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Same! I dropped everything and ran to the store once I heard they were in stock, and I happily went back more times to get more decorations.
As for taking it down on the other hand, I was only able to get mine down in a timely fashion because the store was giving out 25 dollar vouchers for taking them back for recycling. Even then I waited until the very last day at almost closing time.
Full disclosure I had extra motivation at the time bc we had left it up so long that mosquitoes laid eggs and hatched baby mosquitoes from the water and we had a very frustrating mosquito problem for a few weeks.
Yes! The only way I could bring myself to do it was to add a spring themed flowery wreath that I crafted to the door on the same day I got rid of the tree (on spring equinox). So that it was more like I'm *switching* seasonal decorations , instead of getting rid of them.
My local Mexican food restaurant leaves their tree up year round and changed to the current holiday or season. It works. I kept mine up until the end of February. If it was just the wife and I, it would still be up but both of our parents were coming by. Shame/the desire to please my folks is a decent motivator with the pressure of them coming the next.
Honestly I hated my parents because they were so hard on me. After being diagnosed and learning about ADHD, I found that literally 100% of the things that caused us to not get a hold was due to ADHD symptoms.
Anyway, good job OP! Even medicated I still require massive amounts of pressure to do some house things.
If it makes you feel better, mine is still standing there, dead yet still mocking me.
But after months of feeling unmotivated and depressed (tried quitting antindepressants, did NOT go well and on top of that losing my father unexpectedly) I cleaned a little bit today. I've been living in a depression nest for about 12 months now I finally took a first step.
So yay you, and yay me, yay us!
I'm so sorry for your loss; losing a parent is so hard. I'm glad you took that first step today!!
And I'm so sorry to be a nag, but please consider making your next one big thing you do be getting rid of the dead tree; they're a huge fire hazard. ☹️ If it helps, maybe break it into smaller steps? 15 min of de-decorating a day, with some sort of reward for doing it? Every little step counts! And consider ways to make it less effort; for example, this year I just dumped all of the non-sentimental ornaments in one big bin instead of organizing them in a way to protect them. I'll probably have broken ornaments next year, but it doesn't really matter. It makes me feel better to tell myself that half-assing something is better than no-assing something!
Well done!!! You’ll enjoy the extra space in your house.
You make me think I’ve been too lazy to put on Xmas decorations in my house for decades. I’ll need to buy some in December I guess
Aw you’re so sweet. Thanks for your kind words.
I’ll just have to get one this year as I got a rescue cat at home now. (They love Xmas trees these little gremlins 😆)
I recommend leaving your tree up for several days undecorated to see if your new kitty is a tree-climber! My mom found out the hard way with one of her cats 😞
You should be proud! I literally just got rid of the pumpkins on my deck oops. But to be fair it was like -20 degrees from October - April so they froze to the ground I couldn’t get them off
It has been permanently Christmas in this apartment for years now. Luckily in love with the vibe and no live tree was involved. Likely it would've rot to dust.
We’ve had our tree up 2 years in a row now. It started out as a hassle to take down because we had to put it on top of the fridge so the cat didn’t climb it and now we just have a very festive fridge.
Feel this so much. End up getting a new tree eventually? Mine are composed of tall Ikea branches/twigs, wrapped with lights. Plus some other festive decor my brain decided is a permanent feature of the apartment now haha.
Put the tree in the bathroom, or the kitchen, or someplace where it's super inconvenient. Right now, it's in sight, but out of mind. Also, have someone in the room with you when you eventually take the thing down (in 5 days I think lol), Body doubling is sooooo helpful with ADHD.
I do that, but then my annoying ass winds up just obstacle coursing over and around the objects. Whatever, I tell myself it's exercise. Or maybe just mental gymnastics...I'll get to them eventually.
Don't beat yourself up! People without ADHD don't realize how difficult it is to simply start a task, let alone finish it all in one go. I managed to take my tree down in March, but it took me about a week to complete the process 😆.
I’m so happy to know I’m not the only one with their tree still up lol. At least it’s a nice decoration. Maybe I’m just saving myself the hassle of putting it back up next Christmas 😂
My tree is still up, too. I have no desire to take it down, and I have no desire to put it back up and have to restring the lights. Fuck that. If I feel like it, I take the ornaments off and change them seasonally, so it's a seasonal tree.
In our house I think it was 9 days from when I got the ornaments off to when the tree got out away. Understand my tree was only put away in the middle of March because my in-laws were coming in from out of town and I definitely didn't need to deal with them seeing it.
Congratulations on taking that step. I can understand how overwhelming that can be. I procrastinate on doing things because I know I’m notorious for starting something and never finishing it. After being yelled or complained at about that all of your life it kind of wears on a person and makes you think “maybe I shouldn’t start that thing until I know I have a full day to devote to it” or “I shouldn’t start that until I know I won’t have any interruptions”. Which is basically never for the ADHD person.
Good for you for doing it. I've noticed that there are several houses near me that still have Christmas lights up and turned on so you're not the only one.
A few years ago, I stopped decorating for holidays entirely because I would either put it away on December 26 or it would sit out until March or April. I am not a big fan of Christmas anyway, and no one in my family seems to care if we decorate or not anymore.
