Happy day after Christmas! Hopefully you’re still at home with family or friends, enjoying new gifts and perhaps even leftovers from yesterday’s holiday dinner.
If you’re like me, you’ll keep your Christmas decorations up until the new year to enjoy the holiday spirit just a bit longer.
But once it is time to think about putting all the festive tchotchkes and ornaments away, how about a few organizing tips to keep breakables safe and make unpacking next year a breeze?
First, make certain that everything is clean and in working order before you put it away. Dust collectibles, toss broken ornaments, make sure strings of indoor lights work, and wash festive table linens and such.
While you’re at it, also weed out decorations you don’t use anymore. If you haven’t brought out that collection of glass Santa Clauses for a couple of years, is it really worth saving? Perhaps it’s time to pass the Saint Nicks along to a consignment shop to save room for the decorations you actually use. Besides, just as your home decor tastes inevitably change over the years, your taste in Christmas decorations probably does too. If you’ve moved on from colorful greens and reds to a scheme dominated by silvers and golds, perhaps it’s time to discard some of your the decorations that no longer fit your tastes.
Once you begin organizing, whether you use cardboard boxes or plastic tubs, make sure everything is clearly labeled so it’s easy to find next year. Try to group like items together—rather than tossing a random assortment of decorations in one box, keep ornaments separate from wreaths, cookie jars and other breakables in a different box than lights, and so on. Or if you’ve created a great decorating scheme and want to remember it for next year, perhaps you’d rather store items room by room so you’ll remember what goes where.
Coral Nafie at about.com has some great, basic storage pointers. I particularly like her idea of creating an “Open First for Christmas” box so you can easily find the necessities that are most important right away.
Of course Real Simple has some great tricks for storing ornaments, gift wrap, and more. The ornament packing ideas—including storing fragile ornaments in their original boxes and placing food-based decorations such as dough ornaments in resealable plastic bags—are particularly helpful.
Better Homes & Gardens also has some tips for storing ornaments, candles, and such.
Make holiday storage even easier with special tubs and totes made specifically for decorations such as wreaths, ornaments, and gift wrap. Check out the myriad options from Space Savers. And as Blue Suit Mom recommends, sturdy plastic tubs are better than cardboard boxes that are susceptible moisture, mold, and other damage. Or try Rubbermaid’s line of holiday storage products, which includes portable wrapping storage, collapsible cubes for decorations of all sizes, and even holiday wreath and tree keepers.
Stay tuned. Soon I’ll also be posting about the best ways to dispose of Christmas trees, store outdoor holiday decorations, and more.
What are your tricks for keeping everything organized until it’s time for next year’s holiday cheer? Share them here!
Until tomorrow,
The Home Know-It-All
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