Organizing holiday decorations 

We’re right in the middle of the holiday season now, but soon it will be time to dismantle the festive decorations and put them away until next year. Organizing your holiday decorations does not have to be a painful experience. These tips work for any holiday or occasion decorations.

If you absolutely love the way your home looked this year and want to recreate it again next year, take a few photos before you begin dismantling the decorations. Then you will be able to recall exactly how you did it.

Packing away holiday decorations

To start organizing, you’ll need sturdy boxes, plastic containers, garment bags for large items and/or jumbo sized zip lock plastic bags. Other things that will come in handy include: bubble wrap, newspaper, wrapping paper, plastic cups, shredded paper, egg cartons or cardboard dividers to keep things from knocking into each other. Empty coffee cans or hangers make nice spools for strings of lights.

Take inventory before you pack things away. Is anything damaged or broken? Toss it now. Don’t waste time packing, storing and unpacking objects that are no longer useful. You may have decorations that you never use or don’t have room for anymore. If you have some decorations or ornaments that you no longer love – save space and get rid of them. Find them a new home with friends or family, or trash them.

Categorize items like linens, wall decorations, glassware, etc. before you start packing them. Put like items together. Pack away holiday themed towels, linens, books and knickknacks that are only used this time of year. Label every container. You can even number them in order of how you use them.

You may think of some things you will need to buy or replace. Put a list of these items inside the box so when you open it next year, you’ll be reminded.

It’s nostalgic

Many people enjoy looking though all of their holiday cards. If they have a photo or other sentimental value, you might want to save them. Take a photo of them or scan them to reduce paper clutter.

Put each holiday or occasion’s decorations in a different container. You don’t want to have Halloween decorations mixed in with Christmas or vice versa.

It can be a sentimental experience boxing up your holiday memories that have been saved through the years. However you decide to pack away your holiday treasures, try to take time to do it in an organized way to save yourself stress next year. If you need help, please contact me to discuss it.