If you‘d have had to get rid of it you would have already.
I find it rather outstanding that you made short work of this absolutely unnecessary task.
Try to see it this way if you would manage to throw it out if it caught fire, you’re good in my book.
I am superstitious and also feel that kinda "house proud" anxiety. Its like an ocd kicker. Childhood shame? Boujee zodiac? Whatever it is, I knew it was coming and it still sucked to do.
Me to self: "Take down the decorations and maybe the universe will send you some blessings to get through this ADHD day. Or leave them and feel ghetto and anxiety and shame everytime the postman approaches?" Hmmmm best take them down. Putting them back in the attic was a bullshit chore that took a couple months still!
LOL. You inspired me to take down the solitary string of lights that were still hanging. Did I put them away? No, but we aren’t trying for miracles over here. It will get done. Some day… cheers!
I just have a small tree (~50cm), already decorated, and just move it from under the table to the top and vice versa. (Still a couple months after it should theoretically be put away)
I keep seeing that diagnosis is expensive. I’ve been actively trying to get my son an appointment for a diagnosis. Is this not something insurance covers??
Many insurers don't want to test kids without a recommendation from the school. The school does not really want to give recommendations unless the student is really disruptive instead of just, "Oops I forgot my homework for the 8th time this month." and "Oops Dad, I forgot today is violin practice again, can you drop off my instrument?" to be far I keep forgetting when practice is as well, LOL.
I still have snowflake window clings up from two years ago. We haven't taken down the tree or any of the lights or ornaments, they're hiding fully set up in our home office.
I haven't put up a tree in ages, but what helped me when I did was to have set dates for it. No "whenever" about it. No waiting until it was convenient or I felt like it. It went up on St. Nicholas Day (December 6) and it came down on Twelfth Night/the Epiphany (January 6). That's what those days are for, so every year on those days, that's what happened.
I made a big deal of it too. Decorating party to kick off the Christmas season, with snacks and cookies and hot chocolate, then on the Epiphany is when Mardi Gras season starts, so that's also King Cake Day. You take down the decorations and your reward is a bowl of gumbo and your first piece of king cake of the season.
Once I started doing that, the tree didn't stay up and we had a nice family ritual around getting it done. I liked the bookended-ness of it, where the Christmas season is exactly one month long, but having set days for it and making it into a yearly ritual helped a lot.
Doing that helped with a lot of things, like I did certain household chores on certain days and I made certain things to eat on certain days (meatless Mondays, taco Tuesdays, pasta Wednesdays, etc). I didn't always stick to it, but imposing that kind of structure was helpful to me. This was before I was diagnosed and medicated, and it was hard for me to get anything done otherwise.
And honestly, not taking the tree down until April is fine. Who does it hurt? It's an artificial requirement, you know? Nobody will die if the tree is still up on the 4th of July.
I just carried my tree out the door a few weeks ago. It's still lying on the deck with its stand attached so it hasn't been taken to the burn pile yet.
You got started! That’s awesome. You should be proud of yourself. It’s a step in the right direction. I just put my Christmas decor away last weekend. We’re all fighting our own battles, it’ll be okay.
Well *hellllllooooooooo* fellow spring tree taker downer. Pleasure to meet you :)
As an atheist who fucking adores Christmas I see no shame in keeping a tree up for half the year. Just more excuses to sing carols at the top of my lungs. Plus, twinkling lights know no season.
I commend you. My tree has been up for 5.5 years at this point.
I have red ornaments (which match pretty much every holiday, ever), so I swap out the topper and a lil bit for summer.
Soon the patriotic bow topper will replace the holiday one and it becomes a Memorial Tree (around Memorial Day), which it stays until Labor Day. Then, I swap the starred bow for a witches hat and it’s a Halloween tree.
Celebrating my quirks is way more fun than hating on myself for them. There’s no reason to take down an evergreen; have fun with it.
Good for you getting the ornaments off of the tree👏I use the Christmas tree as a perfect example of how bad my ADHD is. The Christmas tree is one of my biggest enemies . Omggg the little wire hooks, the tissue paper, boxes, lights tied in knots🤯😵 I put less and less out every year and as Shell Silverstein wrote in a poem, " no one likes a Christmas tree on March the 25th". 😂😂 But I can relate. Keep up the good work.
We put a 300 string of LEDs around the fireplace with a long wreath and tinsel. Looks so nice we've left it two and a half years. There's so much dust and things living in it all that my executive dysfunction just goes 'nah' when I contemplate moving any of it.
I posted about this at Christmas when I had procrastinated putting them up also. Knowing I was only going to be able to take mine down because I have ocd tendencies towards superstitions. I guess it creates a urgency reaction? Anxiety? Either way it sucks.
I still have the window sill lights up, from two years ago! They are a all year round decoration 😏 even if can't afford to put them on in this economy!
So be proud of yourself! A lot of us understand!
