First things first, get motivated. The first supply you need when putting holiday decorations away is a healthy dose of motivation. Plan a day when you can pack away decorations, and do not schedule anything else for that day.
- Invest in large plastic tubs for seasonal storage. But not too large, you don’t want them to be hard to lift. Label the exterior of the tubs with the contents.
- Divide your home up into quadrants. You likely use the same decorations in the same places each year. To make decorating easier next year, dismantle holiday displays and pack them up according to specific areas of the home.
- To keep ribbons – especially the wired kind – fresh and uncreased, save the spools so you can roll it back up. If you’ve already discarded the spools, you could cut up paper towel rolls. And for ribbon bows, stuff wads of tissue paper in the loops so they will keep their shape while in storage.
- For fabric items — table linens, tree skirts, stockings, and the like — launder them before putting them away for the season; you’ll have a better chance of getting stains out than if they sit in storage for a year. Make sure they’re completely dry before packing them up, and store them, folded neatly, in oversized zip-top bags or in vacuum bags.
- In a battle between a decorator and a wad of tangled lights, the lights will almost always win. BUT here are some tips to keep those lights nice and tidy. All you do is start with one end of the strand. Put the first light at the bottom of your palm and pull the 2nd light to the top (vertical across your palm). Then, while you are pinching/holding the 2nd bulb, pull the 3rd bulb down the 1st. Then keep matching the odd and even bulbs. Then once you get them all in your tight little fist…Just wrap the remaining cord around and plug it back in! I store each strand of lights in it’s own bag just in case it comes unwrapped.
- For fragile ornaments, save the original packaging for storage. If you already threw that away, save tissue paper and bubble wrap from holiday deliveries and gifts. Wrap each ornament in tissue paper and put a layer of bubble wrap between layers of wrapped ornaments. Store the most delicate ornaments on top so that the weight of other items in the box won’t crush them.
- Outdoor Christmas lights should be taken down and stored with extra care, keeping next year in mind. Start from top to bottom. Store each strand of lights in it’s own bag to keep them from tangling up with each other. Store all your clips in one bag. If taking down the lights is too much of a hassle, call a professional Christmas light installation company, they may also take them down.
