HOLIDAY ORGANIZING: How to store & organize your holiday decorations
To the organizing coach, how we store and organize our holiday decorations might be just as important (if not more!) than the decorations themselves.
gasp
One of my favorite things about Turkey Week was decorating for Christmas. My mom and I would pull down the decorations and get to work. I remember the year she finally switched out the raggedy cardboard boxes for plastic storage bins. It was a whole new world!
Fun fact: she still uses those bins! Spending money on the RIGHT bins and GOOD bins will not be a waste. It is an investment (small one!) that will last for yearssss.
I break down how we sort & organize our holiday decorations in this video: (WORTHY to watch, promise)
Word of caution here:
Beware of buying the largest containers and bins you can find!
I know, seems counterintuitive!
But roll with me here. Buy smaller bins and categorize your decorations accordingly.
This was a tip a learned from a client years ago; she had a basement full of decorations and she used these color coded file boxes (see below).
They are small enough to handle easily (read: no jammed knuckles and no curse words) yet large enough to handle most categories.
Jennifer, what do you mean when you say categories?
There are two ways you can sort your decorations. When it comes to organizing, it is best to organize your decorations in the way that you decorate.
Sort Option #1: what the item is
Linens
Stocking
Tree skirts
Hand towels
Santa hats
Pillows
Advent calendar
Music & Movies
Lights
Figurines
Baking & Entertaining
Electrical / Technical
Extension cords
Lights for the windows
Timers
…..get the drift?
Sort Option #2: what room it goes in
Bedroom
Kid’s playroom
Kitchen
Mantle
…and so on
Completely up to you (toe-may-toe vs toe-mah-toe); my preference is option #1 as our decorations are as simple as they get for us: a christmas tree, mantle decor, and some light knickknacks.
Now is a great time to add this tip:
Store your Christmas CDs, movies, books, and games with your decor!
I know!!
There is zero reason to have those items stored with the everyday CDs, movies, books, and games.
z e r o r e a s o n
Tip #3: Take a photo of your holiday decor once it is up.
You can reference this next year when you are wondering “where the heck did I put this"? I love time saving hacks!
Tip #4: Label the connections on your tree.
I hate searching for the cords that plug in together when lighting up the christmas tree. Use your label maker or file folder labels to make this simple & easy!
Tip #5: Before buying new decor, ask yourself “how much storage space will this take up and is it going to be a pain to store”?
You will thank me come January! ;)
Now, for my all-time favorite holiday organizing bins and containers (click the image for product link).
WREATH ORGANIZER + HOOKS (for the wall)
STRING LIGHTS + Ziploc Bags
STORAGE BINS
ORNAMENT STORAGE
RELATED ITEMS
I hope you found this helpful and useful! I geek out over talking all things organizing and holiday storage! Tell me below what’s your favorite organizing tip when it comes to this stuff!
OH! I almost forgot….
How do I organize my Christmas Tree??
I keep it in the original box! Honestly - it is the simplest way to store it. :))))
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