It would make more sense to talk about storing Christmas decor . . . . after Christmas.
Except that by then, I’ll have forgotten all the things I grumbled to myself while getting our decorations out of their boxes.
Like while I was vacuuming my Christmas tree.
1. DON’T store your Christmas tree in its too-small-now-that-it-isn’t-straight-from-the-factory box, with the top OPEN . . . without putting some sort of trash bag over it.
Really? I thought that was a good idea? I know one of my biggest slob-problems is my tendency to wait and “deal with it later” . . . but this was ridiculous.
2. Throw away the newspaper that you used to wrap your fragile ornaments in last year . . . as soon as you take the ornaments out of the box. (This is one I actually do.) I know it’s fun to look at newspapers from December of 1987, but it’s much better on your allergies if you just use new paper every year. Not sure why I felt the need to re-use paper for so many years, because it really makes a huge difference in the dust.
3. Purge as you decorate. No place to put that pictureless snowman frame? If you didn’t use it last year, and can’t seem to find a place for it this year, go ahead and get rid of it now. Waiting to make a decision until it’s time to pack up your decorations again . . . just means that you’ll store it for another year and re-agonize
later.
Believe me. I know.
4. Purge as you store. Did that one-legged Santa, whom you were sure could be propped up against the lamp, keep falling over? Get rid of him now so you don’t come up with the same great idea next year.
5. Store boxes inside boxes after the decorations are out of them. Duh. But really, it’s so much more difficult to be motivated to put away than it is to get out, so the fewer trips up the attic ladder or down the basement stairs . . . the better.
6. Keep smiling when you ask hubby if he brought down the box of yellow-painted-bricks for your Wizard of Oz display. Respond sweetly when he asks if you are actually going to use them this year. Remember, and give him credit for, all the years when he hauled the very heavy box down the ladder . . . and then you didn’t use them. Be understanding that not all men will remember as well as you do that you finally found a way to use them last year. Give him a little kiss and say thank you after his special trip to the attic.
7. Store items for displays together. Again, duh. And yet, somehow, every year I get a little too random in my putting away efforts.
8. Let the kids help. According to age, they can wrap up decorations that either just need to avoid being scratched or that need to be packed in a way to avoid breaking. These are life skills, and this is a great time to teach them.
9. Not sure how this fits into the list exactly, but if you have wood floors and small children, or just tend to be clumsy yourself . . . get the look-like-glass-but-really-are-plastic ball ornaments. Trust me.
10. Pretend not to notice when the box that is required to store your very expensive Santa comes down empty from the attic.
Empty because you never put Santa away last year.
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Number seven made me laugh because we have an attic area, but it's really precarious to get into. Well, one year, Eric couldn't find the baby Jesus for our outdoor Nativity anywhere. He had to search though the whole "attic" (which is not really an attic), making sure to step gingerly to be careful not to come crashing through the garage ceiling. LOL Luckily – he did find the little baby Jesus randomly stuck in some box. Whew!
Wizard of Oz Display? Gotta see THAT!
Same!
Oh, I so hope to see a second round of ten dos and don'ts because I'm pretty sure you have them! Love this post, I'll be linking.
PS – we now store our artificial tree in the original box PLUS an apple box. :>)
#9 made me laugh. I bought some ornaments that look like the glass ones at Target last year on after-Christmas-clearance and thought they were glass. I about had a heart attack when I dropped one while decorating the tree this year. But then it bounced across the floor. Glad I bought a cheap set of ornaments!
#2 – Great idea! I don't have too many wrapped in newspaper. Mostly I wrap fragile ornaments in fabric already in there – like a fabric wreath, Christmas towel, or Christmas shirt.
My favorite was #10!
Nice post – it's so easy to keep age-old decorations in your collection and put them up year after year.
I can particularly relate to number 2 – anything that comes out of our loft or garage gets my allergies going, especially objects wrapped in newspaper.
Thanks for the tip
I bought a cheap foam egg crate & cut it to fit inside a storage tub. Then I just lay the breakable ornaments out, put another layer of foam & repeat. No dust & much easier to put away.
Great idea!
I cut up some soft fabric into 12″ squares and reuse them each year. Flannel sheets, receiving blankets, tshirts. When unpacking put all of the cloths in the same place so you can find them again in a few weeks.
Tape an index card with a list of everything that is in the box. Really, everything! It makes looking for something so much easier. Your child can write it or any assistant who is around while you are packing the items. Just make sure you put the index in the same place on each box and that you store the box with the index card facing forward. The index card lets you know at a glance if it needs to be carried into the livingroom or stay put. You can even send a teenage boy to find the item because all he has to do is read the index cards. He will come back with the right box. TRUST ME.
