The thing that made it easier for all of us was downsizing the tree whenever it’s too much of a burden.
Originally, we bought a “real” tree at a tree lot and had the needles and sap all over. Then we realized it was physically making us ill due to our allergies, so we switched to a tall, full artificial tree.
We just found it too much to deal with a 6 foot artificial tree. Then we downsized to the current 3.5 foot tree that is just enough to make our living room a bit more festive without feeling like TOO much work and too onerous. If/when this becomes too much, we will find something smaller and easier for us to handle, but right now we are happy with what we have and it stores OK in the garage closet with ornaments and lights in the cupboard under the bathroom sink.
Artificial tabletop tree went over very well and the setup and cleanup were amazing!
It all went back into storage yesterday.