8 Essential Tips for Storing Christmas Decorations
15th Dec 2023
The Christmas rush is over and you’re probably relaxing and recovering on the sofa, after indulging on Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and treats. As you admire the tree and decorations, the realisation starts to sink in that you’ll have to start taking everything down soon.
We all know that this is nowhere near as fun as putting them up and it’s usually harder to motivate everyone to help with the clean-up. So, it can be tempting to quickly throw everything into boxes and stash them away in the loft to worry about next year.
Taking a little extra time to organise your decorations before storing them away will ensure they stay safe and sound and make it a breeze to decorate your home for the next festive season.
1. Take Reference Photos
Before you hurry to take down your decorations, you might find it helpful to first take photos to show how you’ve arranged everything. These can be useful to refer to for next Christmas and help you recreate the same look or improve upon it!
Also, it will give you an idea of what decorations you already have, so if you do get any new pieces, you’re not getting the same or similar ones again. You could also take photos of your decorations as you pack, so you know where everything is located.
2. Decide What To Keep
We’re not quite putting anything away just yet – go through all your decorations and decide which ones you want to keep for next year. If you’re happy with everything, that’s great! We’ll get into the best ways to organise and store them next.
If you find you’re ready to part with some of your decorations, that’s okay too! Plus, it also means you can save on space by not storing items that you know you won’t use. If you notice that any are broken, these can be disposed of responsibly, and if you simply don’t love them as much anymore, donating them is always a great option.
3. Sort & Organise Into Categories
Now you’ve decided which decorations you’ll be keeping, it’s a good idea to organise them into categories. Sort them all into their main groups, like baubles, tinsels, lights, and artificial trees and garlands. You don’t have to make it too complicated, just group them by type. This will make it much easier for you to find the specific decorations you want to use next year.
And if you’re someone who decorates category by category anyway (ie. lights, then baubles, then tinsel etc), this will make the decorating process even smoother come next year! We suggest placing any delicate items, such as glass baubles, into their own storage to avoid any damage though.
4. Use Sturdy Storage Containers
You can’t pack away your decorations if you don’t have anything to put them in. Invest in some Storage Boxes to keep your decorations safe and sound until the next year when you need them again. They’ll protect your decorations from dust, dirt, and moisture and they’re easy to stack and store together.
After all, you’ve invested in your beautiful Christmas decorations so you don’t want to get them down from storage to discover they’re damaged. Trust us, your future self will thank you for taking this little step.
5. Protect Fragile Ornaments
Okay, so maybe this is a no-brainer but take good care of any delicate ornaments when packing them away. As tempting and easy as it may be to chuck them all into a box, it’s worth taking the extra time to wrap each of them in paper or bubble wrap to prevent any breakages. After all, no-one wants to start the festive season discovering a bunch of broken baubles…
When packing, keep in mind that you’ll be moving the box around so there’s plenty of opportunity for your ornaments to get knocked and bumped in the moving process. Use plenty of protective wrapping and cushioning, and if you’re feeling fancy, you could even invest in some specialised bauble storage. But even a simple plastic Storage Box can work wonders with some extra care!
6. Label Everything
A small step which can have a big impact! Whether you are storing your decorations in cardboard boxes or plastic storage containers, you may find it helpful to label them. This will save you the hassle of having to dig through boxes to find what you need and can help with the storage and organisation process to ensure everything is packed into the correct container – especially useful to keep everyone on track if packing away is a group effort!
And even if you’re using transparent storage containers, labelling can still be beneficial. Just simple label the boxes on the side for easy identification!
7. Keep Lights Tangle Free
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” – Maya Angelou
Remember that time when untangling our headphone wires was a regular occurrence? So frustrating! Well, imagine trying to untangle a 35m bunch of fairy lights…
A simple way to keep your Christmas lights tangle-free is to wrap them around a storage reel or even just a piece of cardboard. This same idea can also be applied to items such as smaller tinsel and other hanging garland-type decoration.
8. Storing Artificial Tree & Wreaths
The first decoration to go up and probably the last to come down – the Christmas tree. If you have an artificial tree, make sure you dismantle and take it down carefully for you to bag and box up so it’s protected whilst in storage. Some artificial trees come with a storage bag supplied to make them easier to store, but if you don’t have a storage bag, it’s worth considering investing in one to ensure that your tree looks lovely for Christmases to come.
If you have other artificial foliage, such as garlands and wreaths, these are also worth spending some time on. You can look into specialised wreath and garland storage bags, but if you decide not to do this, just make sure you pack them away with sufficient protection.
Remember when storing your wreath to make sure that it is dry before putting it away, as it may still have moisture from being placed outside. When you need to put it away, you can always leave one corner of a plastic box slight open to help prevent the build-up of condensation.
Top Tip: Consider moving your storage box or bag, and the individual tree sections to your storage location before completely packing away. This will minimise any awkward and/or heavy lifting – a great idea from Balsam Hill.
Following our essential tips and spending the time now on proper storage and organisation will not only protect your Christmas decorations but also make it easier to set up and enjoy them for years to come.