A Christmas story
Storing festive decor items well at the end of the season helps to deck the halls next year
There are people out there who will throw their Christmas decorations haphazardly into whichever box they happen to grab, not even thinking about how much of a hassle it’s going to be taking them out again next year.
After all, that’s a problem for next-year you, isn’t it? Why bother worrying about it now?
Then when Christmas rolls around, like it does every year, you run to grab the box with “Christmas stuff” written in Sharpie on the side, tear open the tape and … oh no. How could you have done this to yourself again?
Maybe this is the year you actually take the time to properly put your ornaments into protective packages.
In an effort to be even more eco-friendly, after using up all your wrapping paper, instead of tossing the cardboard tube, consider cutting some holes into other boxes and feeding the tube through to create a hanging rod that you can store ornaments on.
If you’re not for cutting the holes, the tubes make great holders for lights, tinsel or garland by simply wrapping your choice around the cardboard.
A clothes hanger isn’t just for your finest garments anymore.
If you have a reusable wreath, where does it go in January?
Probably into another bucket and shoved into the corner of the basement where it succumbs to the crushing weight of all the other decorations on top of it, getting bent out of shape over a few years.
Instead, throw the wreath over a wire hanger and let it dangle, keeping it nicely preserved for the months to come. Bonus points for putting a covering on so it won’t get dusty.
After your annual Christmas party, reuse those red cups (you know, the ones you’ve seen in every movie that has a party in it?) to store some smaller decorations so they won’t get crushed. Individually they may be weak, but together they’re pretty resilient.
Put some at the bottom of a container, fill them up and put a layer of cardboard on top, then repeat until your container is full of red cups. The most extensive way to keep your tree in Christmas-ready shape year round is to shrink-wrap it. Provided it’s an artificial tree, of course. Once all the bulbs and lights are stowed away in their boxes, head into the kitchen and grab the plastic stuff.
Keep the branches straight as you wrap layer over layer around the tree, keeping it compact and safe for storage.
When it’s time to bring it back out, a pair of scissors will slice right through the protective coating you’ve created and the tree will spring into place.
Good Housekeeping was the source for these fabulous storage tips except the red cup idea was courtesy of momspartycafe blog and the Christmas tree wrapping idea came from epbot.com.