But how much do you actually use each year?
10% 50% 90%?
In our household, space is tight despite having a good sized basement because we turned half of it into a playroom. No regrets.
Still, we have eight Christmas bins stuffed to the brim. There’s also lots of outdoor decor that we tend to store in the original boxes stacked high in the basement.
Over the years, I’ve found it’s better to be mindful of the way Christmas decor is stored because it makes life so much easier the following year.
I always regret rushing and then being frustrated when I can’t find what I want in early December. Since I’ve gotten my act together, this year I quickly located my Christmas cookie cutters ~ that’s a first!
These are my tips for putting your Christmas decor away for the New Year!
1.) Only store what you’re actually using
Those gnome elves that you haven’t displayed in five years? It may be time to donate them. The Santa outfit? Out it goes. Space is valuable.
Why store “stuff” you don’t use year after year. Aim for using 90% or more of your Christmas items that you store to keep you accountable.
Oh, and the outdoor lighted deer that no longer works….it’s time to throw it out.
2.) Real tree…out it goes
Live trees have a shelf life of approximately 4-6 weeks at the very most. So if you’re the type who puts their tree up the day after Thanksgiving, you’ll probably want to take it down very soon after Christmas.
Otherwise, you’ll be finding prickly needles in your socks still come July! Not to mention it can become a fire hazard!
3.) Use those shoe boxes for cheap & creative storage
I use a Sharpie marker on the lid of the box to list the precise ornaments that belong in each box. This makes cleaning up a breeze and ensures that I’ll have room to store each and every ornament in each box and in the bins.
So the same ornaments go in the same box in the same bin year after year. It works well!
If you prefer plastic shoe box bins, those are great, too. I also have a 50/50 ornament rule that goes as follows: only 50% of my ornaments can be glass and will be hung high on the tree.
But the other 50% must be non-breakables that can go low on the tree so they don’t get broken by kids and pets.
4.) Vow to have a better system for storing your ornaments & bins
Color coded bins are also extremely helpful. I put my best ornaments in red bins and my less favorite ones in green bins and label each as such.
So on busy years, I just pull out the red bins and forget about the green entirely. But years I have the time to dote on decorating, I get them all out for extra pizzazz!
Life also becomes much simpler if you choose one corner of your basement, garage or attic to store all the Christmas items instead of allowing them to sprawl all over the place.
5.) Save tissue paper, bubble wrap and shoe boxes year-round
People think I’m insane when I whisk away tissue paper from the family party but I’ll argue, it’s better to use it on my ornaments than just throwing it out!
I always save a little space at the top of my bins so when I acquire more tissue paper from the latest party, I can just run down in the basement and throw it on top mid-year.
6.) The lighting dilemma
Only half of my lights are in working order when I examine what strands will be used in season. So don’t bother replacing lights prior to putting the strands away for the year.
Too frustrating! Instead, buy several packs of replacement bulbs at that 75% off sale and replace right after you string them up.
If you really want to pat yourself on the back next year, separate each stand of lights into those plastic grocery store bags.
This means winding up each string carefully and placing the set of lights in their own bag. There is no way they can get tangled with another string of lights if they are in a separate bag…right!
Then all the bags get placed into a “lights only” bin.
7.) Speaking of th0se 75% off Christmas sales…
Or will they get lost in the shuffle and you’ll end up buying more right before the season anyhow?
If you won’t be able to locate the ten rolls of wrapping paper until it’s too late to use them, then don’t bother storing them the whole year. It’s not worth the wasted space!
8.) A word on plastic wreath storage containers & plastic storage containers for wrapping paper
Personally, I don’t like to give or receive gifts in moldy wrapping paper that smells like “icky” basement. So I would throw out rolls that were opened and got damp.
Out goes the 75% off savings because I didn’t end up using it. Even worse, I stored all those smelly rolls for no good reason.
9. Placement is paramount when bin & item storing
It’s also convenient and smart to put things like Christmas hand towels, cards and Christmas cookie cutters on the top of the bin for easy access.
We may not even decorate our tree until a few weeks before Christmas, but I’ll be looking for my Christmas kitchen towels and my gingerbread cookie cutter the day after Thanksgiving!
