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If you love holidays and special occasions as much as we do, we bet you celebrate by decorating your home. Table arrangements, figurines, wreaths, and (of course!) Christmas trees and ornaments just make the holidays even more festive.
If you’re anything like us, you probably have an extensive inventory of holiday decorations and accessories that you’ve collected over the years. And while it’s fun to decorate, and make your home festive, packing up and storing Christmas decorations and other holiday accessories can be stressful, especially if they’re fragile.
That’s why we put together some of our best tips for packing and storing holiday decorations, with plenty of great Christmas storage ideas. You’ll learn how to pack things away safely and keep your decorations organized to make it easier to decorate the next time a holiday rolls around. The best part is that our storage tips are mostly DIY ideas, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on holiday decoration storage.
How to Store Christmas Ornaments and Other Decorations Safely
We’ll start with storage options, packing materials, and getting everything organized. Here’s a pro tip: hang on to shipping and other boxes and you’ll have a good start on supplies. Another ready-made Christmas decoration storage idea is to use liquor store boxes to sort and store ornaments and or knick knacks.
You already have most of the other materials you’ll need for packing decorations; think newspapers, tape, trash bags, zip-lock bags, zip ties, and a permanent marker. If you have enough boxes, set aside some to tear into cardboard pieces for putting in between the more fragile decorations.
Next, it’s time to organize and sort your decorations. Put all of your similar items in separate piles. Put all your wreaths, flower arrangements, and centerpieces together in one pile, all your ornaments in another, and so on until you have sorted all your decorations. Once you have everything sorted, you should be able to do a quick check to see if you have enough boxes and other packing supplies. Your goal is to pack and store holiday decorations as safely as possible, making it easy to identify and unpack everything for the next holiday.
Now is a good time to take stock of any decorations you didn’t use or that are in poor shape, and then either throw them away or donate them to a non-profit. This is important if storage space is limited. It’s also a good idea to take inventory of what you have so you don’t overspend on unnecessary decorations next year. If you need more decorations than you currently have, post Christmas blow out sales ( or Boxing Day for our Canaidan friends), is a great time to stock up!
Let’s Get Packing!
When you’re thinking about how to store Christmas ornaments and other holiday decorations, the goal is to make the most of the storage you have and to protect your beautiful holiday items.
Wreaths
Wreaths were made for hanging, so store them the same way to keep them looking their best. Place your wreath on a hanger and cover it with a plastic trash bag. Be sure to hang the wreath where it won’t get damaged; when you dig it out next time, it won’t be misshapen and dusty. This tip works for all kinds of artificial flowers, arrangements, and anything else that shouldn’t be packed away.
Lights
Light strings just have a way of tangling themselves. Skip the mess by following these simple steps. Remove lights from a tree by holding one end in your hand and carefully wrapping the strand around your elbow, creating a big loop. Tie a zip-tie or string around them to keep them together and put them in a zip-lock bag. Store all of your bags of lights in the same container and label it with a marker.
You can also use a rectangular piece of cardboard with a slit cut in one end. Slide one end of your lights in the slit and wrap the strand around the cardboard. It’s easy to store several strands of lights like this. Connect the strands and slide the end into the slit. Your lights will remain tangle-free until next year!
Displays
We all have our favorite holiday decor displays. To make things easy for yourself for next year, store every piece of your decorative items in the same container. Wrap fragile pieces in newspaper and use your cardboard scraps to create space between them. Fake flowers, branches, and similar pieces can be laid on top for easy access.
Ornaments
This packing tip also applies to any small, fragile decor like figurines. Start by wrapping each ornament in newspaper; make sure to put the most fragile ones to the side, so you can put them in the box last. For larger ornaments, slip some cardboard or bubble wrap between them to create buffer space.
Plastic apple containers and empty egg cartons are practically ready-made for storing Christmas ornaments. You can also use plastic cups from holiday parties to keep your ornaments safe and organized. Glue each cup to a piece of cardboard and start filling them up with decorations.
Trees
If you saved the box your artificial tree came in, you’re good to go. For the rest of us, here are some ideas. Instead of taking the tree apart, why not wrap it up with plastic wrap? You can even leave the lights on for next time! Before you start wrapping, make sure your artificial Christmas tree is nice and clean. Next year, cut open the plastic wrap and you’ll have a tree with no assembly required. Another option, buy a reusable Christmas tree storage bag. It makes storing the Christmas tree that much easier. The bag is made of strong material, so it should last you through many more Holidays to come.
Wrapping Paper
Instead of buying new wrapping paper every year, keep your leftover gift wrap sheets and rolls nice and neat in a garment bag or one of those long mailing tubes.
Dishes
If you don’t store your holiday dishes in a dining room cabinet or hutch, you can store them in a box as long as you pack them carefully. Stack each plate with some newspaper in between. Fill the gaps with crumpled newspaper so the plates won’t shift after you store them. Wrap cups and other items in newspaper and set them on top.
Linens
Linens can take up a lot of room in boxes or bins and they don’t really need the protection they offer. Just fold them up and put them in garbage bags. It’s okay if they get wrinkled; you’ll probably wash and iron them before using next year, anyway!
Where to Store Christmas Decorations
For Christmas decoration storage solutions, take advantage of space under the beds in your home. The top shelf in your linen closet, dressers in guest rooms, and other out-of-the-way spaces are also perfect for storing decorations. If you are lucky to have a basement, BINGO! You are sure to find a great spot for Holiday Storage. Just don’t hide it too well, you want to be able to easily find it next year.
The best way to store Christmas ornaments and other decorations is to store them in groups according to where they will be displayed. Keep Christmas tree decorations together, outdoor decorations together, and so on. That way, you can decorate one area of your home at a time without having to pull everything out at once.
If you store your holiday decorations in the attic, those beautiful candles and some other decorations are in danger of melting come summer. If you are storing holiday decorations in the basement, avoid moisture and other basement dangers by using plastic bags to cover things that aren’t boxed up and use plastic containers to store everything else.
Now that you know how to store Christmas decorations, why not take a break and let The Maids handle the rest of the cleanup? Whether it’s before, after, or even during your holiday festivities, we can get your home sparkling clean with our holiday cleaning services.
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