Holiday House Cleaning

Here's the debate: Clean the house now and relieve the heebie-jeebies I get every time I look under the dresser in our bedroom and see dust bunnies of killer rabbit proportions, or wait until we take the holiday decorations down and clean then, since the house will get trashed in the process anyway? (And anyone who dare suggest we do both need never log on to this blog again. Just how much free time do you think I have, anyway?)

Of course, this opens the lively debate of when the holiday decorations should come down. Me, I'm a December 26th gal. Christmas is over... why live in the past? Let's take down the lights, pull down the tree, pack up the cards and put this whole holly-jolly season behind us.  If I get my way, every trace of the holiday is removed from my home by 8 PM the day after Christmas. Ahhhh... total relaxation.

Blair, on the other hand, is a January 1st or 2nd guy. "It's nice to have a tree up for New Years," is his argument. Uh--no, it's not. It's just a tall, green reminder of all the clean-up and packing still to be done AND it robs me of the satisfaction of starting the New Year, from the first bong at midnight, with a spotless home. I will not be denied.

One of my friends shared that she leaves her tree up until January 6th...the 12th day of Christmas. Honestly, that never occurred to me. Makes sense though (which is why Blair must never, ever learn of it).

Then you have people like my sister-in-law and brother in-law who leave their tree up until...oh...let's say...April.

This topic is a big deal for people. When I share with certain people that I prefer to take my tree down the day after Christmas they look at me as though I'd just smacked an infant. If there were such as thing as party-pooper police, I believe they'd turn me in.

Thank God we don't have kids. Can you imagine? "Did you have a good Christmas darlings? You did? Wonderful. Now rush rush and put all your new toys away because if they're left out after December 26th Santa will haul ass back here and exchange each and every one for a lump of coal. Run along now and clean your rooms..." 

If memory serves, I believe I acquiesced to Blair last holiday season and we left the tree up until January. Which is why I'm pushing this year to take that sucker down. 

I know, I know...bah humbug...I'm such a Grinch.  Maybe someday my heart will grow three sizes in one day.

But I'm betting it will be on a day after the tree comes down. =)