Whether you’re the winter wonderland type or just traditionally filled with Christmas spirit, you’re going to have holiday decor crowding your home by the end of the month.
Don’t get bogged down with post-Christmas clutter when the New Year comes around. Deciding on Christmas gifts is hard, but the cleaning up should be easy. Here’s how to organize your holiday decor.
Most of these hacks require nothing out of pocket. Plus, they’re absolutely foolproof so don’t worry about getting yourself tangled up in any Christmas lights.
Store round ornaments in plastic apple containers. An apple a day right? If you’re eating right you should have some of these available regularly enough to collect and use to store medium-sized ornaments. Not to mention you’ll be helping the environment.
Small ornaments can go in egg cartons. Reusable egg containers maybe even more common to you. Plastic or cardboard cartons can hold smaller ornaments and keep them safe from scratches and shattering.
Put your Christmas treasures into plastic cups. By lining spare or purchased cups with paper towels or tissues, you create a safe space for your most delicate ornaments.
Use water bottles or tennis ball containers. Items like beaded strings and other tiny winding decors will stay out of your way as needed, yet be easy to retrieve from water bottles and similar containers.
DIY ornament dividers. If you’re in short supply of containers, make your own by grabbing a few pieces of cardboard and cutting them to create small or large boxes to fit your decor.
Keep your specialty candles covered up. You can use hosiery to protect Christmas candles for the whole year. Your stockings work as a heat and pressure protectant for candles. Put them in a box and add tissue to prevent scratching.
We’re halfway through the hacks. For the above, feel free to put all your ornaments in large clear containers so you can see what is where. Alternatively, you can just use regular boxes with labels.
You may also have some old crates nearby that would do just as well. Not to boast — we’re all for crafting, after all, but did you know that using actual crates to play up your Christmas decor brings gorgeous results, too!
Hang your wreaths in the closet. Some people have a whole closet dedicate to their Christmas decor. It’s not a bad idea! At the very least, though, keep your wreath intact with a hanger or a hanging bracket if you have more than one. Or, you may buy a wreath holder.
Purchase a Christmas light reel. We did say that this list is budget-friendly, so just know that if there’s one thing you should buy it’s a reel made specifically for your Christmas lights. Of course, there are hacks if you still don’t want to dish out.
Use cardboard. Again. There’s no reason to think we’re ever going to not need cardboard. You’ll be happy to know that a simple wrap around a shoe-box sized rectangular piece of cardboard will keep your Christmas lights tangle-free.
Tree storage. For artificial trees, you’ve got options. You can pack them into concrete tubes and roll them under a bed, create drop cloth bags to put them in, or wrap them in shrink wrap to keep them fresh until the next winter.
Hold onto your wrapping paper. If you overestimated the wrapping paper you needed and now need a storage solution, try using a see-through garment bag for dust-free results. You can also just hold wrapping paper in bins or other tall containers.
Ribbons, garlands, and everything else can go in Ziploc bags. Collect similar items together and put them in Ziplocs. You can store these in large cardboard boxes, making sure to place heavier items on the bottom.
According to one site, Canadians will spend on average over $94 on holiday decor this year. Of course, most of the holiday spending goes into gift-buying.
This means that most people are smart — go figure — and they stored over their decor from last year. Use our clever tips to have an edge when you decide to store your decor, too.