Clever Tips Tricks and Gadgets for Storing Holiday Decorations
This is a guest post from Miranda Perez. The photos are mine.
The last thing any good holiday decorator wants is a giant mess when it comes time to switch out decorations for the upcoming holiday. While a game of musical chairs can be fun, when switching your holiday decorations around starts to feel similar, decorating turns into an unforgivable monster.
Plan Accordingly
While the Holiday season is not yet upon us, it certainly is creeping up, and we all know how bombarded it can make us feel. One of the most time-consuming aspects of the holidays, besides buying gifts and preparing food, is organizing all the decorations. From Halloween to New Years Eve, with Thanksgiving and Christmas in between, each respective holiday has a different set of decorations. You know what that means? A giant mess! That is, unless you are well organized. Better Homes & Gardens has a novel planner for getting your decorating in order, reducing the stress of the Holiday season.
(New Year’s Eve Countdown Bags)
Organizing Christmas and New Year’s Eve Decorations
Perhaps the most voluminous holiday decorations are the Christmas variety. From the tiniest tree ornament to the seemingly endless strands of lighting, Christmas decorating can turn hectic when it comes time to organize everything either out or into storage. For ornaments, the traditional method of organizing is to store them in the original boxes, however after a few years these boxes quickly deteriorate. In response, one option is to use special archival ornament storage boxes. For Christmas lights, an effective organization idea is to use a light keeper storage bag outfitted with spools to wrap light strands on.
While some traditionalists buy a new tree every year, some of us choose to use artificial Christmas trees due to allergies or personal preference. Artificial Christmas trees can be significantly less messy, but even so, they can be a major pain to store. After all, a Christmas tree isn’t exactly as easy to store as a square box. With that said, the best way to wrangle the wayward branches of your artificial Christmas tree is to buy a bag to store it in. Believe it or not, there are special storage bags designed specifically for artificial trees and are commercially sold at affordable prices.
Halloween and Thanksgiving Decorations
Organizing and storing decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving can be a bit tricky due to the odd shapes and bulky nature of such decorations. One of the easiest methods of doing so is to fit as much as you can in plastic storage bins. Halloween costumes are perhaps most easily stored, as the majority can be stored on hangers in the closet or in vacuum-sealed storage bags.
Labeling Your Stored Decorations
What’s the use in having storage containers if you don’t know what is in them? Once you have all of your holiday decorations in their designated containers and storage bags, it is exceedingly helpful to label them so that you know exactly what is inside. Squidoo points out that while you can certainly use a labeling machine, a more effective and modern method is to take a picture with you digital camera, smartphone, or even Polaroid camera and attach to the outside a picture of each storage container’s contents.
Regardless of how you choose to organize, store, and ultimately label your holiday decorations, don’t be afraid to make the process your own. Use a system of organization that works for you because the last thing you want is to give up on the spirit of holiday decorating simply because you became overwhelmed.
Miranda Perez
When Miranda isn’t blogging about the latest restaurants and trends, she is traveling to discover new and delicious creations. Her frequent flier miles are her most prized possession.
