With Halloween around the corner, holiday decorations season is upon us! With the joy of making your home feel more festive, also comes the frustration of digging deep into your storage space to find your boxes of decorations and figure out what, if anything, is still in the condition you expected from the previous year. While sifting through your cache, take some time to look at our tips for packing and storing your holiday supplies to set you up for success next holiday season.
1. -Use It Or Lose It
As with many other things we accumulate, decorations tend to add up over the years, even if it’s been a decade since you actually put that extra ghost or string of lights out. Do yourself a favor and take a look at what you actually use for your holiday and decorations and throw away the rest of the unused items in your bins and boxes. Whether you are planning a move, or simply storing them for next year, pairing down your unused decorations will save you time, money, and headaches!
2. -Label With Purpose
Once the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, it’s tempting to throw things up in old boxes and be done with the work as quickly as possible. Don’t fall into that trap! Take a few extra minutes and properly label your decorations to save yourself hours of work searching for them next time you pull them out. Avoid generic titles like “fall decorations” for more specific ones like “Halloween outside” so that you know exactly what you’re getting into and where to take each box to streamline your set-up experience next year.
3. -Buy The Right Packing Supplies
Just like with any move or packing experience, it’s important to buy the right supplies to pack and store your holiday supplies. Make sure you get new boxes or storage bins to protect your decorations. Also, as many decorations such as ornaments or school projects from your kids may have sentimental value, put these aside and get extra protection such as wrapping, foam or packing peanuts to ensure that your cherished memories come with you each holiday season.
4. -Store Strategically
When it comes to seasonal supplies, storing them strategically can save you time, effort, and even back pain! We’ve all had that experience before of digging through the attic to find the boxes of supplies that have been buried over the past year and what you thought would take an hour or two becomes an all day project. If you have the space, consider putting your decorations up in a spare closet or high on shelving in the garage so that it is out of the way, but still easily accessible when you need it again. If storage is an issue, have a designated space in your attic where it goes every year so that you can save time and energy.
5. -Lights Out!
One of the most common mistakes made in storing holiday decoration is holding on to your lights. Not only are strings of light cumbersome to pack and store, but they are also relatively inexpensive and have high potential to break on a second usage. As tempting as it is to hold on to them, do yourself a favor and toss them after the season is over. Not only will this avoid running into strings of lights that no longer work, but it also gives you a chance to freshen up and change your holiday aesthetic in a way that also reduces potential frustration. Win-Win!