I have a 3 piece nativity scene that I love. The largest piece, Joseph, is about a foot tall and they are beautiful. This past Christmas I went to get out the nativity scene and could only find 2 of the pieces…Joesph was missing! I looked and looked, but never found it. Poor Mary and baby Jesus had to hold down the fort without Joseph this year. I felt awful about it. Of course, when searching for something else in March, I found Joseph, buried deeper than I had looked at Christmas. Now since I have already put my Christmas stuff away, they are hanging out together for the rest of the year in a spot that I can see them. I never manage to put everything away completely. Ever.
Write ON the Chtistmas tree box anything you want to remember ie how many strings of lights look good on the tree. Store the special tree extension cord IN the tree box, tree skirt too if it fits.
We wrap our breakable Christmas ornaments in squares cut from plastic shopping bags (the thin ones from places like Walmart). More flexible than paper and thinner so you can get more items in a box.
I haven’t gotten my Christmas decorations down yet – have to wait till someone comes over so I can hand boxes down the ladder while I’m in the attic. I did get my large nativity collection out of the church attic yesterday. Two years ago a man at church built me a wooden box with doors (and a lock!) so I can leave them at church and not have to haul them back home, up the stairs, then up the ladder to the attic. Saves me a ton of time. This year I have it even better. After church on Thanksgiving, I corralled the pastor’s 2 sons (18 and 20) and one other man – they went up to the attic with me (fortunately you can do this by way of an elevator), gathered up everything from the box and took it down to the office IN ONE TRIP! I was so happy. My back has really been hurting and I didn’t need to do it (many trips) by myself. Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be at church at 11 to unpack everything and put it in the large display case next to our multipurpose room. I always put it up after Thanksgiving and before Advent, then take it down just after Epiphany. Last year I had pneumonia and it barely got put away before Ash Wednesday. Our preschool kids love it, as do many of the adults at church. (We won’t talk just yet about hauling all the empty boxes back up to the attic. Like I said, there is an elevator.)
I have special ornaments that I love but don’t use (we have cats) and I have ornaments that we don’t use because we have WAY too many. It’s a mess and I’m going to handle it! I think I’ll put together a box and post on Freecycle. I need to simplify for sure. I’m not so gung-ho on all the decorating, so why do I have so much?
Definitely post excess ornaments on Freecycle! I was able to get rid of a collection of glass tree ornaments years ago this way. (I switched from glass to those plastic ones Nony mentions after we had kids.) I was surprised how many people wanted them — and was happy to be able to send the ornaments home with a newly single teacher and her son.
I really like Freecycle as a way of re-homing stuff that is still good. If nobody on Freecycle wants it, then it goes to charity. Just in case someone else hasn’t heard about Freecycle, here’s the link to find a local chapter https://www.freecycle.org/
#10 cracked me up because I remember the post you made hoping no-one would notice him until Christmas, lol
My sister and I agree that inevitably, there is (at least) ONE xmas thing that doesn’t make it back into storage. It’s as if it becomes invisible when you’re putting stuff away. Last year, mine was a 4 foot tall reindeer card holder, that doesn’t hold cards well at all. Sometime in oh, maybe June, I looked up, and there it was.
Thank you for all your timeless tips.
I read this somewhere a few years ago and am now getting to the age where I need to remember not to let my “59 year old self” store things this year where my 60 year old self can’t get to next year!
I always keep the original packaging that the ornament came in. Every tiny Avon and Hallmark box. Every piece of tissue paper and styrofoam. They go back in the box just the way I took them out. We did this as children putting up Mom’s tree, and I teach it to my kids now.
It never occurred to me pack the things in newspaper, or to change that paper every year. Apparently I don’t have allergies severe enough to make me think of this…
After rigorous downsizing of our Christmas ‘stuff’ after moving into this apartment I now have all the decorations (except the nativity ‘barn’) in one Rubbermaid tote box. I don’t wrap anything because it simply takes up additional space. Everything fits in the tote with no room to spare and if I acquire a new decoration something else must go to keep the storage to that one tote. We have an artificial tree (not allowed a real one due to fire reg’s) and that has a box of its own. If I had my way I’d love one of those little ceramic trees that were the rage a number of years ago and I’d do away with the tree altogether. We don’t have family here over Christmas anymore and truthfully I’d be just as happy to forget the whole decorating thing but DH seems to think he wants the tree.
Wrapping fragile ornaments in fabric scraps works well. Every year you can just wash the scraps in a laundry net bag for delicates. And for larger items use old towels and old beach towels. Throw them in the wash too. It helps to also buy the storage tubs with the airtight seal around them too. I like to keep classic Christmas movies in the bin with the most treasured decorations because I know we use that bin every year. And yes I actually dust the fake tree(s), and wreaths before storing. They have been standing or hanging on doors) in a room for weeks and are as dusty as anything else would be.