Mantle — This mantle was covered with pumpkins and leaves. Now, it is de-cluttered.

It’s Saturday morning, and all my Halloween decorations are neatly tucked into two orange containers ready for storage in the basement. I do this every year—put them away immediately after, so that in about 25 days I’ll be ready to put out the Christmas decorations.

Yes. It’s true. We are the family that cuts down our tree at the farm the day after Thanksgiving.

Here’s my logic on it: If I’m going to go through all the trouble to decorate my house, throw parties, and entertain, then I want the decorations up for a while to appreciate them. My decorations do not linger past January 1. They all typically come down on New Year’s Day.

But when you being to purge and de-clutter, the space that you occupied with the decorations now looks neat and clean. You feel like you have more air and more room to breath within your walls. My house is a decent size—not too large or too small, but I always have the same reaction when we take the tree down each year: “Look how big the room looks.”

I’m having that same feeling about the Halloween decorations. Packed away, it feels a little more spacious and clean in here. And guess what? Some of the stuff you throw away? You never miss it. Trust me.

Now, if I could only practice what I preach in my home office.