Handy Tips for Storing Christmas Decorations
If you’re anything like the rest of us, Christmas decorations can be both pain and pleasure.
Not only is there the magical mystery tour of the house to track down where you stowed everything last year, but there’s also the task of packing it all away again when New Year rolls around.
We’ve got some cracking tips to help you get Christmas decorations sorted once and for all.
Baubles
Christmas tree baubles are delicate things, and if you’re the proud owner of a few vintage items you’ll definitely want to protect them.
It’s a great idea to make your own bespoke storage containers, and all it takes is a large plastic tub and some cardboard strips that you can cut to the desired length and height to hold your baubles separate from each other.
If you don’t want the chore of cutting cardboard strips, an even easier solution is to stand disposable plastic drinks cups in your storage tub to hold individual baubles.
You can create additional layers with sheets of cardboard, filling the tub up to the lid so everything is held in place when the lid is on.
Another idea is to use egg boxes for small baubles or moulded fruit trays for larger ones.
Lights
Tangled lights can test the patience of any saint. You can make the job of dressing the tree much quicker and easier if you wrap them around a rectangle of corrugated cardboard before putting them into storage.
Start wrapping from the plug end so you can hold the heavy plug in place with the rest of the light string, but make sure the plug is accessible so you can quickly test them before going to the trouble of unwrapping them.
Wreaths
Storing wreaths can present some problems because they need protection from crushing and also because they are so good at gathering dust.
Hanging them on wall brackets is an excellent storage solution, and brackets are quite easy to fix in any location.
Protect them from dust using plastic dry cleaner bags, or pop them individually in bin bags with handles then loop the handles over the brackets.
Garlands or Bunting
Tangled garlands or bunting are nearly as bad as tangled lights, but happily, they are a little easier to keep straight than lights.
Zip up food bags are ideal containers. Put each garland or bunting string into its own bag to keep it clean and separate from the others.
Soft garlands such as those made from fabric or tinsel stack easily into plastic storage tubs, and they could even be used inbetween baubles to offer a little extra protection.
Beaded garlands may take up a little extra space and not have cushioning properties. One way of storing these is to feed them into plastic drinks bottles. They stand neatly side-by-side and you can quickly see which ones you need for each decorating phase.
Christmas Trees
If you have an artificial tree each year, keeping it in good condition can be a challenge.
Repackaging the tree into its original box is difficult so investing in a Christmas tree bag will help it to keep its shape, and also make sure all of the stands or feet don’t get lost.
An alternative to a bag is a large plastic tub. Depending on the size of your tree you may even have space for a few decorations as well as the tree itself.
Finding Storage Space
Correctly packaging decorations to keep them clean and safe is one thing, but finding space to store everything is something else.
Home solutions include commandeering space in the loft, clearing out a section of the cupboard or putting up shelves in the garage. An alternative solution that many people are finding is to rent a self storage unit.
You don’t need to rent more space than you need, and with this bespoke storage room you have the advantage of being able to install freestanding units or shelving to hold everything.
Decorating the house then taking everything down afterwards is very much easier when you know where everything is and it’s all packaged neatly, clean and tidy ready to go.
Do you have a decoration storage tip, I would love to hear it!
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These would have come in so handy the other day. Our decorations usually just end up somewhere in a box, lol.
It is so easy just to pop everything in a box and hope!
Storing the Christmas decorations is way more difficult than actually unboxing them and doing the decorations during holidays. You just have to put them back on each box and carefully seal them to ensure that they can be used again the following year.
I absolutely hate taking everything down as I do worry about putting them away.
These tips will come in handy while I put our Christmas decor away next week. Thank you for putting these together.
Your welcome so glad they will come in useful for some people.
This is a great idea! We got a real tree this year because we always have problem storing our old christmas tree before throwing it out. Now this will come in handy for the future.
It is a nightmare isn’t it – they can really look awful when they come out of storage!