Make it easy on yourself.
10.) The extra, empty Christmas bin theory…
Those clear, see-through bins are even better!
An extra bin makes it easy when you find a snowflake ornament in June that never got put away or score some cute Christmas decor at a yard sale.
Great tips! I need to do some of these this year so I don’t end up with a mess in the closet like last year, haha.
These are great tips. I hate cleaning up after the holidays.
Love this.
What great Christmas cleanup hacks! I will definitely be using some!
Good practical organizing advice. thanks
Thank you for great tips
Great time saving tips for me..thanks
Thanks for sharing these pointers.
You are organized! I was too at one time & am now differently organized. When my children were grown, & began having their own children, I bought them storage containers for gift wrap/ribbon/bows, ornaments & wreaths. I downsized our artificial tree (several times) and gave our 3 daughters’ families Christmas ornaments they cherished which we’d collected over the years from Hallmark, Enesco, etc. that had hung on our larger tree(s). We’re now down to a small artificial tree that I decorate with Hallmark miniature ornaments. We hang a wreath on the front door too. Both are very easy to set up and to store. I hope it’s fine to share your great tips with our daughters, as I’m sure they’ll find them helpful and pertinent to their stages of life. I can’t think of a single tip, except that life is full of changes as you live it. You will adapt nicely, I can tell.
great tips! Opened the ornaments this year and the plastic holder they were in had turned to crispy plastic. So now I know how to put them away so they last until next year.
Thank you for sharing your helpful tips been doing many of them for years. Merry Christmas.
cleaning up is easier than putting it up
We use designation storage boxes for all out decorations.
It’s time to sort out my decorations and dispose some of them.
Some really great ideas! The plastic storage tub for wrapping paper and bows is an absolute must!
I learned a thing or two – thanks for the post.
A lot of great tips!
def. will come in handy
Fabulous tips. I was surprised to learn a few tricks. Thank you
Less is more is our motto, it works for me.
These are all great tips! Thank you for sharing.
I love this product.
I’ve been using most of these tips for a number of years. I do have more than I use because I change my tree to different colors/themes every year. Hope you have a great holiday.
thanks for all the useful tips
great ideas
I’m going through all this at the moment! So much stuff and time for stuff to get donated or thrown out!
I really like the clear bins, they make stacking and storing easier and you can see too what is inside for the most part
Just use common sense
Very helpful,thanks
Great ideas, since I Ted to do some theme trees and do a Halloween tree and harvest tree I sort my ornaments by color in clear flat storage bins. Special holiday ones are sorted and marked for holiday. Keepsake ornaments etc are kept in special bin. People look at all bins and think I am crazy but it saves so much time and energy when you can put your hands on what you need when you need it. Loved your suggestion about keeping an empty bin for those yard sale finds and the inevitable found item.
I love the tip for storing the tree lights!
I start with the same method, but by the time I’m through, it’s chaos. Great ideas.
Thanks for all the great tips I know I need to organize a little better.
Some great tips, but too many of mine I am overly attached to, Especially the glass ornaments that were my mom’s or grandmas. I won’t use them because I’m scared they will be broken but I will not let them go and I don’t have a way to show they off so packed carefully away is where they are. Kind of sad, but one day they will be brought out again. Probably within the next couple of years since I am now becoming an empty nester.
Love the pointers Decorating is such a big job for sure
I’m very organized person.
I like the idea of repurposing items.
Thanks for the great ideas! Best to your family!
I usually clean as I decorate and one final clean when it is done. The depressing part is that in a few weeks I have to pack it back up again and clean up again.
Neat ideas!!!
Great tips and Merry Christmas
always great ideas
These are great tips,however most of my tree decorations are vintage,handed down from my mom and grandmother. Although there are always a few items I dont use,I would never part with any.After reading all the awesome ideas on this page,I was wondering if you could add something on protecting older ornaments from fading or breaking while being stored.
I have an even better system – don’t put any decor up. Then there is nothing to clean up. I am seriously not a Scrooge. But I am disabled so I really have to be smart about rationing my physical activity.
Easiest way to clean it up is to never have it.
I save ornaments (like plastic ones) that aren’t as nice for indoors, to put outdoors as decorations.