Tomorrow, January the 6th is the day of Epiphany and those following the Christian tradition, will be taking down their Christmas decorations either then or the day after depending on their culture. So here are some tips if you do so!
There are always two ways of doing anything, and one is always smarter! When I take down my Christmas decorations throughout the house, I have one main goal: to make it easier for replacing them next time! I don't think I go too overboard decorating for the season, but I still have little things put in nearly every room of the house! To add a little humor, even my powder room's toilet gets decorated! Thanks mom!
There are always two ways of doing anything, and one is always smarter! When I take down my Christmas decorations throughout the house, I have one main goal: to make it easier for replacing them next time! I don't think I go too overboard decorating for the season, but I still have little things put in nearly every room of the house! To add a little humor, even my powder room's toilet gets decorated! Thanks mom!
To me, the tree ornaments are the easiest items to store. I place them all inside clear large plastic boxes, in their original "egg case" without their original paper boxes, cutting an extra step when putting away and redecorating (an actual egg cartoon can work well for small and delicate ornaments). There are pre-divided boxes specific for ornaments. I like this one. They are harder to use though if, like me, your ornaments have many different sizes and shapes, but they are a great system for traditional glass globes. I do not recommend paper boxes for their fragility and humidity susceptibility. Clear stackable containers like this, are my favorites, as they come in many sizes and there is no guessing what is inside therefore no need to label them. Colored plastic boxes are fine, however I highly recommend labeling, specially if you keep you containers in an attic or garage with other seasonal decorations as Halloween, Easter, etc...
Lighting, for obvious reasons, should only be kept in plastic containers! Roll light strings in empty water bottles or cardboard sheets! It's practical, economical and ecological. When removing outdoor lighting, keep them separate and labeled by location. For example, we have a box only for the lights we wrap on our trees, labeled "TREES". Two more boxes are separately labeled "RIGHT" and "LEFT" since our front yard is not symmetrical. It is so easy to put them back for next Christmas! If you don't have enough to store in separate boxes, fold, or roll them separately and place them in plastic bags labeled accordingly. It will save you time when redecorating!
As for the Christmas tree, there are a number of options. From trash bags, to oversized bags, to sturdy canvas storage bags like this one on wheels! Just search "Christmas storage" on Amazon and you will be lost in a sea of options! It all depends on the size of your tree and where you are going to store it. As stated on this post, on our home this year, we have switched to a real Christmas. So my husband was really happy we could skip this part! We had to store our tree in four huge bags!
For wreaths and garlands there are also specialty canvas and plastic bags like the ones for trees I cited above or plastic boxes like the one pictured bellow.
To me, it is how you store the little things spread around that will make all the difference when you start decorating again this year. Trust me!
To make it easier, I store everything by area or room. Kitchen and breakfast area decor, doesn't even leave the kitchen. Since I do have enough room on upper shelves of my cabinets, that is exactly where they stay. And that is also where whatever needed to be removed to give room for Santa and Gingerman is stored too. So, I take down from the shelves what will go back to place and just put back up the snowman cookie jar, bells and nutcrackers that witnessed our cooking and overeating!
All the family room and foyer small decor goes together in a large plastic container. Some special pieces are kept in their original boxes, like this wooden train bellow.
Candles are ALWAYS protected with paper. Some are placed in reused paper bags, while regular round smaller candles, like the red ones bellow, can be wrapped in paper lunch bags! Think outside the box! Of course, anything with glitter that doesn't need paper protection is stored separately in plastic bags or every decorative item will have glitter later!
All delicate, breakable and special pieces are protected between alternating layers of stocking, tree skirts and seasonal linen. That way I don't have to spend extra time, material and space protecting them. To me it makes more sense to keep my holiday table covers with the Christmas decor instead of with my regular table covers. In the pictures bellow you can see each layer of soft fabrics and ornaments.
Yes! Pinocchio is there! My mom brought it for my son from Italy when he was a baby and he gave it to me when I was taking down the decoration. I noticed its clothes matched perfectly with the rest of the decorations and since I do feel uncomfortable with the whole "believing," I decided to keep it with the decoration for next Christmas! :)
Yes! Pinocchio is there! My mom brought it for my son from Italy when he was a baby and he gave it to me when I was taking down the decoration. I noticed its clothes matched perfectly with the rest of the decorations and since I do feel uncomfortable with the whole "believing," I decided to keep it with the decoration for next Christmas! :)
This is how the box looks like when it is ready. You see? No need to label them!
Another box is used for seasonal books and shatterproof or sturdy items. This is a house of readers so the collection gets a couple additions every year. This time the favorite was The Nutcracker, by Alison Jay. I enjoyed reading and being read to as much as I enjoyed observing my dear daughter organize and reorganize those books in many different ways throughout the season! I think I know who she got that from!
When I told her "I wish I could keep the gingerbread house you made!", she ran to grab the camera and just then I noticed... "someone ate the snowman!" She blushed.
All pictures by Daniela Cohen.
All copyright Bloom Your Space Organizing ® 2014-2015
