Storing Christmas Decorations: Quick Tips to Keep Them Straight

You are excited to have all your holiday decorations on display, but the thought of getting it all out of storage has you dreading the fast-approaching holiday. Inevitably, your lights will be in tangles and you are bound to find some broken figurines and ornaments. Then, once you finally have everything ready, you have to decipher what goes where.

All these Christmas decorating dilemmas can be avoided by taking care to store your decorations properly. Just a few extra minutes can save hours of frustrating work the next year.

Take pictures
If you are satisfied with your holiday decorations, take pictures of all your hard work to refresh your memory next year. Having pictures will remind you where you have placed things in the past, and each year you’ll make improvements until it’s just how you want it! Without pictures, you have to start from scratch each year and you may forget where all those “perfect spots” are.

Proper containers
The most important part of storing your Christmas decorations is having the right storage containers. Clear plastic containers with lids work the best, because they are sturdy and allow you to easily see their contents. Look for special products that have compartments for gift wrap items, ornaments, wreaths and more. Manufacturers put out specialty Christmas storage items around the holiday season that maximize storage space and protect your treasured decorations.

Breakable items
You must take special care of your fragile items, but you don’t want to overdo it to the point that it takes you hours just to unpack all your careful packing. For your most breakable items, either store them in their original box (when possible) or use bubble wrap for extra protection. Ornaments, other small decorations and some items that are breakable but not super fragile, are best packed in tissue paper. Tissue provides just enough protection but is still easy to pack and unpack year after year.

Tangle-proof your lights
When light strands are stored improperly, getting them out again can inflict headaches and frustration. There are a couple of preventative measures that can be taken to help insure your lights remain tangle-free.

1. Only store lights with lights: If you mix in other items with your lights, you’re just asking for a tangled mess next year. Plus, rolls of lights can get pretty heavy when they are all together.
2. Wrap it up right: Some light sets come with a reusable plastic device for storage purposes. If yours doesn’t, using a paper towel roll is an easy fix that will save time. Simply wrap the light strand around the roll to make your own reel. It will make stringing your lights tangle-free and easy.

Label and organize
There is a difference between storage and organization. You can store your items in any haphazard way you wish, but if you organize your things it will make decorating the next go-around a lot easier. Boxes, bags and labels are awesome for organizing. If you want to make room-by-room decorating a breeze, label containers by room. For example, place all your family room Christmas decorations in a box and label it “family room”. Then, when the next Christmas comes around you’ll have everything you need for the family room already gathered together. Bags for smaller items help keep everything separate, so you don’t have to dig.

By the time the Christmas season is over, putting the decorations away becomes a dreaded chore. If you just make an effort to put in the time to do it right, it will make decorating the next year more enjoyable.