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When to Take Down Your Christmas Tree to Avoid Bad Luck

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We wish we could keep our Christmas trees up year-round. No room will ever feel cozier than when it’s filled with garland, twinkling lights, and of course, a decorated tree. There’s something about walking into a room and smelling the citrusy aroma of a pine tree or having twinkly lights on in the evenings that makes us extraordinarily reluctant to leave this one piece of Christmas behind.

Alas, Christmas is over, and the time to take down our beautifully decorated, delightful-smelling trees is fast approaching. Although some people (perhaps a Scrooge?) are thrilled to get an oversize plant out of their house, many of us feel quite sad about letting go of the tree. We’re happy to put it off for as long as possible — maybe even a little too long.

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Before you decide to get rid of the tree, it’s a good idea to check with your city to see if there are any restrictions for throwing out a tree or if they have scheduled pickup dates for them. Now, you’ve decided to clear the room of all Christmas cheer (insert crying emoji here) and all that’s left to do is pick a date. Some people choose dates for superstitious reasons, some for religious reasons and some just pick a date that’s most convenient for them (usually sometime in February). Here are three of the most popular dates to take down the tree:

Dec. 31: Take your tree down on New Year’s Eve before the bells toll at midnight. Otherwise, it’s said you’ll be dragging all your baggage and bad luck from last year into the new year… if you’re superstitious about these things, that is.

Jan. 5: Take your tree down on this day, traditionally considered the Twelfth Day of Christmas — i.e., the last of 12 days of Christmas merriment. Think of it as getting closure on the holiday season.

Jan. 6: Take it down on Jan. 6 in observance of the Epiphany, a Christian holiday marking the revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus. Again, some would say leaving your tree up beyond the 5th or 6th brings bad luck.

Of course, taking down the tree and properly storing all of those ornaments and lights requires a few key products. Here are some of our favorite holiday organizers to help make this year’s tree take-down and next year’s tree assembly a breeze.

Ornament Storage Box

Zober christmas ornament box

Christmas Ornament Box
Zober.

There’s nothing more disappointing than finding a broken ornament when you go to put your tree up. Keep all of your favorite ornaments safe and sound in this festive storage box.

ZOBER Large Christmas Ornament Storage Box – Stores 128 Ornaments W/Dividers – Non-Woven, Durable Christmas Storage Containers – Dual Zipper – Red

Light Storage Reels

Santa's Bags [Wire and Christmas Lighting Storage Bag] - Install N Store Light Storage Reels and Wire Spool

Light Storage Reels
Santa’s Bags.

Save yourself hours of untangling time by wrapping your lights around one of these Christmas light reels. They will keep your lights from getting all bunched up and once you’ve got them wrapped around the reels, you can stack the reels in the protective bag that comes with them.

[Wire and Christmas Lighting Storage Bag] – Install N Store Light Storage Reels and Wire Spool – Includes 3 Spools, a Hanging Hook, and a Zipper Bag | Santa’s Bags

A version of this article was originally published in December 2015.

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