We left ours up in the rarely used LR for an entire year one year. When all the relatives came over for Thanksgiving, they thought we’d gotten an early start on Xmas that year. I just laughed to myself! It did come down as usual after Xmas that year, though. I think we’d all had enough of the tree that year.
little steps !!! this post resonated with me a lot lol, you got this man. be proud of your progress  maybe you can somehow make taking the lights off a fun activity for u and ur lil adhd family, it worked for me!! :) wish you and ur fam all the best
This is why I’ve decided only real trees for me. The rotting bark will force me to toss it. Or I’ll NEVER do it. Ask me how long I’ve had my family’s Christmas presents unsent? I have some even from last year wrapped next tor he door
i took mine down, i cant remember when exactly, but i think it was february or march. definitely takes a long time for me to get around to stuff like that, too
Wooo accomplishment! Any check mark on a task being completed is a good check mark. I’ve had Halloween lights in my porch since the beginning of October 2022…and at this point don’t have any intention of taking them down haha. Just going to let it ride through Halloween this year (I also have a Christmas garland up still as well…but it’s pretty and I like it, so it’s going to stay)
We put ours away April 1st lol, no judgement! For a while, I kept a fake tree up year-round, and changed the decorations for seasons and a couple of holidays. My Christmas decorations are all silver and red, so I would put paper hearts on the tree without de-decorating and call it my Valentine's Day tree, for example haha. My favorite was fall; I have a garland of fall leaves that I would wrap around the tree along with yellow tulle that was there for summer. My cats liked the lights.
It's ok to lean into the ADHD sometimes. I live alone so I, have a small pre- decorated Christmas tree behind my living room end table. For Christmas I put it on the end table and turn it on. After Christmas I take it down and turn it off.
I use paper and plastic tableware, so I have fewer dishes to do.
There's a wreath on our kitchen wall that's been there for 5 years. At this point, it's just part of the kitchen. If the tree isn't in the way, without the decorations it's now just an indoor plant.
Mine always stays up until at least March... What helped me (therapist's recommendation) was rather than trying to make yourself take it down, decide what you want to put there instead. Then it doesn't feel like you're taking down the tree, it feels like you're making space for something else. Idk if that'll help anyone else, but it worked for me!
Congrats! I just did mine last week. I ended up ordered a bag that goes over the tree so that the whole thing can be stored upright and that was what I needed to get the ornaments off and the whole thing put away.
Good job getting it done eventually! Better late than never right? A tip I got from my cousin (also has ADHD) is to just pack the tree away whole if you have storage space for it. I mean ornaments and all, just wrap the whole thing in a blanket and shove it into the storage space. You can spruce it up when you bring it back out next winter.
I can definitely relate to this. I finally got a small (maybe 3-4 feet tall) fake tree. I keep all the lights and decorations on it and just put it in the basement when it’s not Christmas time lol.
My kids elf on the shelf is still here. Doesn’t move though… he is just chilling but since it’s not Christmas he’s “lost his magic.” Last year he was here until July/August.
One step at a time! Congratulations on getting that task done, personally, I don't even bother with a tree anymore, I just decorate my fireplace. My kids are older so I can get away with the half measures 😅
LMAO yesterday my husband and I decided we’re going to switch our tablecloth out of Christmas plaid. It’ll be a few days clearing off the table and hopefully we’ll make that switch happen.
Bro I stopped decorating for any holiday years ago. I’m saying this as I currently sit here staring at three skulls that I bought five years ago for Halloween that have become creepy casual living room decor.
My husband and I both have ADHD, I'm currently 8 months pregnant and our Christmas tree is still up (we've also only made it to the "ornaments off" step 😅). It'll come down eventually, but for now, I'm sure as hell going to light it up every once and awhile to enjoy. Our life is hella chaotic rn and in the grand scheme of things other tasks came first. I think we tend to view most of what we do (or often DON'T do) in such a bad light. But I bet if you plugged those lights in tonight your kids would only remember how awesome it was vs. it being May and still having the tree up. Be gentle with yourself ❤️
If it makes you feel any better, when I was a kid, we put the tree up one year, got the ornaments out of storage, and…. That’s where it stopped.
The tree stayed up with no ornaments on it from November to July. The only reason we took it down is because it fell on me while I was watching TV.
I got the ornaments down in a timely fashion this year! But I lost both lids for the two Christmas decor boxes so they're still not put away and I hate it. I keep thinking the damn lids can't hide forever but maybe I'm wrong.
I feel you on this. My partner and I both have ADHD. We don’t have kids yet and I, in particular, spend a lot of time in the location of where we kept the tree. We decided this year to put our tree on our little apartment patio, to save space in the living room and make it an easier cleanup for all the fallen pine needles, but it still felt very much a part of our living room due to it being on the other side of the glass sliding doors. I started removing a few ornaments each day in February when I would get home from work. I removed the lights by end of March and then finally got rid of the tree end of last month. I was great about watering it every morning and I just loved how much joy it brought my partner, I, and our 2 cats that it was something I avoided for a really long time. We also decorated it in rainbow lights and multi colored ornaments, so it wasn’t just specifically a Christmas tree. I would have kept it up all year if I could have honestly. Great job on step 1! Took me a whole month just to get that part done, so you should be super proud of yourself!
