The Tidy LifeHow To | January 2, 2014
Happy New Year! The holidays are over and it is now time to think about taking down the holiday decorations and storing them for next year. Most people store holiday items in a closet, basement, garage or attic. Store all of your holiday items together in an out-of-the-way space in your home or your self storage unit. Segregate your decorations into different boxes, such as all ornaments stored together, all lights or candles stored together. Also, it is a good idea to create a holiday decoration inventory list, so you know what you currently have and what you will need to purchase during the next holiday season. This is a great way to start your organizational projects for the New Year. Consider placing your stored holiday decorations in a self storage unit. Seasonal items can be stored in the back of your storage unit and then switched out throughout the year. ezStorage has a variety of storage unit sizes that can meet all of your storage needs! In order to protect your holiday items for use for many years to come, it is important to properly store the items. Check for broken ornaments, lights, or other decorations. If they can’t be fixed, then discard them and add them to your inventory list to replace for next year. It is a good idea to store holiday items in plastic bins with lids, rather than cardboard boxes. The plastic bins are very sturdy and can easily be stacked while in storage. There are many websites that have great tips on how to store holiday items: www.babble.com , www.realsimple.com/holiday , www.bhg.com and www.home-storage-solutions-101.com just to name a few. Below are a few of these storage tips for your holiday decorations:
Store holiday lights neatly coiled to keep them from being tangled. There are many great DIY solutions for storing holiday lights for example: wrap the lights around the outside of a coffee can or wrapping paper tube. You can make your own light storage reel out of cardboard. Cut out grooves along the top and sides of the cardboard. Wedge the beginning part of the lights in one of the slots and then start winding the lights around. For extra protection for the lights, wrap the light reel in tissue.
Storing ornaments can be a challenge, because ornaments can come in all shapes and sizes. Most ornaments hold special places in our hearts as they were homemade by family members or are heirlooms. Therefore, the ornaments have to have special treatment when it is time to put them in storage. There are specially made boxes that you can buy to store ornaments that you can find at your local home craft stores. Or you can be creative and use DIY solutions such as using a cardboard egg crate to store smaller ornaments. If possible, keep the boxes for larger or oddly shaped ornaments. If you don’t have the boxes, then carefully wrap the ornaments in tissue paper.
Christmas tree can take up a lot of space when you put it back in storage. If possible, try to store the tree in the original box. If that isn’t possible, take the tree apart and put the different branches in plastic bins for easy storage. There are also Christmas tree bag storage solutions that you can purchase. Some of these come on rollers, so you can easily transport the tree to its storage spot. A great tip to save time when putting the tree up at the beginning of the holiday season is to store the tree partially or even fully assembled, even with lights. This would require a larger amount of storage space, but it is worth the time and the battle of trying to put the tree together.
Place the wreath in the original box whenever possible and store it horizontally on a shelf. If you don’t have the original box, then place a bag over the wreath and hang it in a closet or behind a door. You can also use a garment bag to store your wreaths or larger holiday decorations. Do not store bags of wreaths on top of one another, as the wreaths could get damaged.
For convenience, keep everything that you need for wrapping together in a central spot. This would include: wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, scissors and tape. There are great storage products from plastic storage bins and boxes to hanging gift bag organizers that you can find at your local home store. Choose the one that best fits your storage space. There are many great DIY storage solutions for wrapping paper on Pinterest, too! (Link to: https://www.pinterest.com ). Store ribbons in small slats or holes, so you can easily find the ends of the ribbon.
Store candles flat, out of direct light and in a fairly cool area. Sunlight can make the candles warp and lose their color. A great place to store your candles is actually under a kitchen or bathroom sink. Wrap candles in cellophane to keep them from melting together.
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