We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it. As much as we LOVE holidays, we hate the clean-up. That’s why we do everything we can to organize our stuff so it’s easy to put away year-after-year. We have a way to store everything, a place where it belongs and a clear plan for wrapping up the holiday activity. The sooner you put it all away, the happier you’ll be as you head into the New Year. This is one time of the year our slight OCD comes in handy.
Hopefully, you have a cool, dark, moisture-free storage area for all of your Christmas décor so it will last for years until you’re ready for replacements. Here are our selections for keeping it all together.
Ornaments
We love well-sealed ornament boxes with individual compartments to keep everything separated and sorted and protect delicate keepsakes.
Wreaths
A box made of sturdy shipping cardboard holds your artificial wreath in good condition so you can use it for years.
Artificial Tree
Your artificial tree will stay in great shape if you keep it dust-free and clean by placing it in a large tree bag. Some trees come with their own bags.
Lights
Every year, we dread untangling strings of lights, so we save ourselves a lot of headaches by keeping them rolled on an all-purpose reel (also useful for garlands, rope, and power cords).
Labels
Make sure everything is labeled clearly so you can find it easily when the time comes.
Gift Wrap
Earlier in the season, we wrote an article about organizing gift wrap, and now is the time to take inventory of what you have, purchase deeply discounted paper and trimmings, and put it all away for next year.
Receipts
Keep all of your receipts together and organized in an envelope, or if you have a lot of them, keep them in an accordion file or box with instruction manuals and other important papers. By keeping them handy until at least next Christmas, you’ll have an easier time returning malfunctioning toys and big ticket items.
Gift Cards
Register gift cards, if you can, on the corresponding website to protect their value, or go to a website like Leverage.com to track your cards and even swap them for other retail options. We even found a great organizer to manually keep everything in order, which is great if you tend to receive many cards.
Momologie Tips
- This is a good time to have the kids take stock of their toys and belongings to decide what they really value and use. A good rule of thumb is for every item that comes in, one goes out. Donate the “give” pile to your local library,local preschool, children’s hospital or handmedowns.com, a great resource for passing on your kids gently used items.
- You’ve packed away the Christmas lights, ornaments and the rest of your holiday decorations. Now the tree is looking sad and bare, but will find new life if you choose to recycle. Earth911.com offers a directory to help.
