How to Store Holiday Decorations

You decked the halls with boughs of holly, hanging up mistletoe, fairytale lights, wreaths, baubles, and tinsel. The tree looked magical. But now the holidays are over: here comes the hard part. It’s time to store your Christmas decorations and put them away for another year.

Storing Christmas decorations properly is an art form, but it doesn’t have to be rocket science. Once you learn to do it right, with this handy guide, you’ll never go back to haphazardly stuffing them in boxes again. Learning how to store your Christmas lights and ornaments in a methodical way has plenty of advantages, including:

• Decorations made of glass, ceramics, or wood are protected from wear and tear
• No more wrestling with tangled clumps of fairy lights
• Reduces the stress of packing and unpacking every year
• Cuts time on storing Christmas decorations
• Decorations can now last for years and can be passed on to your grandkids
• Saves on space at home

How to Store Ornaments

Knowing how to store Christmas ornaments properly and effectively will let you enjoy them for years to come. Not only that, you’ll be saving yourself a ton of time and money too. So, here are the best tips to store your ornaments.

Organization

First things first, you need to good organized. As author Orison Swett Marden once wrote: “A good system shortens the road to the goal”. Before anything else, it’s a good idea to take a quiet moment and write down a list of all the Christmas decorations that you need to store. This will take no longer than a few minutes but may cut hours of work and stress.

Next, make small groups of things you’d like to store together in batches. You may want to separate the baubles by colors. Now, make a batch of the odd-shaped ornaments like tree toppers and reindeers. These are hard to fit in ornament boxes or cases.

Your best friend for organizing and storing Christmas decorations is the ever-reliable resealable bag. Transparent Ziploc bags allow you to sort your ornaments by color (or theme) and see clearly where everything is. Unless you have a dedicated Christmas cupboard with labeled drawers, this is the best way to organize and pack away Christmas decorations. You will need quite a few of these.

Labeling

Often underestimated when it comes to storing Christmas decorations, labeling will help you organize things both externally and internally. When you label and put the holiday decorations away, it’s easier for you to visualize them in your memory. This is a lifesaver for many of us who are overloaded with information and tend to forget things. Labeling your holiday ornaments will help you remember what you’ve packed, how you’ve packed, and where you’ve stored them.

You can use the basic write-on sticky labels or use more festive colored tags. How decorative you want your labels to be is up to you. Make sure that they’re blank and you can fill them in yourself – this will help you remember better.

Cleaning

When the sleigh bells have stopped ringing and the trees have come down, it’s time to take the twinkling decorations to the cleaners. Before Christmas decorations are stored away though, they need a thorough clean-up. This needs to be done with the utmost care as these precious little ornaments can be incredibly fragile.

The first thing to do when you take off the Christmas decorations is to give them a light dusting. It’s best to use a soft paintbrush for this job. This can also be a good opportunity for the family to get together and work as a team.

Dusting itself will help your ornament maintain their shine and magic for years to come. If you store them while still covered in dust and moisture, they can age quickly and look dull. Invest a little time doing this each year and your baubles will twinkle for years to come.

Wrapping

Some Christmas ornaments need a little more care and protection than others if they’re more delicate and susceptible to damage. You may want to wrap these in newspapers before putting them away. The newspaper works as a shock absorber and will help protect them against cracks and chips.

How to Store Christmas Lights

Christmas lights are magical – but they can also be hard work, especially when they’re not stored properly. Sitting for hours on end and wrestling with piles of tangled cables can soon banish our Christmas cheer. Here’s how to store your Christmas lights without tangling them.

First, a few precautionary steps. When taking the Christmas lights off, do not yank them off the tree or the rails. Take them off gently with caution and try to keep them from getting tangled as you do this. After removing the lights, make sure to plug them in to look for burnt-out bulbs. If you find some, take them off and swap them for new bulbs. 

