Tips For Holiday Decoration Storage

When it’s time to haul out the holly, do you regret last year’s lackadaisical approach to decoration storage? Are snowmen and Santas scattered willy-nilly in your crawl space? Extension cords tangled up with tinsel? If you need a little help with how to store holiday decorations, take a look at these tips, get your trimmings and trappings in order, and wrap up the season in organized style.

How To Store Holiday Decorations?

Three words: Choosing the right boxes for storage — as in, clear plastic bins. Get the ones that seal tightly to keep out humid air and — dare we say — tiny, curious critters during those 11 lonely months between displays. Red and green bins are good, too. That way, you can quickly spot the Christmas decoration storage bins that may share the same space as Halloween decoration storage bins.

Before you pack your treasures away, however, take a minute to plan your strategy for how to store holiday decorations. Here are a few quick pointers:

• Declutter the decorations you no longer use and donate them.
• Label and organize your storage bins by decoration type (ornaments, lights, etc.).
• Wrap fragile items separately (and carefully!).
• Keep lights untangled by wrapping them around spools or cardboard.
• Remove leaves or any remnants of the outdoors.
• Protect garland and greenery from getting smushed under heavier decor.
• Store your decorations in a cool, dark space with minimal humidity.

How to Properly Store Christmas Decor

Just like the rest of us, holiday decorations need a little TLC after all the hullabaloo. But to keep everything protected and organized, you may need a different approach for different types of decoration storage. Here’s how to take good care of specific treasures:

How To Store Ornaments

From delicate bulbs to handmade childhood beauties, your ornaments deserve special treatment. Save up egg carton storage containers for packing away tiny treasures. Wine boxes do the trick for larger ornaments. Wrap your bulbs up in tissue or packing paper and place them in the individual sections, protected from bumping up against other bulbs. And if you’re not into going the DIY route, you can buy boxes specially made for ornament storage.

How To Store Ornaments That Aren't Balls

Delicate figurines and keepsakes need a little extra care. Wrap each piece individually in tissue paper or bubble wrap, and make sure not to overload your boxes and bins. Remember that when it comes to learning how to store holiday decorations, there’s no such thing as too much padding. And anchor everything properly to avoid shifting in transit from storage spot to your living room on decoration day.

How To Store Holiday Lights

Are you the type to toss the tree with the lights still wrapped around it? Tsk, tsk. For pro-level holiday storage, unravel your twinkly strands and wind them onto a cardboard “post” cut from a box — no more tangles! There are also reel-type contraptions, like old-fashioned film reels, available at any craft or home store, for neatly packed Christmas light storage. Both options are perfect for pesky extension cords, too, in your decoration storage space.

How To Store Garland

If you’re a faux garland fan, don’t give in to the temptation to toss it on top of the bins — you’ll regret it next November. Like the lights, wrap it around a cardboard post or wind it up into a tidy roll and tuck it into a bin.

How To Store an Artificial Tree

When you’re strategizing how to store holiday decorations, bulky artificial trees can be tricky. Start with oversized garment bags — super handy for keeping your tree (and everything around it) safe. Be sure to dust it well first, though, and clear away all the ornaments. You don’t want to accidentally damage a treasure under all those branches.

Wrapping Paper Storage Tips

Speaking of garment bags, they are also great for storing wrapping paper. Your favorite designs will stay safe and dry, protected from potential pests and humidity. For a store-bought wrapping paper storage option, consider a nifty upright plastic container that keeps the paper pristine and clean.

Empty cabinets, armoires, and drawers are the perfect year-round solution for how to store holiday decorations.

Where Do People Store Their Holiday Decorations?

If space is at a premium, it’s time to get creative with DIY storage hacks. Think about hiding places where you might be able to stash a box or two, such as under the bed. Bins are available in flatter, wider styles that you can stuff and slide under your box spring. Or how about a living-room corner? Furniture that’s placed diagonally provides the perfect hiding place for decoration storage. You may also be surprised how much you can pack away into a TV stand or empty-ish armoire.

Can You Store Holiday Decorations in a Shed?

You can use a shed for Christmas decoration storage, as long as the space is cool, dark, and dry. And make sure your holiday storage containers are air-tight. Otherwise, you might start next year’s season with mildewy ornaments and lights. And you certainly don’t want to give hungry, curious critters fodder for snacking.

Tips for How to Store Holiday Decorations Like Tableware, Kitchen Gadgets, and Baking Tools

It’s so much fun breaking out the special Christmas dinnerware and snowflake- and Santa-shaped cookie cutters. But when the season’s over, and the treats are gone, it’s time to pack it all away until next year. Here are some DIY options:

Paper-plate china protectors: For your special holiday dinnerware, wash and dry everything thoroughly, and then stack your plates with a paper or styrofoam plate in between each one to keep them safe from scratches — particularly if they feature delicate designs. Wrap each stack of four in plastic wrap for extra buffer.

Aluminum foil cookie boxes: You know the boxes that the aluminum foil rolls come in? They’re perfect for keeping your cookie cutters tidy. If you’re feeling super crafty, color the outside of the box in a holiday theme so you don’t forget what’s in it — and you get a festive reminder of the holidays every time you open the cabinet.

Coffee-filter pie plate dividers: Use coffee filters between your pie plates to keep them safe from potential jostling if they get moved around. 

Holiday decorations make even the most drab room feel festive — so why rush to take them down?

How Long Should Holiday Decorations Stay Up?

This one’s entirely up to you! And if your answer is “all year,” more power to you. Life is for celebrating, and holiday decorations make things more festive. But if you prefer a clear delineation between holidays, there are a few things to keep in mind.

The Epiphany is considered by the Christian faith to end the Christmas season and, therefore, the signal to take all the trappings down. Many families believe that it’s good luck to get the tree down by the end of New Year’s Day. And some folks view Valentine’s Day, deep into the winter season, as a reasonable deadline for getting Christmas decoration storage in place. But whatever works for you — do it.

Need Extra Space for Your Decoration Storage?

Sometimes you need something bigger for more space-consuming goodies — like that toy train winding through Christmas mini-villages and around the tree. No worries. Keep your closets, cabinets, and under-bed spaces freed up for other uses and get a PODS portable storage container.

It’s kind of like Santa’s sleigh — but instead of delivering Christmas goodies, it takes them away. PODS will park the container in your driveway for you to fill up at your convenience, then come back and take it to a secure PODS Storage Center until it’s time to deck the halls again. You can access your belongings anytime, so you might want to throw in some Halloween and Easter holiday decorations, too.

Visit PODS online for a free storage quote or call 877-350-7637.

Shannon Jacobs is a Tampa-based freelance writer and frequent contributor to the PODS Blog. She has lived in Atlanta, the Berkshires, and Nashville, but always returns to the warmth of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

_{*This article was written on behalf of PODS Enterprises, LLC (“PODS”). PODS does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of any information contained in this article and disclaims any liability for reliance upon the content herein.}