It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… To Organize Your Christmas Decorations

Being just days away from Christmas, no one wants to think about taking down decorations just yet. But the fact that most of your decorations are out of storage makes this the perfect time of year to get them organized. Follow these steps for complete organization and hassle-free decorating next year!
Step 1: Declutter and get rid of unwanted items.
Believe it or not, you can start getting organized right now, even while your home is festively decorated.
Take a look around. Does it feel cluttered, like there are too many decorations? Sometimes with Christmas decorations, less is more. You don’t have to jam pack every surface with Christmas spirit, so consider getting rid of any items you know longer want, need or care about. Donate these decorations, and trash any broken ornaments, lights or other items beyond repair.
Also take a look in your storage bins. If there are items you avoid putting out year after year, it’s time to say goodbye.
Step 2: Take inventory of your remaining decorations.
The next step is to take inventory, either in your mind or with paper and a pen, of the decorations you decided to keep. Put them into categories, and for each category, take note of the number of items and about how many storage containers they might use.
Some major categories to separate your decorations into are:
• Indoor decorations
• Outdoor decorations
• Lights
• Tree ornaments and dressings
• Artificial plants (trees, wreaths, garland, flower arrangements)
• Kitchenware (dishes, mugs, serving pieces)
Step 3: Gather the right storage solutions.
Once you have an estimate of your inventory, take a look at the storage containers you’re using and see if you can make any improvements. Before the holidays are over and you start taking decorations down, you want to make sure you have the proper storage needed, and enough of it.
• Get additional storage containers if necessary.
• Replace any cardboard boxes with plastic containers.
• Consider purchasing item-specific storage solutions, such as Christmas tree storage boxes/bags, wreath storage containers and ornament storage boxes with dividers.
• Make sure you have enough tissue paper for wrapping breakables.
Step 4: After the holidays, put your decorations away properly.
When the holly jolly fun has come to an end and it’s time to take down the decorations, make sure to do it the right way so next season’s decorating process is a breeze.
• Put decorations away in their designated containers. Each box should have the same category of decorations, such as one box for ornaments, one for lights, and so on.
• Be sure to carefully wrap fragile items.
• Don’t overstuff your boxes, as this can cause damage and breakage.
• Untangle Christmas lights before putting them away. Although it’s time consuming, you will be thanking yourself next year. Try wrapping your lights around a heavy piece of cardboard, long cans or anything else you can think of!
• When it’s finally time to put those boxes out of sight, store them together in your basement, attic, shed, closet, garage or whatever storage area you use. Label each box with its category title so this time next year, you can find exactly what you want!