I have heard from many Japanese acquaintances (知り合い）that they don't use a kotatsu in their houses. Many people tell me that if they have a kotatsu in their home, they don't move in the winter. So they don't use a kotatsu.
My family LOVES the kotatsu. On the first cold day every year, they ask me many times, "When will we start using the kotatsu?"
I don't really want to put it out. It's a lot of work for me to clean when we are using the kotatsu. The kotatsu I have in my house has a heavy table top. When I want to clean, first I clear off all the things on the kotatsu--the TV remote controls, the box of tissues, the mican, and maybe some papers or letters. Then I remove the heavy table top, and lean (寄り掛かる) it against the wall. Then I have to remove the top cover blanket, and then the cover of the main kotatsu blanket. Then I wash the covers in the washing machine, and I hang the blanket outside in the sunshine to air (干す).
Then I have to move the table itself, so that I can pick up the mat underneath. I pick up the mat, take it outside to the deck and shake it off. Then I wash it in the washing machine, and hang it outside to dry.
I have to do all this in the morning, so there will be time for the mat and kotatsu blanket cover to dry. Also, I can only do this on a sunny day.
Then in the afternoon, I have to bring everything in. I put the mat back down on the floor. Then I move the kotatsu table back onto the mat. (It's heavy!)
Then I put the cover back on the kotatsu blanket. That is a hard job! There are 6 places I have to match up and tie, so that the blanket stays straight inside the cover. Then I have to zip one side of the cover shut, and shake out the blanket to make it lie smooth inside the cover. I put that on top of the kotatsu table, and I then cover that with another cover!
Then finally, I put the heavy table top back on top of everything.
Whew! It's a big job!
It feels so good after everything is clean. But I have a dog and a cat who love the kotatsu, so it gets dirty again VERY soon.
In our house, the tradition is to put out the kotatsu the first week of November. I think that's too early, but my children and husband always beg persistently (掻き口説く？）, and I always give up.
Do you use a kotatsu at your house
When do you put it out
こたつ in English is "kotatsu"! 
