Holiday Decoration Storage Tips

It is hard to believe that the holidays will soon be over. It seems that just yesterday was Thanksgiving and time to start holiday shopping. Now, the big day is nearly here and New Year celebrations will be following soon after that! Your home has been cluttered for the past month with presents, decorations, wrapping paper and gift bags. After the holidays, you will need to find room in your home for your new items and figure out what to do with older belongings that you might still want to keep, but don’t have the room for. This also includes what to do with your holiday decorations. After the holidays is a perfect time to consider a de-cluttering plan for your home.  You have stored your family ornaments in the same box for decades and the box is beginning to break down from overuse and the extreme conditions of your attic or basement. How can you protect your holiday decorations from damage during the rest of the year when you do not need them? A great de-cluttering solution for your holiday decorations is to place the items in self storage. Renting a self storage unit helps to reduce the clutter in closets, attics and basements and will help to keep the decorations protected for future use. If possible, rent a climate controlled storage unit. The constant temperature helps to keep your decorations looking fresher. When it is time to take down the decorations for the season, there are certain tips to help protect your family heirlooms and delicate decorations: 1. Store the delicate ornaments in their original boxes or packaging if possible. If not, there are specially made ornament boxes that you can find online to protect the ornaments while in storage. Ornaments can also be placed individually in clear sandwich bags; this is very helpful for homemade ornaments. It is important to wrap the ornaments individually in tissue in a storage box. If you have multiple types of ornaments in the box, make sure that you wrap them well and use filler paper to fill up the box. Also, place the most delicate ornaments on the top of the box to prevent breakage. 2. Every you’re your light strands become tangled when you take them off of your tree or down from the outside of your home. One solution to keep the lights untangled is to wrap them around a coffee can or a tension rod that is placed inside a plastic box. Another option is to wrap the lights in a circle and place them in a clear plastic bag. Label the bag with the amount of lights that might be damaged, so you know to replace them in the next holiday season. 3. To protect larger plastic figurines or displays while in storage, cover them with a plastic garment bag or cover them with garbage bags. If you have the storage room in a closet, you can hang these items in the garment bag. 4. Make sure to label each box of holiday decorations and keep the list handy for next year. This will help you to know what items you might need to replace for the next year’s holiday decorations. Label the strands of lights for outside use versus use on the Christmas tree. There are many suggestions for storing holiday items during the “off season” from simple ideas  to more elaborate suggestions . Doing these suggestions will help you keep your decorations in use for years to come. Stop by any ezStorage 45 locations to find out how we can help you with all of your storage needs!  Happy Holidays from ezStorage!