If you’re like me, it takes several weeks to get your home looking the way you want it to for Christmas.  When it’s over, I get a little sad.  I know I will have to put all those beautiful decorations away for another year.  My family loves the lights and decor as much as I do. The house just seems bare when you take down the lights and extra decor.  However, all good things must come to an end and things need to get back to “normal.” There are several things I like to do to make sure my Christmas items are properly organized and put back safely in the attic for next year.

How to Properly Store Christmas Items

1.  The first thing I like to do is assess what decorations I currently have.  There are several reasons you need to do this.  Some items may not be working anymore or have broken in the process of decorating.   After Christmas is a great time to do any shopping for clearance and sale items.
2. Use any new inspiration you may have seen throughout the season to come up with new decor ideas for next year.  You may see items that would work with your new theme and you can purchase them for great prices now.
3. Organize all wrapping materials so you know what you need for next year.  I wrap my kid’s gifts in the paper of their choosing so they are easy to find under the tree.  However, I wrap other packages in paper to match the color palette of my theme.  Knowing this information helps me purchase wrapping paper, ribbon, and gift embellishments year round.
4. Untangle all lights, garland, and ribbon so items do not become a jumbled up mess in storage.  Use plastic bags or tissue paper to keep items separated.  Label these items and place with the correct storage bin.  I like to hang my wreaths on nails in my attic.  They stay fluffed and the bows stay beautiful all year round.

           5.  Wrapping glass items in bubble wrap or tissue paper is very important. Decorations are very expensive and you don’t want to lose any to improper packaging. Be careful with decor with odd shapes such as reindeer antlers as they tend to be very fragile and hard to store.

        6.   Buy bins for safe and easy storage.  The plastic ones make things easy to see inside.  However, the green and red ones make it visually appealing if you have lots of boxes and bins in your attic.  They easily stand out and you know they are your Christmas items.  Getting the same size bins make it easy for stacking.

             7.   Label boxes with clear packaging tape so you know what contents are in each bin.  You can also move this tape around as your items change or you move the item to another bin.

            8.    Package like items together.  You can group items by theme, color, or specific area such as banister decor etc… It is also a great idea to label what room the bin should go in once out of storage.  That way if someone is helping you bring your boxes down they can easily read where to take the items.

        9.  This is a great time to check your addresses as you receive cards from friends.  Match them with your contacts and change any that you had wrong.  Also purchase cards after Christmas to get a great price on after season items.  Once purchased, you can store with your Thanksgiving items so you can start addressing your envelopes around that time.  It’s never too early to start getting organized.

          10.  Lastly, as you’re taking Christmas items down, deep clean before putting your winter items back on the shelves.  This is a great time to have your home in pristine condition.  I don’t like to put items back unless the house is clean.

I hope these tips helped you get organized and will save you time and hassle when you pull out your items next year.  If you put things back nicely you will be rewarded when you take things out and everything is nicely wrapped, organized, and in great condition.  I hope you all had an amazing holiday and happy New Year to you and your Family.

Yours Truly,

Jenn