Happy New Year
Seems that another Christmas season came and left in a flash and now New Years Eve is coming tomorrow and a 2025 just after that.
But is it time to say goodbye to Christmas and 2024?
In my thought? Absolutely.
Christmas is fun. Christmas is sentimental. However, trying to hold onto the past rarely ends well. In that vein it was time to take things down today.
So that's my Christmas tree from this year. Lots of decorations, tinsel and lights. Nothing wrong with it. However, like all things it has its time and its place. If it lingers too long then it is just odd.
First the tinsel comes down. Then the ornaments come down and things start to look a little more bare. But removing all those things is work. There are also memories. There are ornaments with special attachments to previous years and sometimes with the name or memories attached to people who are no longer with us. Eventually though all the ornaments are removed from the tree and it just doesn't look like is used to.
At this point its just time to start wrapping things up and packing it away for another year. But honestly there is still a lot of work to do.
There is tinsel to put away.
There are bells and ornaments to put away as well.
Then there are the Christmas decorations hung around the house. The lights on the house. The tree outside and so much more. Sometimes it makes me wonder why we did it?
But all things in their time. It brings a bit of light and life to the Christmas season.
Other things in their time
But there is more to putting away the Christmas stuff than just the tree and ornaments. When Christmas is over its time to look over the rest of things in the house and try to figure out where to go in the coming New Year.
What better time than a New Year to go through the house and get rid of things that are no longer needed?
For myself I'm looking at first clearing off all the bills.
As much as clean up Christmas decorations suck, cleaning up Christmas bills suck. However, rather than procrastinate and wait until the bill comes in the mail just go online, find the amount and get it paid.
Then look at all the other bills in the house. From property tax, to electricity, to natural gas, internet, cellphone, spotify, chatgpt and all those other monthlies that add up. Time to look at all those and clear off what isn't needed, keep what is, and pay off anything that crept up.
Then its time to look at other things that may no longer serve their purpose.
For me that means looking at credit cards. Some cards change perks. Some change interest rates. Some are just more annoying to use than others. In that regard I'm going to try and declutter my wallet. Same thing goes for loyalty reward cards and other useless stuff the accumulates.
Then its time to attack the house. So much useless stuff accumulates around the house. So much unwanted stuff in the fridge and the pantry. What better time to go through that the New Year.
Timing
Now of course I could wait until New Years Day to start everything. But honestly I like the few days before. Dec 27-30 are the best. It is still kind of holiday mode but its not Christmas and not New Years. In that way I can kind of clean up.
Then when New Years Day comes I can smile and think I'm starting the New Year with a clean slate.
Of course it doesn't always work that way because some things take time to clear away but still... at least I know I'm well on the path.
And that's it.
The end of Christmas
The beginning of a New Year
The end of this article
And looking forward to a years worth of Hive Learners posts.
Thanks for dropping by.
...and to the guys who read all the Hive Learners posts I didn't go deep on this one. I mean how can you do a deep dive on "What day is Christmas over"?.
Thank you for the upvote, appreciated
You did take out time to work on this decoration..
Yeah, decorating and removing decorations takes a long time. Longer than making this post at least :)
Thanks for dropping by
Thank you for the curation. Always appreciated
Christmas is that unique period when memories are created with our loved ones. Likewise remembering those that have passed on over the years. So much work in putting the house in the usual order just like energy was invested in putting up the decorations. I think it's fun anyway!
Putting them up is a bit like making new friends and looking forward to fun time ahead. Taking them down is like saying goodbye and moving. Both important.
Thanks for reading, appreciate it and all the best in the new year :)