Christmas Cleaning

Most people wait until spring to clean out the cupboards, but not me.

With Christmas looming, I feel the need to purge. Ever since we put up our Christmas tree, I have felt claustrophobic. Every time a package arrives on my doorstep, I feel edgy. Stashing gifts in the garage makes me tense.

I know that come Christmas Eve all the carefully wrapped presents will fit neatly under the tree, but their contents will expand upon opening, filling our living room, and eventually demanding to be absorbed into our home.

However, there is no room at the inn.

So instead of addressing Christmas cards and baking cookies, I prune the closets of clothes my children have outgrown, box up tinker toys and stuffed animals from Christmas past, edit my bookcases of titles I can spare, and recycle a year’s worth of “The New Yorker.”

While my neighbors unload shopping bags from their trunks, I fill mine with things we no longer need: things we may never have needed.

As I cart our belongings to Goodwill, my mood brightens. I now have space to fill with Christmas.

By Tina Bournazos