by Carole Meisenhelter

Created on: December 11, 2008   Last Updated: December 12, 2011

Christmas and New Year celebrations have been and gone, and we're well and truly ready for gaining some semblance of order again. With these simple storage suggestions, your home can take on its pre-Christmas persona on any given day. Tips that will help manage your packaging this time round, will streamline your seasonal decorating again in just three hundred and something more days!

• Table-top decorations:

For the numerous, smaller Christmas decorations, sitting on dressers, hall/entry and dining tables etc.

A) Use a separate bag (now is a good time to "go green" and use fabric bags), to store those ornaments from each individual furniture item.

B) Write a list of items on a manila tag for each bag. Tie the tag around the neck of the fabric bag. You'll know exactly where those decorations are to be placed next Christmas.

• Christmas cards:

If you usually have your Christmas cards hanging on a wall or strung between windows etc., remove the strings and the push-pins and place those into a small box. Label contents. This saves you having to find the right length strings again next year.

• Front Door Wreath:

To save from getting dusty while in storage, most will fit inside a pillow-case.

• Christmas tree decorations:

A) Remove all the delicate baubles and other decorations before dismantling the tree. If you've kept the boxes they were purchased in, use those. Otherwise, pick up a collection of boxes for this very purpose.

B) Use bubble-wrap between "layers". If working in this manner of multi-layers, utilize a larger box or plastic crate, with lid, to hold all pre-packaged baubles together. Label the lid with contents.

• Hot Tip 

Removing and packaging baubles in same-color families together, makes it easy when re-decorating your tree the following year. Place one colour baubles on the tree first, evenly spaced. It is simple then to fill the spaces with the next color in this manner. Your baubles will appear so "well-balanced" because of this decorating technique.

• Christmas tree lights:

Now that all decorations have been removed from the tree, carefully remove the light cables. Keep in a loose but neat fashion and tie to hold. Place in a carton appropriately labeled. Be sure the transformer is also in the same container!

• Artificial Christmas trees:

A) Keep the carton your Christmas tree arrived in, and each year use it again to re-package for storage.

B) When dismantling, work from the top of the tree and work down to the last, widest branches.

C) Place the top of the tree into the carton first.

D) As you remove branches of the same size on each round, keep together with a tie.

E) Lay these into the carton so that when you go to create your tree again the following year, all branches are waiting in the sequence needed to re-create the tree.

F) The main stem with base needs to be at the very top of your carton. If there were any screws for this section, be sure to place them perhaps in a tiny box clearly labeled.

Once you've initiated this method of packaging to store all Christmas decorations in this manner with all containers clearly identifiable, your re-decorating every year to follow will be, uncomplicated and straightforward.

Wow, what a difference now, and our house is looking good, the way it was some weeks ago! We had somehow gotten to feel quite comfortable with all those glitzy baubles and sparkling decorations about though. Use potted plants or fresh flowers to add new and interesting colorful touches to brighten up your home again, and enjoy the New Year ahead.

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