The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Emily R. at My Love For Words.
This post contains affiliate links.
The holidays are a beautiful time of year. Between the lights, decorations, and different magical characters running around, it’s easy to get swept up in the spirit of the season.
However, every year the season seems to fly by, and then it’s time for my least favorite part of it all… the clean up.
This year, keep your decorations safe and in order until next year with these tips for organizing holiday decorations.
Organizing Holiday Decorations
1. Keep only what you love
The holiday season goes by fast, and it’s just too short to be surrounded by stuff you don’t really love. The perfect time to purge your holiday collection of everything broken or that you dislike is when you’re packing everything away for the following year. Instead of returning that ornament you hate back to storage, toss it in the trash or, better yet, give it to a friend or donate it to someone who does like it. Being surrounded only by the things you love will make the season more enjoyable and save you time from having to constantly hide ugly ornaments on the back side of the tree.
2. Make sure everything has a home
I know it’s tempting, but try to resist the urge to just throw everything in a box and be done with it. Doing so will only set you up for a headache the following year. Instead, have specific storage locations for every piece of decor you decide to keep.
Wreaths can be stored in hard plastic containers to prevent them from being crushed, and fragile ornaments can be stored in large plastic containers with separate compartments for each ornament. These protect your ornaments from constantly bumping into one another and breaking.
If tangled lights seem to be the bane of your existence every year, try a light organizer. These can keep your lights from greeting you next year in a large, knotted mess.
Artificial trees can be stored upright in rolling bags or in large bags like these. These containers will help to keep your trees from being crushed under other containers and dust tree. They’ll also help to protect your lights from breaking if your tree is pre-lit.
Finally, don’t let your gift wrap get out of hand. Keep your wrapping, tissue paper, and ribbons organized and in one piece with these handy hanging gift wrap organizers and gift wrap storage boxes.
3. Label, label, label
Having your decorations carefully stored in boxes is great… until you need something and have no idea where to find it.
When you’re organizing your pieces into different containers, be sure to label what’s in every bag or box. You can add a brief description of the items to help differentiate it from other containers, and even add a note about where it goes around your home. I offer different printable labels on my site, which can be found here and in this printable collection here. If you have a lot of decorations that you use at different times, it’s also a good idea to add “open first” to the box or boxes you’ll need before others.
4. Keep it out of the way
Because the holidays only roll around once a year, it’s a good idea to keep your decor in an out of the way location. The last thing you want to do is trip over your Christmas tree for eleven months until you need it again. By keeping seasonal items out of the way, they’ll also be safer because they won’t be constantly jostled around.
I’d love to know what are your favorite tips for storing holiday decorations?
I hope you have a very happy holiday season and this year’s clean up is the easiest yet!
Emily is a wife and stay-at-home mom to her four children. She’s currently sharing the good, bad, and ugly in her journey to creating an organized and decluttered home on her blog My Love for Words. She also shares recipes, crafts, home decor ideas, and thoughts on life and motherhood. When she isn’t blogging, she can be found reading, cooking, or homeschooling her kids.
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
Susan says
label label label
also ..take pictures of everything before you pack it up. Later you can look at those pictures to see what you liked and didn’t…what you want to add..and what you can get rid of! Then, when it is time to decorate you can use a box for give away items that you know you don’t like
Laura Wittmann says
Pictures are such a great idea Susan!!
Elizabeth says
I sort and store my decorations by room. I generally decorate that way, so I don’t have containers of decorations around until I am ready for them. I also love buying something cute …and on sale…after the holidays and tucking it into the right container. I invariably forget about it until I open it again, and it becomes a gift to me!
Laura Wittmann says
Love that Elizabeth!
Kathie Gates says
I keep a typed list of what is stored in each numbered box. As things change a little each year, I update the list, adding the year. I have a copy on my computer and a hard copy with my boxes.
Laura Wittmann says
Great tip, thanks Kathie!
Seana Turner says
One tip is to box decorations up by room, and label them this way.. such as, “snowman for the family room.” This makes setting up quicker and easier.
Laura Wittmann says
Great idea Seana!
Emily @ My Love for Words says
Such a good idea! It would also save me from running around my house like a chicken with its head cut off trying to figure out where everything goes (though my kids might miss that haha).
Daria Harvey says
Labeling is so important! But as I add and subtract from my decorations each year, I don’t want to be constantly updating a list. So I pack decorations away by categories: Holiday Baking, Santa Collection, Indoor Silk Flowers, etc. That way I know where to find items, and can decorate in order (I like to start with indoor silk flowers). Thanks for the tips!
Suzanne Renae says
Great suggestions. I know that too often I hold on to decorations because I am sentimental toward the person who gave it to me, rather than to the item itself. I guess some of that is okay, but often I need to be better about letting go.