New Year’s Resolutions – Holiday Decoration Storage Tips

Welcome back.  We had some technical difficulties this week with our Thursday post so we are posting a day late.  Better late than never.  Today we are conquering the ever so popular New Year’s resolution of finally getting organized.  We believe the first step to getting organized in the New Year is to get those holiday decorations down and finally have an organized storage solution for everything.  Below we are giving tips on a system we have implemented ourselves that is working wonders and saving time when it comes to holiday decor.

Easy Holiday Storage:

1.)    Have a system for organizing your holiday décor – I have a system for storing my holiday decorations that makes them easy to find and easy to tell which holiday they are for.  I use color coded boxes along with a system of labels. Do not feel like you need to go out and purchase all new color coded storage containers if that is not in the budget.  I have been picking them up on clearance after the holidays for the last couple years to complete this system.  It is easy to do by color coding the boxes to the colors of the holiday.  For example, all of my Halloween decorations are in black and orange storage containers and all of my Christmas decorations are in red and green storage containers.  The reason I love the color coding is because it makes it easy to look in the garage and know which boxes I need to pull out for each holiday.  Over the course of the year boxes can be moved around and may not always be put back on the shelf with the labels facing out.  The color makes it easy to know which containers  you need to grab for which holiday without seeing the label.  I do still label the boxes as well so I know what is in the box.  I just put a bullet point list on the label with a few words about what is inside, ornaments, lights, linens, etc.

Red and Green Holiday Storage Containers

2.)    Use Specialized Storage Boxes – I have a few different boxes that are meant for a specific purpose.  I do not believe you need special boxes for everything, but some of the more oddly shaped items or fragile items can benefit from having a specialty storage box.

• Ornaments – Most of my ornaments I organize into the boxes they came in or Ziploc bags and store in a large red and green container.  However some of us have some more fragile or antique ornaments.  If you do have ornaments that need a little extra care try a container like the Real Simple Holiday 112-Count Ornament Storage Container from Bed Bath and Beyond.  This helps to separate the ornaments with dividers to prevent breakage and the zippered sides keep out bugs and dust while they are being stored.

Ornament Storage from Bed Bath and Beyond

• Wreath Storage – I love my wreath storage box.  I picked mine up at an after Christmas sale.  By using a specialized box for the wreath it makes sure the wreath is in good shape and ready to use next year.  It holds its shape, you do not have to worry about parts breaking or falling off, the bow does not get crushed, and the sealed container keeps dust and dirt off the wreath.  We love the Sterilite Wreath Box from Neatly Smart. It will fit any standard wreath up to 24”

Sterilite Wreath Storage from Neatly Smart

• Christmas Light Storage – The only other item that I like to get specialty storage for is the strands and strands of Christmas lights we have.  It is worth the money to get something to organize these simply to save time on untangling the lights each year.  By having the proper storage the lights can be easily unwound and hung up each year without the hassle of wrestling with them to be untangled first.  We love the Christmas Light Storage Bag from Bronner’s.  It is a 13” tall x 13” zippered storage bag with storage spools that can hold up to 3 100’ light strings.  It also comes with a clip that will attach directly to your ladder to allow you to unwind and install your light effortlessly.

Christmas Light Storage Bag from Bronner’s

3.)    Have boxes for extra Christmas Craft Items – I keep an extra box just for leftover supplies for Christmas crafts and things I pick up on sale after the holiday.  This way you have a place to store the supplies till you begin your Christmas crafting next holiday season, but it won’t take up space in the house.  Store it with the decorations till you are ready to get back in the holiday spirit.

All my other decorations I organize in the same size red and green storage bins.  I have a bin for the linens, another for decorative items, wall hangings, etc.  Then I add my label to the boxes and store everything in the garage till next year.  My labels are usually post it notes I hand write the contents on and use a piece of packing tape to adhere to the boxes.  Nothing fancy, just simple and quick.  Implementing this system has made it a breeze to get out the holiday decorations the following year as well as store it all back up when everything is over.  Once it is all put away it is time to start getting the rest of the house in shape.  Feel free to comment with any additional holiday storage tips you may have.  We would all love to hear them!