Christmas Storage

Christmas storage tips to help you protect your ornaments, Christmas trees and holiday decorations.

A nice box with individual compartments for storing small fragile ornaments.

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Wrapping The Light Strands

Putting away light strands has puzzled homeowners for ages. You put them neatly into a box and somehow during the year they tie themselves into knots.
Every year companies introduce new gadgets to help you wrap, twist and corral the lights but the item I found that works best is sitting in your kitchen drawer!
Twist Ties have kept my lights untangled for years.

The pile on the left is what they look like when I pull them out after a year in storage. They may look jumbled but they do unwrap easily.
The picture on the right shows you why!

When I pack away my lights, I hold one end with the connector hanging down about six to eight inches and just grab a section of the wire between bulbs to start looping them into my hand. Making sure to grab a section between bulbs each time. The loops hanging down don't have to be the exact same size, they just need to be close to the same size loop. The end of the stand will also hang down into the mass of loops. Wrap a twist tie around the part in your hand and put into your storage box.

Putting the lights onto the tree is just the opposite of wrapping them up.
I grab the strand with the twist tied area in my hand. I undo the twist tie and pull the strand off one wrap at a time.
The key is to keep that section in your hand the whole time.

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Packing Away The Tree

Putting a tree back into the box it came from can be tough but it is not impossible.

The key to putting it away is to unfluff the individual branches.
Start at the top of the tree and work your way down. Each time you grab a branch, squish the needles together before putting it into the box.

If you have a smaller tree that is easy to move, you can put it into the attic assembled and just put a sheet over it.

Christmas Storage For Ornaments

Ornaments that are made of glass should be wrapped in tissue paper. You probably recieved a lot of tissue paper in shirt boxes and gift bags!
I like to put my ornaments into plastic shoe boxes and small plastic containers before placing them into their Christmas storage box. Double packing them can prevent damage!

Candles and decorations made from wax should not be place in with your fragile ornaments. They need to be stored by themselves in an area that doesn't get hot during the summer.

Storage Of Outdoor Decorations

Any ornaments and light strands that you used outdoors will need to be dry before you pack them away.
This is especially important when packing up inflatable yard ornaments. The plastic can get moldy and will break down quicker if moisture is present on them. Set them up in your garage or basement for a few days to get completely dry before packing them up for the year.