Every year it seems like Christmas music and decorations appear a little earlier. The instant the last plate has been cleared and the leftovers are in the fridge, shopping malls seem to be already decked out in Christmas splendor. In the blink of an eye Christmas is here and Thanksgiving is all but a full stomach and a fond memory.

While the holiday decorations seem to put themselves up all around, your decorating probably won’t be that easy. It’s a safe bet to say that your decorating adventures will involve multiple trips to the attic, rummaging through unmarked boxes, and hauling down boxes full of wreaths, ornaments, and all the other holiday stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. While all the decorating may be a pain, now is the perfect time to put a little attention into your attic. You’re already going to be up there moving things around, so why not take the opportunity to organize your attic?

Declutter Your Attic and Breathe Easy Again

Chances are, you are a little intimidated by the mess you will find in the attic. The thought of cleaning it up may be scary. Well, fear not…just roll up your sleeves, read on, and get ready to show your attic whose boss.

  • First of all, there is a good chance that you are uncertain what is actually in your attic. The very first thing that you want to do is to spend some time looking through the attic and making an inventory of what it contains. Before you can start dealing with the clutter, you need to know what you are dealing with. So, grab a pen and paper and start recording what you find.
  • The next step is to look over the list of items that you have found in your attic. Put each item into a natural category according to whether you want to save it, get rid of it, or think about what you want to do with it. For items that you don’t want to store in your attic, or that you feel you don’t have enough room for, you may want to look into renting a storage unit. Heavy items such as artificial Christmas trees are often easier to access in a storage unit than in an attic.
  • After you have decided on what will stay in the attic, you should separate the remaining items category and by how often you access them. The things that you access the most should be placed where they are the easiest to access.
  • You should maximize space in the attic by utilizing shelving, plastic bins, and boxes. Make sure to mark each box or bin so that you know what it contains. A good way to do this is to tape index cards on the outside that show the general contents of the box/bin as well as a small list of specific items. Boxes containing holiday decorations should also be marked to show which room in the house they go with.
  • Maximize access by creating aisle space between rows of boxes. Place the labels so they face the aisle way. This way you have room to access everything, see the contents, and maneuver.
  • Once you have your attic organized, make sure that you keep your organizational system up. Otherwise, it won’t take long for the clutter to return.

This year, while your holiday decorations are on display, why not take a little time to organize your attic? Follow these tips and the decorating next year could be a little easier. At the very least, your decorations will be easier to access in your attic.