Sadly, the holidays are over now and it’s time to put away the holiday decorations. The idea is to get them all back where you got them in a somewhat organized fashion, preferably without breaking them. Let’s finish this holiday season off right by avoiding tangled lights, misplaced decorations, and broken ornaments.
Tips for Storing Holiday Decorations
Here are a couple of ideas to help you accomplish that goal and find them all in one piece next year.
Label Each Container
First of all, you should put all of your decorations into clearly marked containers such as boxes, bags, or plastic bins. Keep a list of the contents of each container and where you put it. For easy reference next holiday season, tape an index card to each container that shows its contents and the room where the decorations came from. You should also label each container to show the number of total boxes so that you can measure your progress as you unload them next year.
Storing Strings of Lights
Christmas lights often get tangled or broken when stored. A great way to protect and store your light strings is to wrap them around a piece of cardboard cut to fit within a plastic storage bin. You can also string them through used wrapping paper tubes to keep them safe.
Keeping Breakables Safe
Make sure to take special care with breakable decorations. You should wrap them up in tissue paper or newspaper to keep them safe. In addition, you can store the breakables within plastic cups if they fit, or within dish packs or liquor bottle boxes. You can even place the smallest ornaments inside egg cartons to protect them. You can keep your holiday candles safe by putting them in used paper towel tubes or an old sock.
Christmas Trees, Wreaths, and Linens
For those who have an artificial Christmas tree, you can purchase tree bags or boxes, which make moving and storing your tree much easier. You can also purchase wreath storage bags that help wreaths to maintain their shape.
The Essentials
For years in which you are too busy to fully decorate or you plan on traveling, you should put together a box of essential holiday decorations. This box of holiday essentials is much easier to move, unpack, and decorate than pulling out all the holiday decorations. Make sure to put it in a place that is easily accessible.
Storage Solution
If storing your holiday decorations in your attic or closet and getting them out every year seems like a hassle, or if your decorations take up too much space in your house, you may find it much easier to rent a storage unit and keep them there. This way you can easily access them when you want and they aren’t taking up precious space in your house the rest of the year.
