How To Store Holiday Decorations

With the changing of seasons, each holiday means a different set of decorations from Christmas, to New Year's, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Valentine's Day. Below are a few tips that will help you celebrate this season much easier when trying to locate and decorate for each passing celebration.

It is never too late or to early to start sorting out the process and figuring out how to organize and store all of you holiday decorations in the most efficient way.  This is an important process that will make next year's decorating go that much easier.

• Through away all of your cardboard boxes. They  will only last a season and will need to be replaced. Sometimes things will spill. They are not worth the money you think you are saving. Purchase clear plastic storage bins that will usually be on sale right after Christmas. Purchase as many as you can while they are on sale.
• Remember to purchase the right size boxes for center table pieces and wreaths.
• Store only one occasion in one box. Example, all of your Thanksgiving and fall decorations, such as centerpieces, and wreaths should go in one box labeled Thanksgiving.  All of your 4th of July decorations should go in one box labeled 4th of July.
• Bins with little cardboard niches for ornaments are great but not always necessary. Layer cotton over breakables, and tuck cotton in between them. Just make sure that your breakables can survive a drop.
• Ditch the ugly ornaments you always hide on the back of the tree or things you never use. Give them to Goodwill , or simply throw them away. They are not worth the storage space and time you put into storing them. This includes ornaments your kids made years ago. If your kids are grown, then give these ornaments to the maker. If the child is still young, store them in a separate box with their name label on the box. Give your child these handmade ornaments for their first Christmas tree. 
• Label all boxes and keep a holiday notebook or file in your computer. This will save you time. Record things like how much evergreen roping you have. If you see something on sale, you will always know how much you have and how much you need. Overbuying holiday decorations is always a hassle. This list can help you with all sorts of information such as how much gift wrap you will need for next year, or if you need to buy a new Thanksgiving centerpiece.
• Never store candles in a hot area such as the attic. It would be better to throw away these half burnt candles and start all over the next year.
• Pick only one place to store all of your holiday decorations. Searching in different areas is frustrating and never fun. Having everything thing in one area and knowing where it is will make things go much smoother when searching for things you haven't seen in a year.