Storage Wars

While I love the Christmas holiday season, there is one thing about it that I absolutely hate. That is the fact that it ends. What that means to Ron Nagasawa is that I have to take down and put away all of our holiday decorations. The entire process of putting up and taking down decorations is like cooking a fabulous meal. When you’re done, someone has to clean the kitchen.

Over the years, I’ve devised a pretty good methodology based on experience. Some years ago, I purchased about eight Rubbermaid storage containers from City Mill. One is for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, and the other seven are all for Christmas. I store them in our garage high upon a cabinet that runs the length of it.

Taking down those containers and then eventually putting them back up is no easy task, for, if you’ve ever seen my garage, it’s like navigating a hike through the Amazon jungle. In other words, I have to move a ton of stuff to get to the shelf and then move it all back again. So, in a way, I’m glad that this occurs only once a year. I can deal with that.

Anyway, I laboriously went through the process of taking down all the decorations and meticulously packing them in the containers. Then I cleared a path to the storage shelf, set up a ladder and then hoisted each container up to its designated space, where they will stay for another year. I feel pretty good about that, as I like all the decorations to be put away — no exceptions. I’m pretty obsessive about that, according to my wife.

I had just gotten everything back in its rightful place, put things back that I cleared from the path and put away my ladder when my wife came home. I proudly exclaimed that I had put all the decorations away for another year. That’s when I noticed a rather large shopping bag in her hands. I asked what she had bought.

With a huge smile on her face, she proudly announced that she bought a bunch of Christmas tree decorations for an incredible bargain price to add to her collection. She handed the bag to me and said, “OK, you can put them away with our decorations until next year.” If there was ever a time for a grown man to cry, this was it.

I thought about leaving them out, as Valentine’s Day is around the corner and I believe the stores start taking out Christmas decorations right after that passes.

rnagasawa@midweek.com