Wooden Spool

A large wooden (or plastic) spool can be a lifesaver when storing Christmas lights. This is a great tool for storing anything from beads and banners to fairy lights. Simply lay the strand on a flat surface like a table or the floor and start with one end. Wrap it carefully around the long spool handle in a single layer. When you get to the other end, start a second layer. Once you get to the end of the strand, weave it and secure it under one part of the wrapped lights.

Cardboard

Another great tool for wrapping lights neatly is some humble cardboard. You can turn disposable cardboard into DIY light storage solutions. This is an old-school tried and tested method. Take a rectangular piece of cardboard and wrap the strand neatly around it. Once you finish wrapping the cables around individual cardboard squares, stack them neatly and put them away till next Christmas. 

Hangers

Hangers are the gift that keeps on giving during the holidays. They’re great for storing both long and short strands of Christmas lights without tangling them. It’s a brilliant cost-effective solution for Christmas light storage. Most hangers will do the job, but the plastic ones tend to do it best.

Take one end of the cable and secure it around the hook of the hanger. If it’s a hanger without a hook use tape to secure one end of the strand to the top. Next start to wrap the lights snugly around the hanger. Go from one side to the other and back again. Storing Christmas lights using hangers ensures they’re easy to store and won’t end up in a clump.

Wrap Them

Whether you use spools, hangers, or cardboard, it’s a good idea to wrap them before storing them. Bubble wrap is great for wrapping Christmas lights. The shock-absorbing wrappers will protect them from dust and damage.

How to Store Artificial Christmas Trees

An artificial Christmas tree is a timeless beauty that can bring joy for years – if stored properly. These artificial Christmas trees may not shed needles but, if not stored well, they will shed branches, twigs, and leaves – leaving them rather barren and malnourished. So, what’s the best way to store an artificial Christmas tree? Here’s how in a few simple steps with minimum effort.

Disassemble

First, remove all ornaments from the tree – the baubles, lights, tinsel, tree topper, everything. Don’t be tempted to leave them on for next year. Take them off and put them away in organized containers.

Next, disassemble the parts. But before doing that make sure it’s not plugged in. If you have a small tree, it should be fairly simple – these are usually one piece and fold up like an umbrella.

Full-sized trees are a different story. They have several parts. Disassemble all the parts and lay them down. Refer to the instruction manual if you still have it around.

Clean

Give it a quick clean. This shouldn’t take long. It’s best to use a handheld vacuum cleaner and a microfiber cloth. This will help get rid of the dust, fake snow, and glitter.

Bag It

You want to use the tree for many years. So, it’s a good idea to store it well. People will use anything from bin bags to old surfboard bags and all things in between. We recommend using a tree bag. A good bag will help keep your tree in pristine condition for years.

Shrink Wrap

Whether you’ve got a small one in the corner of your room or a towering 20-footer, it’s a good idea to wrap your Christmas tree with plastic for added protection. Some people like to leave the tree as it is and wrap the tree with heavy-duty stretch wrap. This saves you a ton of time and effort, year after year.

All you do is take the heavy-duty stretch wrap, get an extra pair of hands for help, and wrap the tree neatly, leaving nothing bare. This is one way of doing it. However, we suggest you remove all ornaments first, then clean and disassemble them before wrapping. Next, bag it and store it away for next year.

Christmas Decoration Storage

Now you should be fully informed on how to store Christmas lights and decorations. But not all of us have the luxury of a big home with a double garage or an extra-large shed. So, if you’re looking for an affordable storage option for your Christmas tree and decorations, CubeSmart can help. 

Wherever you are in the US, whether it’s New York, Wisconsin, or Georgia, there’s a storage plan to fit all your Christmas decorations for a price that’ll make you smile. Our affordable storage units allow you to declutter your home and store your belongings securely, as ornaments and decorations require dedicated storage in organized boxes. 

With self-storage you can add as much additional space to your home as you need. Just bring your Christmas tree and/or other household belongings. We sell boxes, tape, and packaging too, so there’s everything you need to get your decorations stored safe and sound, and in the best shape for easy use next December.