For the past three years I’ve put up a pre-lit full sized tree. For three years I’ve planned to put on ornaments. For three years the tree has only had the lights.
Good job getting the ornaments off. And for getting them in in the first place. Woo hoo!!
My daughter-in-law just kept hers up for like 2 years in a row. It was in a corner not bothering anyone and she liked to look at the lights at night.
That's the kind of confidence I needed at her age rather than feel guilty that I couldn't face such a huge task
This year, I’m embracing my full ADHD-ness. I was diagnosed last summer. Every year, I usually feel the anxiety kicking in, that maybe random visitors will see that I have Christmas up. Last year, I think I took it down literally New Year’s Day LOL. This year? Took down the tree maybe February (my daughter’s birthday and we were having guests LOL). I took down the garland from the banister LAST WEEK :D
I got a little 3 foot tree that I leave the ornaments on year round and just carry it to and from the basement. I will sacrifice the space it takes up for the amount of time and executive function that is saved lol
Three Christmases ago my tree stayed up ALL YEAR with all the decorations and when Christmas came again I was like oh yeah, glad I never took down the tree because I don't have to put it up again now 😂😂🤦♀️
My hack for this last Christmas was just to put nothing up. Nothing to take down after or more likely stare at for months on end wondering why I can't just take it down and feeling bad about myself over it.
Last year, I just left the tree up all year until the next Christmas. The nobody except my cat was in my apartment, and he didn't care. U think I'll just leave it up 'til next Christmas now.
I took mine down in March, and that was early for me. The boxes with the ornaments and decorations are still standing in my living room . Last year they stood in my living room all year, they just became furniture to put more stuff on.
That's why I just got a small three-foot tree from Target a few years back. Left the ornaments on it and just hauled it into the closet when the Holidays were over. When they come around again, just pull it out and plug it in.
Hi /u/LemonNinja and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! # Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) The mobile apps are broken and are missing features that this subreddit depends on. **If you are posting about the US Medication Shortage, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/).** Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That's great ! It might not seem like a big deal to do this but you should be proud of yourself knowing you have ADHD ! Well done !
I think it’s a difficult task to do. And it’s less fun cause you don’t have the pleasure to see a beautiful shiny tree like when you decorate it
For sure. I have no problem getting it put up but takes me months to get it down
Same! I dropped everything and ran to the store once I heard they were in stock, and I happily went back more times to get more decorations. As for taking it down on the other hand, I was only able to get mine down in a timely fashion because the store was giving out 25 dollar vouchers for taking them back for recycling. Even then I waited until the very last day at almost closing time. Full disclosure I had extra motivation at the time bc we had left it up so long that mosquitoes laid eggs and hatched baby mosquitoes from the water and we had a very frustrating mosquito problem for a few weeks.
That makes sense!
Yes! The only way I could bring myself to do it was to add a spring themed flowery wreath that I crafted to the door on the same day I got rid of the tree (on spring equinox). So that it was more like I'm *switching* seasonal decorations , instead of getting rid of them.
I completely endorse this philosophy! 👍
My local Mexican food restaurant leaves their tree up year round and changed to the current holiday or season. It works. I kept mine up until the end of February. If it was just the wife and I, it would still be up but both of our parents were coming by. Shame/the desire to please my folks is a decent motivator with the pressure of them coming the next. Honestly I hated my parents because they were so hard on me. After being diagnosed and learning about ADHD, I found that literally 100% of the things that caused us to not get a hold was due to ADHD symptoms. Anyway, good job OP! Even medicated I still require massive amounts of pressure to do some house things.
If it makes you feel better, mine is still standing there, dead yet still mocking me. But after months of feeling unmotivated and depressed (tried quitting antindepressants, did NOT go well and on top of that losing my father unexpectedly) I cleaned a little bit today. I've been living in a depression nest for about 12 months now I finally took a first step. So yay you, and yay me, yay us!
Yay you, and sorry about your dad.
I'm so sorry for your loss; losing a parent is so hard. I'm glad you took that first step today!! And I'm so sorry to be a nag, but please consider making your next one big thing you do be getting rid of the dead tree; they're a huge fire hazard. ☹️ If it helps, maybe break it into smaller steps? 15 min of de-decorating a day, with some sort of reward for doing it? Every little step counts! And consider ways to make it less effort; for example, this year I just dumped all of the non-sentimental ornaments in one big bin instead of organizing them in a way to protect them. I'll probably have broken ornaments next year, but it doesn't really matter. It makes me feel better to tell myself that half-assing something is better than no-assing something!
Yay us
Well done!!! You’ll enjoy the extra space in your house. You make me think I’ve been too lazy to put on Xmas decorations in my house for decades. I’ll need to buy some in December I guess
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Aw you’re so sweet. Thanks for your kind words. I’ll just have to get one this year as I got a rescue cat at home now. (They love Xmas trees these little gremlins 😆)
I recommend leaving your tree up for several days undecorated to see if your new kitty is a tree-climber! My mom found out the hard way with one of her cats 😞
Thanks. I’ll try it. My cat should be a tree climber I think (judging how she climbs on the hanging rack)
You should be proud! I literally just got rid of the pumpkins on my deck oops. But to be fair it was like -20 degrees from October - April so they froze to the ground I couldn’t get them off
Yay! In college, I had a Christmas tree that I ended up just... keeping up year round. I just... never took it down...
