Holiday Organization Tips: Decking the Halls Neatly & Effortlessly

Keep Only What You’re Using

If your decorations are already set up and looking beautiful, you still may have some items left in your boxes and bins. Take a look at them, and decide whether you really want to keep them. After all, you’re not using them this year. Is there a temporary reason (perhaps that you have a toddler who might try to break glass ornaments this year, but you know you’ll be able to use them safely in another year or two), or do you dislike the decorations or otherwise not want to put them up at all?

If it’s the latter, consider donating gently used decor. Of course, if the items are not in good condition and you wouldn’t feel good about giving them to a friend, it’s best not to donate them to a thrift store. Instead, recycle them, throw them away, or find a way to repurpose them.

Either way, get these items out of your storage space now, before you have to put the rest of your decor away after the holidays have passed. It will make it much simpler to find a place to store everything and will give you less to sift through next year.

Categorize Your Decorations

Most people do categorize their holiday decor to a point, but it’s likely you found a few stray ornaments mixed in with your lights, or maybe your indoor and outdoor lights were all tangled together. Having disorganized decorations can be frustrating when it’s time to put them up again, so let’s remedy that now.

As you put your items away after the holidays, be mindful of putting them in the correct places. If you have already closed up the ornament bin and you find another one that had fallen behind the tree, go and reopen the box; don’t just stuff it in with your garlands. Trust me – by the time next December rolls around, you will thank your past self for having been vigilant about this!

Maintain a Digital Inventory

It’s likely you’re keeping your decorations in your custom closet system or in the garage. That’s great! Since you aren’t going to want to dig back through the boxes again until next year, though, it’s helpful to keep a digital inventory of what you have. 

Why is this useful? There are a few reasons:

• When you’re out at post-holiday sales and perusing the options available for 70 or 80 percent off, it’s helpful to be able to look at your list (easily accessible on your phone) to see what you have and what might complement your existing decor.
• Next November, when you’re thinking about pulling out your decorations, you can look at your digital list to expedite the planning process. You won’t encounter surprises in the form of items you’d forgotten about or, worse, missing items that you’d forgotten you’d thrown away due to breakage. It will all be laid out for you to minimize hassles.
• If a piece goes missing, you’ll be able to track it down. Look at where it is on the list. Did you store your tree skirt with your Christmas tree, with the topper, or in its own box? Are the colored strings of lights mixed in with the white ones, or do they have their own box? Practical Perfection shares some organization tips pertaining to proper labeling of holiday storage bins that you might consider checking out.

Conclusion

Keeping your holiday decorations can be a challenge. I have many clients who struggle with this, and I’ve struggled with it at times myself. By following the organization tips listed above, you can take control of the situation and find yourself in a much better organized position this time next year. Happy Holidays!

Source

• https://practicalperfectionut.com/how-to-label-your-christmas-storage-bins-with-free-printable-labels/