Is it sad that it is the fourth day into the new year and I still have my Christmas tree up? I totally dread taking everything down – this post definitely led me to some ideas of how to be less anxious about how I could put everything away.
Not at all! Over here it is normal 🙂 we don’t take it down to the twelveth night which is the 5th or 6th depending on how you count. 😉
These are all great tips! I’m procrastinating taking down my decorations, they never seem to go back the way they came out!
It is a shame isn’t it – I often find the same thing as well.
We will take all of our decorations down next week after the Three Kings’ Day. I’m glad I read these tips now and got some ideas for storing all our Christmas stuff.
Good luck with taking your decorations down next week and getting them stored well.
Shatterproof ornaments for the win! My youngest is four and is still a train wreck, plus our dogs seem to only want to play with each other next to the Christmas tree. I end up buying the shatterproof so all I end up doing is throwing them all into a box and store them downstairs in the basement where it doesn’t leak. The vintage ornaments and breakables that we do have, don’t come out of storage, yet.
For when we do start to use them, I know these tips will come in handy.
I have to admit they are such a great thing, aren’t they! I have a mix of both but I worry so much about the ones that are a bit more delicate.
It is the Christmas lights that are the most challenging to store. Wreaths come in a close second. Thanks for these tips. We will be taking down our decorations this weekend. Glad that I came across this post. Thanks for sharing!
I hate sorting out lights as well I have to admit! They never seem to come out quite the same the next year.
Wow these are some amazing tips for Christmas decorations. I store these fancy lights the same way as they are first ones which get all tangled up.
It is awful trying to sort them isn’t it! I’ve had some very messy situations in the past.
These are really awesome tips! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!
No problem at all I really hope they help 🙂
For budget moms like me, these tips are heaven sent. I don’t want to be buying new ones every year. I would want to recycle most of my decors, so taking care of them is essential.
Most definitely! Keep them well and they will last you for so many years to come!
Surely these tips going to help me next year. It’s always mess up when we talk about storing christmas decoration. Thanks for sharing this useful information
I am so pleased I have given you some tips to try and help out :).
yes! after years in our home I am finally storing our wreathes the right way! hahah
Haha yay! Good luck with storing your wreath!
We’ve pretty much done the same thing for the last 14 years, but I will definitely take these into consideration!
I think if you have what works for you then it is best to not change something that isn’t broken.
I will be putting away my Christmas decorations in a couple of days – I am so happy I came across these tips 🙂
Good timing then! I am glad to have offered you some helping tips!
I wish I had read this sooner! All of our decorations are already packed away! Guess I’ll hold on to this for next year!
Aww sorry it’s a bit too late I hope it is helpful next year!
I hang my wreaths and store ornaments in egg crate in a plastic container! The others i had no idea and will have to implement!
I am glad it has given you some new ideas! Good luck with implementing them.
Great tips! I have put my decorations away, but I do worry about some of them. I might have to try your ideas out.
It is hard isn’t it – as some of them can be very precious to us!
I have to try all of these. I do my best to keep the ornaments in good condition, but I lose so many every year. I need to try something different.
I have to admit I often find the same so here’s to this year being a well packed up one!
Great tips, will bookmark this post for next year when its time to store decorations 🙂
I hope it helps you with some ways to store things a little more easily.
I already removed my decorations but let’s just say they are not stored correctly these are great but now I will have to go and try and organise them all over again.
Oh no sorry to get you reorganising them! Here it is traditional to leave them up till the Twelfth Night! So still a few days of them being up.
These are really handy tips. Storing Christmas decorations can be such a pain!
It is so hard isn’t it – you want to make sure they are safe but how do you do it!
Great tips – I wish I’d read this earlier – most of mine are down now.
Ah no! Sorry to have been a little bit late!
Ohhhhh why don’t I do at least some of these tricks? Well the intention is there…..! Ha!
Haha! Exactly as long as you give it a whirl!