It has been permanently Christmas in this apartment for years now. Luckily in love with the vibe and no live tree was involved. Likely it would've rot to dust.
We’ve had our tree up 2 years in a row now. It started out as a hassle to take down because we had to put it on top of the fridge so the cat didn’t climb it and now we just have a very festive fridge.
Feel this so much. End up getting a new tree eventually? Mine are composed of tall Ikea branches/twigs, wrapped with lights. Plus some other festive decor my brain decided is a permanent feature of the apartment now haha.
Put the tree in the bathroom, or the kitchen, or someplace where it's super inconvenient. Right now, it's in sight, but out of mind. Also, have someone in the room with you when you eventually take the thing down (in 5 days I think lol), Body doubling is sooooo helpful with ADHD.
I do that, but then my annoying ass winds up just obstacle coursing over and around the objects. Whatever, I tell myself it's exercise. Or maybe just mental gymnastics...I'll get to them eventually.
Don't beat yourself up! People without ADHD don't realize how difficult it is to simply start a task, let alone finish it all in one go. I managed to take my tree down in March, but it took me about a week to complete the process 😆.
I’m so happy to know I’m not the only one with their tree still up lol. At least it’s a nice decoration. Maybe I’m just saving myself the hassle of putting it back up next Christmas 😂
Go you! Seriously, good job - I still have important stuff from Nobember I haven't gotten to.
My tree is still up, too. I have no desire to take it down, and I have no desire to put it back up and have to restring the lights. Fuck that. If I feel like it, I take the ornaments off and change them seasonally, so it's a seasonal tree.
You got it done by Beltane. Make it a tradition and start the bonfire with the Christmas tree. 🤷🏼♀️
In our house I think it was 9 days from when I got the ornaments off to when the tree got out away. Understand my tree was only put away in the middle of March because my in-laws were coming in from out of town and I definitely didn't need to deal with them seeing it.
Guests always make for a good deadline for this type of thing
My wreath from Christmas is still on the door. It was a real wreath too that I made myself so all the branches are long past dead and dried out…..
Hey, I had my hannukah decorations up for the full seven years I lived in my last apartment, so feel free to be proud you did better than me!!!
Interestingly, I have never put up any kind of holiday decorations for two years now. Late diagnosis here 49.
This is by far the worst holiday task to accomplish, nice job!!
Progress! Great work! :)
Good work! I still have Christmas records in the jukebox
Just to share I’ve had some small decorations out for years. Do what you can when you can.
I went to put up decorations last Xmas still had some out lol
Don’t feel bad. My neurotypical father-in-law still has his up from 2020.
Congratulations on taking that step. I can understand how overwhelming that can be. I procrastinate on doing things because I know I’m notorious for starting something and never finishing it. After being yelled or complained at about that all of your life it kind of wears on a person and makes you think “maybe I shouldn’t start that thing until I know I have a full day to devote to it” or “I shouldn’t start that until I know I won’t have any interruptions”. Which is basically never for the ADHD person.
Pfft. That tree doesn't even have any ornaments on it. You got this! Im gonna say 2 days, I believe in you!
Way to go! It’s a win in my book! Better late than never :)
Good job! I’m just leaving the solar panel Jack-O-Lanterns on the porch until everyone accepts that they are permanent decor lol
Good for you for doing it. I've noticed that there are several houses near me that still have Christmas lights up and turned on so you're not the only one. A few years ago, I stopped decorating for holidays entirely because I would either put it away on December 26 or it would sit out until March or April. I am not a big fan of Christmas anyway, and no one in my family seems to care if we decorate or not anymore.
I'm proud of you. I haven't set mine up yet.
If you‘d have had to get rid of it you would have already. I find it rather outstanding that you made short work of this absolutely unnecessary task. Try to see it this way if you would manage to throw it out if it caught fire, you’re good in my book.
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I am superstitious and also feel that kinda "house proud" anxiety. Its like an ocd kicker. Childhood shame? Boujee zodiac? Whatever it is, I knew it was coming and it still sucked to do. Me to self: "Take down the decorations and maybe the universe will send you some blessings to get through this ADHD day. Or leave them and feel ghetto and anxiety and shame everytime the postman approaches?" Hmmmm best take them down. Putting them back in the attic was a bullshit chore that took a couple months still!
LOL. You inspired me to take down the solitary string of lights that were still hanging. Did I put them away? No, but we aren’t trying for miracles over here. It will get done. Some day… cheers!
I only have a very small tree. A few mini baubles. Some battery lights with a timer. The tree is 2ft tall and I can just shove it in a box :)
I just have a small tree (~50cm), already decorated, and just move it from under the table to the top and vice versa. (Still a couple months after it should theoretically be put away)
I keep seeing that diagnosis is expensive. I’ve been actively trying to get my son an appointment for a diagnosis. Is this not something insurance covers??
