Your full-service holiday solution!

It’s time to take down the tree, the tinsel and all those outdoor holiday lights. After a fabulous Christmas season, putting your house back in order can be a chore. Fortunately, I’ve gathered five great tips for saving time and space when packing away holiday decorations!

Great Tip #1: Nesting Works Wonders!
Remember those children’s toys that fit inside each other? You’d open up the largest barrel, and a series of smaller and smaller barrels appeared. That’s a great principle for holiday decoration storage. Find a group of boxes that fit inside each other, with several inches to spare. Here’s the packing sequence: pack the smallest box completely full. Place it inside the second smallest (should be several inches left empty around the margins) then fill in the empty space with flexible, unbreakable decorations. Continue the sequence until you use all your boxes. You’ll end up using only enough space to store the largest box! Another nesting idea: save egg cartons and use them to store ornaments, and then place them inside a larger box to keep them contained. Think of the time you’ll save carrying only one box to the basement!

Great Tip #2: Paper Rolls Save Time When Storing Lights!
If you don’t have the original packaging for your holiday light strands, wind them onto empty gift wrap rolls as you take them down. Watch for burned-out bulbs and replace them as you store. Stand all your rolls of lights in one box or basket until next year. No more wasting hours untangling last year’s lights!

Great Tip #3: Sock Away Those Candles
Many of us reuse decorative candles from Christmas to the next, but hate the dings and dust they gather. We could, of course, buy special boxes with dividers to store them, but here’s a space and money saving way to keep candles clean from one year to the next. Slide candles into large crew socks, tie the top, then hang them from beams or rafters or slip the socks into an unused piece of luggage (just be sure to mark the bag with a bow to remind you!)

Great Tip #4: Mix it Up!
If you have lots of holiday linens you store in bins, why not slip fragile decorations within each fold? Tree-toppers, ceramic figurines, and other breakables don’t require extra storage space with this method. When unpacking next year, unfold and empty one linen at a time to prevent breakage.

Great Tip #5: Bag It!
No matter how green we attempt to be over the holidays, we usually wind up with durable plastic or paper bags from stores or gift wrapping. Why not reuse all those bags to hold lightweight decorations? Remember to save all of your gift wrap for packing and wrapping, too.

With a little thought, anyone can find ways to pack and store holiday decorations that save time and space. I like to tell my clients, “Use what you have, combine what you can and look for unused space.”

Whether you’re storing your artificial tree in over-the-car garage shelves or packing your breakables in seldom-used suitcases, be on the lookout for more unconventional and time-saving ways to store your decorations. We’d love to hear your ideas!

Filed under: holiday tips