How do I get my Desktop and Documents folders back OUT of iCloud?

See the following instructions from Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

(read carefully -- it's not a very straightforward process in my opinion)

Turn off Desktop and Documents

When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.

1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
4. Click Done.

If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents.

From my original reply:

(read carefully -- it's not a very straightforward process in my opinion)

Please read the entire reply again very carefully, including the last paragraph which I will repeat here:

If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents.

This makes no sense to me. If I click to de-select desktop and documents folder, I get a popup screen that says:

"If you continue, items will be removed from the desktop and the Documents folder on this MAC. and will remain available in iCloud Drive."

So, then (if I am reading this correctly) , I will not have the ability to access my files from my Documents folder. This is the exact problem I have now. Since I signed up for the dang iCloud, NONE of my files is on my computer, and I can ONLY access them in the iCloud!! I am ready to move all my documents back to my computer (still can't figure that one out) and get my computer off of this dang iCloud! I think I would rather use my own external HD for backup. Any ideas how to proceed?

Good luck!