The holidays are over! Although many of us want to keep Christmas living in our hearts all year round, we can't have it living in our house 24/7. This year is an outlier for my family (we were traveling in early December, so we didn't get our tree until mid month). But we typically get our holiday decor down by January 2nd. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to break it all down and put into storage.
As many of you know, I am an organizational addict.I love containing, labeling and everything that goes along with it. That sweet smell of the Container Store when you walk through those double doors... intoxicating. Here are some helpful tips to making your break down and your decorating for next year a little bit easier. Note** A glass of Pinot Noir in hand tends to make everything go a little smoother...
First, I take down the decorations in each room individually. I usually put all of my kitchen decor on the table, the living room decor on the coffee table, etc.
Next, I assess, It's time to purge! It doesn't have to be a big clean out. But if something has broken over the season, not working as well, etc. I get rid of it. Anything in tact I will donate. Purging helps keep things organized and tends to keep your decor from multiplying over the years and taking over your entire garage.
Once the purge is complete, I sort. Sort by room, like things, etc. Once the grouping is somewhat organized, I assess my containers again to see what will fit best and where. I recently invested in wreath containers. I'm pretty excited. I won't be so bold to say that it's life changing. But.... If you don't want to invest in wreath containers, you can always store them in a large garbage or garment bag. Just make sure to not stack anything on top of it. If a bow is on it, keep it on the wreath and crumple some newspapers and stuff it in the loops to keep the bows full. You can also put like colored balls or ornaments in plastic zipper bags to keep them organized if your don't have ornament boxes with dividers.
LIGHTS. I don't know about you, but I used to just roll up my light strands and throw them in a tote. Now, we wrap them around an object to keep them from getting tangled. This could be a piece of cardboard, a metal can, a piece of wood, etc. This will help keep them from getting broken, tangled and actually help to put the lights back up the following year.
Once everything is in a container of sorts, LABEL. I recently purchased a label maker and let's just say, EVERYTHING in my house is now labeled. If I could have labeled my dogs and my husband, I would have. In fact, I tried. If you don't have a label maker, just write on a piece of paper and tape it onto the box, bag etc. what the contents are. This just makes taking everything out next year a whole lot easier.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a happy and healthy 2020!
