Undecorating...less fun than decorating

I realize we're well into January at this point, but it was only yesterday that I worked up the will to undo the small amount of decorating that went into my apartment for the holiday season. Oh, except for that wreath-on-the-door business...anyone walking by could take note of that, so the wreath came down over a week ago so as to avoid shameful looks from any neighbors who strictly adhere to socially acceptable decorating removal policies. I briefly contemplated leaving everything out for the movers to deal with (they're going to pack up all my stuff! I don't have to wrap a single dish! I hope it goes well!), but my sense of responsibility and need for order got the best of me.

Just a little background - I loved decorating for the holidays not all that long ago. Sis and I would pull out the lovingly crafted ornaments from school years past with quips about our decorative skills or possible lack thereof (although anything you throw glitter on as a small child is adorable and must be kept until it quite literally falls apart). Dance around to some Christmas music, drink some hot chocolate, general holiday cheer for all. My enthusiasm for the sport has faded somewhat since I've become a decorating team of one (it's more work when you have to do it all yourself! Who knew?!?), so the decorations are minimal and a little more streamlined. With limited holiday cheer on display, I figured undoing it would be a relatively painless and quick process. Jingle bell snowflakes, berry wreaths, one stuffed snowman, twelve ornaments, and ribbon went quietly back into the boxes out of which they came. Then...on to the small trio of rustic artificial trees. The smallest tree, all two feet of it, cooperated nicely - smooth down those branches and right back into the box. The three-footer and four-footer put up a little bit more of fight, though; said trees consist of a base with a "trunk" and half a tree, and remaining half of tree exists on metal rod closely resembling rebar that is shoved into "trunk" to construct full tree. A small series of gentle tugs worked on the three-footer, but gentle tugs resulted in very little progress on the largest and most stubborn tree. My brilliant solution? Set tree on floor, place feet on top of base to secure, grab top portion of tree with both hands, and give more forceful tug.

You know how I mentioned a rod resembling rebar makes up the top part of the tree? It can prove to be a little painful when a forceful tug propels this rod into your general jugular area. After some minor bleeding and a brief concern about my ability to breathe, the sustained injury is a relatively small mark of scarring and bruising. Working off the knowledge that the injury on my neck bears a marked resemblance to a hickey, Trinity raised the question of "what happened to your neck?" with a bit of a raised eyebrow...so I just wanted to put the story out there for all interested parties. Careful with the undecorating, people - it can prove to be injurious.

On a slightly happier side note, I did not sustain any paper cuts or have any scissors incidents while wrapping gifts this year! I LOVE wrapping gifts!! Happy post-holidays to you all from my officially undecorated home.