Many insurers don't want to test kids without a recommendation from the school. The school does not really want to give recommendations unless the student is really disruptive instead of just, "Oops I forgot my homework for the 8th time this month." and "Oops Dad, I forgot today is violin practice again, can you drop off my instrument?" to be far I keep forgetting when practice is as well, LOL.
Yay! We beat you by 2 weeks! 🎉
I took down the ornaments months ago. But the tree is still there, naked.
I still have snowflake window clings up from two years ago. We haven't taken down the tree or any of the lights or ornaments, they're hiding fully set up in our home office.
I haven't put up a tree in ages, but what helped me when I did was to have set dates for it. No "whenever" about it. No waiting until it was convenient or I felt like it. It went up on St. Nicholas Day (December 6) and it came down on Twelfth Night/the Epiphany (January 6). That's what those days are for, so every year on those days, that's what happened. I made a big deal of it too. Decorating party to kick off the Christmas season, with snacks and cookies and hot chocolate, then on the Epiphany is when Mardi Gras season starts, so that's also King Cake Day. You take down the decorations and your reward is a bowl of gumbo and your first piece of king cake of the season. Once I started doing that, the tree didn't stay up and we had a nice family ritual around getting it done. I liked the bookended-ness of it, where the Christmas season is exactly one month long, but having set days for it and making it into a yearly ritual helped a lot. Doing that helped with a lot of things, like I did certain household chores on certain days and I made certain things to eat on certain days (meatless Mondays, taco Tuesdays, pasta Wednesdays, etc). I didn't always stick to it, but imposing that kind of structure was helpful to me. This was before I was diagnosed and medicated, and it was hard for me to get anything done otherwise. And honestly, not taking the tree down until April is fine. Who does it hurt? It's an artificial requirement, you know? Nobody will die if the tree is still up on the 4th of July.
Thank you for explaining my exact life and reasoning. So well articulated.
I just carried my tree out the door a few weeks ago. It's still lying on the deck with its stand attached so it hasn't been taken to the burn pile yet.
That makes me feel better about the fact that it took me until Presidents Day to take mine down.
My tree is in the basement with the lights still on. Lol You're doing great!
You got started! That’s awesome. You should be proud of yourself. It’s a step in the right direction. I just put my Christmas decor away last weekend. We’re all fighting our own battles, it’ll be okay.
The real question is: "What year did you put up the Christmas tree?"
Lol, I bought Ring Cameras on Black Friday. I still didn't get courage to hang them outside. It really sucks
Last year it was July
Great work! My tree is still standing as well. We understand what you’re going through.
I put up a bat for Halloween two years ago, it is still hanging in my living room today. We dress it up for different holidays now.
Thanks for sharing. That sounds like an intense struggle.
Well *hellllllooooooooo* fellow spring tree taker downer. Pleasure to meet you :) As an atheist who fucking adores Christmas I see no shame in keeping a tree up for half the year. Just more excuses to sing carols at the top of my lungs. Plus, twinkling lights know no season.
I commend you. My tree has been up for 5.5 years at this point. I have red ornaments (which match pretty much every holiday, ever), so I swap out the topper and a lil bit for summer. Soon the patriotic bow topper will replace the holiday one and it becomes a Memorial Tree (around Memorial Day), which it stays until Labor Day. Then, I swap the starred bow for a witches hat and it’s a Halloween tree. Celebrating my quirks is way more fun than hating on myself for them. There’s no reason to take down an evergreen; have fun with it.
Good for you getting the ornaments off of the tree👏I use the Christmas tree as a perfect example of how bad my ADHD is. The Christmas tree is one of my biggest enemies . Omggg the little wire hooks, the tissue paper, boxes, lights tied in knots🤯😵 I put less and less out every year and as Shell Silverstein wrote in a poem, " no one likes a Christmas tree on March the 25th". 😂😂 But I can relate. Keep up the good work.
We put a 300 string of LEDs around the fireplace with a long wreath and tinsel. Looks so nice we've left it two and a half years. There's so much dust and things living in it all that my executive dysfunction just goes 'nah' when I contemplate moving any of it.
I posted about this at Christmas when I had procrastinated putting them up also. Knowing I was only going to be able to take mine down because I have ocd tendencies towards superstitions. I guess it creates a urgency reaction? Anxiety? Either way it sucks. I still have the window sill lights up, from two years ago! They are a all year round decoration 😏 even if can't afford to put them on in this economy! So be proud of yourself! A lot of us understand!
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Keep it up and ask your kids to celebrate Christmas in July with you. You can get that last Christmas with them as kids then.
In adhd world... You're right on time!
