Every year, you get to put up Christmas decorations for the holiday season. And as much as it is fun to put them up, storing them properly once the holidays are over should always be practiced. Safely storing your Christmas decorations after using them will help maintain their good condition until they can be used again for the next holiday season. This doesn’t only allow you to take care of your decorations, but it will also help you save money in buying new ones every year.
Oftentimes, you may be neglecting proper storage of your Christmas decorations thinking that it is fine as long as they are kept in a container. But they also need some care and attention in order for them to still be as functional and aesthetically pleasing as they were when you first used them. Improper packing and storing can fade the quality and longevity.
Here are tips on how you can safely store your Christmas decorations:
1. Declutter If You Must!
If you want to properly store your things, decluttering should always be part of it. Decluttering will help you keep an organized way of storing your belongings since you will be able to see which ones need to be disposed of and which ones you can still store. And this also applies when you want to safely store your Christmas decorations.
Before you proceed with the next steps in storing them, take a few steps back and try to check if some of them aren’t working anymore or if some ornaments are already broken. Doing this will help you avoid storing decorations that are already not useful and make room for other pieces to be stored. Take note that Christmas decorations tend to easily pile up, especially if you are the type to continually purchase one after the other for every Christmas theme. Throwing out and storing your decorations aren’t your only options because you can also decide to donate some that you don’t plan on using, but can still be used by other people.
2. Categorize
Since you only use Christmas decorations once a year, chances are you will forget where you placed each one of them. So it is important to categorize them before you store them in containers and storage rooms.
Make sure to categorize them according to the purpose. This means that all the items that are alike in purpose and design (size, shape, color) should go together. Mixing different decorations and not sorting them properly will only make it hard for you to find which ones you need — or worse, some small ornaments may be broken because they got squished by bigger and heavier ones.
Tip: If you don’t have enough space to store your Christmas decorations at home, you can opt to rent a self-storage unit. Self-storage units are good to use if you have a lot of seasonal items to store. You just have to make sure that all of your decorations are in one accessible area inside the storage unit, so you won’t have a hard time getting them.
3. Organize
The point of properly organizing your Christmas decorations is to be able to use them again. It is not really wise to keep on buying them every year unless you need to add something. But if you can work with what you already have, then the best option for you is to make sure that they are organized, so that the decorations don’t mix in with one another while in storage.
- Wrap Artificial Christmas Tree in Dust Sheet
Your Christmas tree can still get dusty while in storage, so it would be best to protect it by wrapping it with a dust sheet. Carefully bundle up the top, middle, and bottom parts of the tree and wrap it up. The dust sheet will also help keep the tree in place as it stays in storage. You can also use the box that your artificial tree came with to store it in. Just make sure that the box can still properly hold the tree.
- Use Clear Resealable Bags to Store Ornaments
This applies if you have one big container for your Christmas decorations. Using clear resealable bags will help you safely store your ornaments and at the same time, sort them out accordingly. Plus, it will not be hard for you to look for specific ornaments since the bags are see-through.
Although, take note that breakable ornaments shouldn’t be stored in clear resealable bags. Christmas balls and other small ornaments are the ones you can store in them.
- Avoid Entangling Christmas Lights
Christmas lights easily get entangled especially if you recklessly store them. To avoid this from happening, you can use an old cardboard cut-out and mindfully wrap the lights around it. Make sure the wires don’t overlap and are positioned in such a way that it doesn’t get tangled easily. Do this for every piece of Christmas lights you have. Afterward, you can store them in a container.
- Fragile Decorations Should Be Packed With Care
Wrap your breakable decorations with wrapping paper before storing them. See to it that they have a separate container or they are not grouped together with pointed items. Another thing you can do to ensure that they will not break while being transported is to fill in the sides of the container so that there won’t be space for them to glide and bump onto one another.
4. Find a Safe Storage Space for Your Decorations
Whether it is in your home or in a self-storage unit, you have to make sure that your decorations are stored safely. Invest in sturdy containers that can properly hold ornaments, lights, displays, etc. You won’t have to worry about dealing with broken pieces of decorations anymore. This will not only keep everything organized, but it will also save you money and leave you stress-free.
If you don’t always store your Christmas decorations like this, it may feel like big work. But it is actually not. Categorizing and organizing them properly from the time you are packing them for storage will help you seamlessly take them out the next time you use them. You won’t have to deal with looking for missing ornaments and untangling Christmas lights anymore.
We hope that this article has been helpful in giving you tips on how you can safely store your Christmas decorations!
In need of a self-storage unit nearby to store your belongings? Contact us today and we will be glad to assist you!
