As you open your decorations storage box, your energy saps away in seconds: “What was I thinking last year when putting away these decorations?”  Must have been,” I’m so over this! I’ll just put it in here for now and sort it next year!” and stuff just got tossed into the box. Some candle holders still with wax on them, lights in a big tangle and oh no, my favourite glass bauble is broken!  Now you have to deal with the fruits of your mindless act, when you feel even less to sort it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote “Finish each day and be done with it…” comes to mind. I tend to say, “A task is not done until the clearing up, (related to the task) is done too.”

It takes time to decorate for the holidays and it is extremely frustrating if you can’t find stuff, leading to unnecessary purchases of even more decorations. Resist the temptation to buy cute decorations before checking what you have or just in case….

Sort & Purge before You Stow

Collect the decorations from all over the house into one spot. Sort them like with like.

Be ruthless toss the items that are broken or damaged.

Give away items that you no longer use. You’ll notice some items still lying in the box from previous years that are not in line with your style anymore. Pack them up to give away.

Clear out the box and if it is tatty replace it with a new dust proof plastic container with a lid. Clean the decorations that are to be retained.

Containerise the ones you love

• Most of the decorations come in transparent containers.
• Repack them in their original packing or if they are dishevelled, put them into new containers.
• For small fragile items use transparent containers with dividers to separate them and to prevent the strings from snagging.
• Re-use boxes that were gifted to you, as storage.
• Label these, as you will not be able to see what’s in the box.You won’t ever need to untangle Christmas lights again, if you wrap them around a gift-wrap cardboard tube or a sturdy piece of cardboard. Cut a slit at the top to hold the end wire and plug.

After each sort is containerised, stack them neatly into a larger transparent container so that you can easily locate it when you need it.

Larger Decor items

Store things together that you use to decorate a certain area of your home, e.g. the wreath for the front door and the reindeer in a labelled bag, this will save time and you won’t need to think of how you put the décor together in the past!

Don’t get frustrated if you can’t get the Christmas tree back into the box. Use a large Municipal Trolley Bag, make your own from denim or canvas or purchase a Christmas Tree Storage Bag (medium) 108x60cm.

Store it all in one place

Find a home either in the garage, under-stair-cupboard or in the top of a wardrobe to house your carefully sorted decorations.