Organize Your Holiday Decorations

Now that the extended family has departed and the kids are back in school, many of you are probably looking around wondering what to do with all of your holiday decorations.  Follow these tips and you’ll have them protected, stored, and ready for next year in no time:

1. Identify a Storage Area – The first step is to determine where you are going to store all of your decorations.  A corner in the basement or overhead storage in the garage are excellent possibilities.  The key is to find an area large enough to store all of your holiday decorations together.
2. Sort – Before you pack your decorations away, take an inventory of what you have.  Are some worn out or broken beyond repair?  Do you still like all of your decorations?  Will you use them?  If not, box up what you no longer want and donate it.  You are sure to make someone else’s holiday a little bit brighter!
3. Containerize – Plastic bins are a great storage solution for general holiday decorations.  There are also many specialized containers for items such as trees, wreaths, ornaments, and tableware, which provide extra protection.  Right now there are many storage options in red/green for Christmas decorations.  By purchasing color-coordinated storage, it makes it easy to quickly identify what to pull out next year.
4. Label – Even if you are color coding by holiday, I still recommend that you label the outside of your containers if you have more than one container per holiday.  Labeling makes it easy for you (and others) to find what you need when you need it, and it also facilitates a speedy clean-up.

Follow these steps and you will have your decorations cleaned up, stored and protected in no time.

– Donna Lindley, Certified Professional Organizer and owner of Rochester Hills, MI-based Organize Your World, Inc.