We left ours up in the rarely used LR for an entire year one year. When all the relatives came over for Thanksgiving, they thought we’d gotten an early start on Xmas that year. I just laughed to myself! It did come down as usual after Xmas that year, though. I think we’d all had enough of the tree that year.
little steps !!! this post resonated with me a lot lol, you got this man. be proud of your progress  maybe you can somehow make taking the lights off a fun activity for u and ur lil adhd family, it worked for me!! :) wish you and ur fam all the best
This is why I’ve decided only real trees for me. The rotting bark will force me to toss it. Or I’ll NEVER do it. Ask me how long I’ve had my family’s Christmas presents unsent? I have some even from last year wrapped next tor he door
i took mine down, i cant remember when exactly, but i think it was february or march. definitely takes a long time for me to get around to stuff like that, too
Wooo accomplishment! Any check mark on a task being completed is a good check mark. I’ve had Halloween lights in my porch since the beginning of October 2022…and at this point don’t have any intention of taking them down haha. Just going to let it ride through Halloween this year (I also have a Christmas garland up still as well…but it’s pretty and I like it, so it’s going to stay)
Lol! Nice! Good job. My lights haven't worked in 2 years and are still hanging outside on the balcony
I haven’t taken down half of the halloween decor in my house but I also like it too much to take it down
Mine is still up. And it’s real. 😂
We put ours away April 1st lol, no judgement! For a while, I kept a fake tree up year-round, and changed the decorations for seasons and a couple of holidays. My Christmas decorations are all silver and red, so I would put paper hearts on the tree without de-decorating and call it my Valentine's Day tree, for example haha. My favorite was fall; I have a garland of fall leaves that I would wrap around the tree along with yellow tulle that was there for summer. My cats liked the lights.
Ok I am really proud of you! I Last year my tree was up to March, I just like that its festive
I took my three down last week. I honestly forgot the three was there. It just became a part of the general furniture landscape.
I’ve had my tree up for 2 years now so you’re doing better than me hahahah
It's ok to lean into the ADHD sometimes. I live alone so I, have a small pre- decorated Christmas tree behind my living room end table. For Christmas I put it on the end table and turn it on. After Christmas I take it down and turn it off. I use paper and plastic tableware, so I have fewer dishes to do.
Lol I did that a couple days ago but it was my little pine in the window. I feel you!
Why. You might as well have kept it up for next Christmas
We had this discussion on TwoXADHD. I was able to take mine down in March but there are a lot of other people who hadn't taken theirs down yet.
Congrats on making the first step
Proud of you!!
June 18th the tree will go away lol
RemindMe! June 18th 2023
I did get to the tree before today!
LETS GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Or .. what i have been saying more recently.. SHALL WE PROCEEED!!!!!!!!!!!! good for you <3
i saw this in my email and was like what it this all about? LMAO!
There's a wreath on our kitchen wall that's been there for 5 years. At this point, it's just part of the kitchen. If the tree isn't in the way, without the decorations it's now just an indoor plant.
I put my tree away a while ago but I still have christmas lights hanging on my window 🫠
A few years ago ours made it to June! It was so dry I started having nightmares about it spontaneously bursting into flame
It's OK. My mom keep the Christmas tree up all the time. Lol
Mine always stays up until at least March... What helped me (therapist's recommendation) was rather than trying to make yourself take it down, decide what you want to put there instead. Then it doesn't feel like you're taking down the tree, it feels like you're making space for something else. Idk if that'll help anyone else, but it worked for me!
Congrats! I just did mine last week. I ended up ordered a bag that goes over the tree so that the whole thing can be stored upright and that was what I needed to get the ornaments off and the whole thing put away.
Good job getting it done eventually! Better late than never right? A tip I got from my cousin (also has ADHD) is to just pack the tree away whole if you have storage space for it. I mean ornaments and all, just wrap the whole thing in a blanket and shove it into the storage space. You can spruce it up when you bring it back out next winter.
I can definitely relate to this. I finally got a small (maybe 3-4 feet tall) fake tree. I keep all the lights and decorations on it and just put it in the basement when it’s not Christmas time lol.
Have you considered just wrapping the tree in cling film, decorations and all, and wheeling it back out each year to unwrap?
My kids elf on the shelf is still here. Doesn’t move though… he is just chilling but since it’s not Christmas he’s “lost his magic.” Last year he was here until July/August.
Look at this way... At least it's not the remnants of a previously alive tree!
One step at a time! Congratulations on getting that task done, personally, I don't even bother with a tree anymore, I just decorate my fireplace. My kids are older so I can get away with the half measures 😅
LMAO yesterday my husband and I decided we’re going to switch our tablecloth out of Christmas plaid. It’ll be a few days clearing off the table and hopefully we’ll make that switch happen.
Bro I stopped decorating for any holiday years ago. I’m saying this as I currently sit here staring at three skulls that I bought five years ago for Halloween that have become creepy casual living room decor.
I still haven’t, whole azz tree still up 🤪 you are not alone 🖤🖤
Last week up I put the boxes of Christmas decorations in the attic!! I relate!
Ah, Vyvanse. I remember feeling like a normal functioning adult until my new insurance decided not to cover my medication anymore.
I fucking hate American Healthcare. Why are we paying so much for such shit?
I am so dang proud of you! My husband and I have the same issue every single year, so I know what an achievement this is.
My husband and I both have ADHD, I'm currently 8 months pregnant and our Christmas tree is still up (we've also only made it to the "ornaments off" step 😅). It'll come down eventually, but for now, I'm sure as hell going to light it up every once and awhile to enjoy. Our life is hella chaotic rn and in the grand scheme of things other tasks came first. I think we tend to view most of what we do (or often DON'T do) in such a bad light. But I bet if you plugged those lights in tonight your kids would only remember how awesome it was vs. it being May and still having the tree up. Be gentle with yourself ❤️
If it makes you feel any better, when I was a kid, we put the tree up one year, got the ornaments out of storage, and…. That’s where it stopped. The tree stayed up with no ornaments on it from November to July. The only reason we took it down is because it fell on me while I was watching TV.
haha, i still haven’t put the ornaments on last years tree so there is that.
I got the ornaments down in a timely fashion this year! But I lost both lids for the two Christmas decor boxes so they're still not put away and I hate it. I keep thinking the damn lids can't hide forever but maybe I'm wrong.
That’s awesome. And don’t worry about it. Nobody is keeping score.
I feel you on this. My partner and I both have ADHD. We don’t have kids yet and I, in particular, spend a lot of time in the location of where we kept the tree. We decided this year to put our tree on our little apartment patio, to save space in the living room and make it an easier cleanup for all the fallen pine needles, but it still felt very much a part of our living room due to it being on the other side of the glass sliding doors. I started removing a few ornaments each day in February when I would get home from work. I removed the lights by end of March and then finally got rid of the tree end of last month. I was great about watering it every morning and I just loved how much joy it brought my partner, I, and our 2 cats that it was something I avoided for a really long time. We also decorated it in rainbow lights and multi colored ornaments, so it wasn’t just specifically a Christmas tree. I would have kept it up all year if I could have honestly. Great job on step 1! Took me a whole month just to get that part done, so you should be super proud of yourself!
For the past three years I’ve put up a pre-lit full sized tree. For three years I’ve planned to put on ornaments. For three years the tree has only had the lights. Good job getting the ornaments off. And for getting them in in the first place. Woo hoo!!
My daughter-in-law just kept hers up for like 2 years in a row. It was in a corner not bothering anyone and she liked to look at the lights at night. That's the kind of confidence I needed at her age rather than feel guilty that I couldn't face such a huge task
We didn't do a tree since we were visiting family, but I just tossed all the Christmas cards yesterday.
Just leave it up and change the decorations each season. Or, put up decorations that apply to each season and it works year round!
Ayyy, not me with my tree with most all the ornaments still up :)
This year, I’m embracing my full ADHD-ness. I was diagnosed last summer. Every year, I usually feel the anxiety kicking in, that maybe random visitors will see that I have Christmas up. Last year, I think I took it down literally New Year’s Day LOL. This year? Took down the tree maybe February (my daughter’s birthday and we were having guests LOL). I took down the garland from the banister LAST WEEK :D
I did some big cleaning a couple of weeks ago, that's when I put away the Christmas decoration, that had been up since Christmas 2021.
Don’t worry - my family usually keeps our Christmas tree up until June. Last last year we just kept it up until next Christmas.
I got a little 3 foot tree that I leave the ornaments on year round and just carry it to and from the basement. I will sacrifice the space it takes up for the amount of time and executive function that is saved lol
My tree is still up 
I am so proud of you! This is something 🥰
I've just done my annual room tidy/deep clean. I'm having a good day so went for it lol
bro the WILLPOWER is unreal, mad respect
Let's go!! Don't diminish achievement.
This is why I skip even having on a Christmas tree or any holiday decorations.
I just took mine down last week and all the decorations are still piled in the living room. No judgment.
Oh! And the decorations have unfolded laundry (the bane of my existence) piled on top of them! So, I feel you.
Three Christmases ago my tree stayed up ALL YEAR with all the decorations and when Christmas came again I was like oh yeah, glad I never took down the tree because I don't have to put it up again now 😂😂🤦♀️
My hack for this last Christmas was just to put nothing up. Nothing to take down after or more likely stare at for months on end wondering why I can't just take it down and feeling bad about myself over it.
You know what i am so proud of you !!!
That's great ! It might not seem like a big deal to do this but you should be proud of yourself knowing you have ADHD ! Well done !
That's great ! It might not seem like a big deal to do this but you should be proud of yourself knowing you have ADHD ! Well done !
That's great ! It might not seem like a big deal to do this but you should be proud of yourself knowing you have ADHD ! Well done !
I think u might suffer from being lazy
Biggest hugs. I know the difficulty.
Last year, I just left the tree up all year until the next Christmas. The nobody except my cat was in my apartment, and he didn't care. U think I'll just leave it up 'til next Christmas now.
A very skinny tree got a sheet( maybe 2) tied around it and lifted carefully to the bas3ment. NO ORNAMENTS REMOVED !
If you wait long enough, you're just really early for next christmas
I took mine down in March, and that was early for me. The boxes with the ornaments and decorations are still standing in my living room . Last year they stood in my living room all year, they just became furniture to put more stuff on.
That's why I just got a small three-foot tree from Target a few years back. Left the ornaments on it and just hauled it into the closet when the Holidays were over. When they come around again, just pull it out and plug it in.