How To Keep Holiday Items Organized So You Can “Deck the Halls” With Ease
We’ve all been there, unboxing holiday décor, trying to put it up at a reasonable time this year, and ending up totally tangled in string lights and covered in a layer of glitter from a long-lost ornament.
Breaking out the holiday décor is one of my favorite things to do to celebrate the start of the season. But if my decorations are in a jumbled mess from last year, it can become a huge stressor in an already busy time.
Don’t lose your Christmas spirit!
I will be your Rudolph and “shine my nose so bright” to guide you through the fog of clutter and chaos with helpful tips to keep your holiday gear in order.
1. Store decorative pillows and throw blankets in vacuum seal bags to decrease the space for storage and keep them fresh for next year.
2. Declutter while you go! Each time I change out my seasonal and holiday decorations, I go through the entire box and declutter anything I no longer like or is broken. This helps keep my items streamlined so nothing takes up precious storage space during the year.
3. Keep Christmas tree decorations separate. Box up the tree skirt, ornaments, and the tree topper its own storage container. Once you are ready to set up your tree, having it all in one place will make the job easier. You can separate any other specific categories of holiday items like candles, kitchen, mini trees, figurines, etc.
4. Have everyone in the family help with the big projects like hanging up lights outside or setting up the tree to decorate. Turn on some holiday music and a candle to make it cozy and fun! I love making the decorating time special to create memories. You can even come up with your own family traditions. Be sure to set aside specific time with everyone so you don’t feel rushed or scattered.
5. Create tree section tags. If you use an artificial tree that comes in several parts, I recommend creating tags with cardboard or paper and string to label. Write bottom, middle, top, or whatever parts are included and tie the tag to each part for fast set up next Christmas.
6. To keep holiday décor extremely simple, incorporate more year-round items instead of swapping everything out. Pick a couple of items to place in each room and what you put on your tree and nothing more. Staying minimal with the décor will help keep holiday stress lower. You can also choose to keep all the decorations in one or two main rooms and not worry about redecorating every corner of your house. This method will also help minimize stress.
7. Get the right gear. When you do go to put your decorations away, get the right type of storage to keep your stuff safe and protected for years to come. If you keep your stuff in the garage or space outside of the home, you can purchase weatherproof containers to seal out water and dirt.
8. String lights may be the most difficult item to store. The sets are hard to keep separated from each other and they tangle so easily. There are a couple of ways to keep them tidier. You can use a plastic hanger or a piece of cardboard to wrap each strand around, but you can also purchase string light organizers that help keep each one separate and protected. See the link below to check them out. A large Ziplock bag will work to store lights cheaply. Keep indoor lights and outdoor lights separate and labeled. If you have a lot, you may consider having outdoor décor in its own container.
9. Store your wreaths in a few different ways. Use a hard plastic case that is made to protect wreaths or purchase a wreath bag. If you have space in an extra indoor closet, you can even tie a burlap string through the wreath and hook it onto a hanger in the closet or on the back of a door with an over-the-door hook. I typically have small artificial wreaths that fit on the back of a closet door and use a larger real pine wreath for Christmas so I don’t have to store it year-round.
10. Tree bags that wrap up the tree are the best way to store your artificial Christmas tree, however, you can use a weather-proof box for more protection in outdoor/garage storage. See my links listed below for wreath and tree storage items.
11. If you have lots of holiday décor items, keeping an inventory in a house binder might be helpful to remember what items you own and where they are stored. I have created a holiday inventory for you to download in my shop so you can get started today!
12. Only buy once you’ve seen what you have. Refrain from holiday shopping until you have gone through your boxes of décor or looked at your holiday décor inventory list in your home binder. It’s so easy to be tempted by the beautiful seasonal items only to find out you had plenty of throw pillows or candle holders already! Shopping what you already own helps keep things more minimal and can keep you from spending unnecessarily.
13. Keep a designated gift-wrapping station. This tip will save you so much time and heartache! Stop spending so much time searching for tools you need to wrap a present and keep an under-the-bed box or hanging gift wrap storage container to keep it all together. Store wrapping paper, plenty of tape, scissors, bow, shirt boxes, tissue paper, and gift tags all in this container and pull out anytime you need to sit down and wrap up presents. I also keep a few birthday cards, gift cards, and anything for last-minute gifts in this container as well to help when I’m in a pinch and need a present.
14. One of the best storage items to spend your money on are ornament organizers. This may be my favorite holiday storage item. Use them to separate ornaments into individual sections to keep them safe and clean. If you don’t want to spend the money on those, simply wrap each ornament in tissue paper and separate into shoe boxes or smaller boxes in a clear plastic storage box.
15. Use sticker labels on the sides and tops of each storage box to indicate what’s inside. I usually name them by season and then if needed I add what’s inside. You can add a number system to go along with an inventory list if you will use that. An example may be: Winter – Tree Ornaments – 3
Making your space cozy and full of holiday spirit is something we all do to celebrate the season. Dealing with the clutter and overwhelm is often something we all must learn to handle as well. It may take a couple of decluttering sessions before you feel like you are happy with the amount of holiday items you own. The goal is to feel excited to rediscover them each year and not to feel stressed when thinking about pulling it all out. If you still feel stressed, consider downsizing that amount more until it feels simplified to you.
If you feel like you need more help with organization in your home, check out the services I offer in decluttering and cleaning on my website under services on the home page.
You can find more blogs and checklists about organizing, cleaning, decluttering, and minimalism on my website nicolebruceconsulting.com
I hope these tips will help you to have a holly jolly Christmas and a happy new year!
Nicole Bruce