This Christmas, for the first time, my family and I purchased a “real” Christmas tree. We spent a long time looking for the perfect Christmas tree. As we searched through the rows and rows of trees we found most of them to be too small, or too big (read: too expensive), some had missing limbs, or were just too crooked. After 45 minutes of searching (and friendly arguing over which one to buy) we finally found “the one”.

This was an important decision because after all, we were going to decorate it with our cherished ornaments, care for and water it each day, take pictures in front of it and make memories with it for the next 30 days like many other families all around the world.

As I drove through my city the day after Christmas I noticed how these once cherished trees quickly became disposable trash. They are simply thrown out with the trash, no longer needed or cherished since their service has been officially rendered complete. Here is my collection of trees the week after Christmas.