Staged homes have a much greater impact than their unstaged counterparts. But what about temporary staging, aka seasonal decorating? Is it worth dealing with?

Every year about this time, I start thinking of all the reasons I should not put out my Halloween decorations. They inevitably lead to Thanksgiving decorations, and Thanksgiving decorations inevitably lead to Christmas decorations. It’s exhausting. If I could just skip Halloween décor, then surely I could skip all the other décor that follows. I’d be free!

And so I always decide that this is the year I’m not gonna do it. For one, my kids are older. Do they even care? For two, I just looked at the temp. It’s 93°F in October for Pete’s sake. Not exactly weather that inspires climbing rickety stairs into a breezeless attic, risking life and limb to drag down tired old decorations.

And yet every year I do it.

And I’ll do it again this year, because once the decorating’s done, I am filled with such great joy. There’s just something about sorting through the pieces, getting rid of things that are old and gross, and adding new stuff to my collection.

But hey, I’m not alone in my ambivalence. In a recent Houzz survey, 36% of respondents said decorating their homes is stressful, 56% said it’s super fun, and 8% of the responses were variations on “It sucks but it also makes me feel so happy.” According to psychoanalyst Steve McKeown, people who decorate their homes for the season are simply happier people. And this study found that people who decorate their homes are considered friendlier and more neighborly than those who don’t. And did I mention that a decorated home fills me with great joy?

So this year I went all out and got a whole new graveyard. Who knows if there will even be trick ‘r’ treating this Halloween, so I figure the decorations need to be especially cool. And I will take great joy in my new graveyard, at least until I have to break it all down, store it, and start all over for Thanksgiving!

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa