It is unbelievable how many people forget what all they have to decorate with and go out and buy more. Thus having duplicates and more stuff to store for 10 months or so.
Do yourself a favor: (this will take a little time this year but you will be better off in years to come) by logging what you already have. You can do this in many ways.
1. Write on the box or create what is inside i.e.: 5 stands white lights, red and gold balls, etc.
2. Make a list of items in a storage container put it in a sheet protector and tape it to the container.
3. Number the containers and boxes and type up a list of what is in which box and save it on your computer. (If you are like us we tend to decorate in different color themes each year.) This will help you so you know which boxes to drag out when it is time to decorate.
4. Keep it simple and pack an entire room or trees items together in one box, and label living room or front porch.
These are just a sample of ideas.
I have some nick knacks or decorations I take down while I have the Christmas decorations up. This is the perfect time to dust off all those places you may skip in your normal cleaning. I take the things down and set aside, clean the area, then take things out of a box that will go in its place. Then I clean the items I put aside after they are clean and dry I put into the box I took the Christmas decorations out of. That way when I take down the Christmas decorations I know where the items are that normally have that spot. This eliminates the hunt to remember where you put what after the holidays.
When decorating if a strand of lights don’t work, throw them out. Many people set them aside and think I will fix them later. This usually don’t happen and if you are not an electrician I don’t recommend you work on items that if done wrong can lead to a fire. If you come across ornaments, or figurines that are broken or damaged unless they are family heirlooms throw them out. The chances of you having the time to fix them are slim to none.
If you find you have duplicates of items, why not donate them. Or take them to someone’s house that you may know don’t decorate because they are unable to do so and help them decorate. Don’t forget that when the holidays are over you should volunteer to go over and help them take down the decorations and pack them up.
If you have the money I strongly recommend you purchase a couple of plastic totes to store your decorations in. Cardboard boxes are fine but you have to replace them every couple of years. Plastic containers keep your items protected a little better and they are easier to handle.
I also recommend you plan out what areas will be decorated. Advanced planning can help in many ways. You many need to move furniture around to make room for the tree. Plan how you will need to rearrange the furniture or where you will put that piece of furniture while you have the tree up.
If you want to put a new area in the holiday cheer. I recommend you put your normal decorations up then see what if anything you have left over. Then plan how you want the new area to look. (Make sure you measure the area.) Then make a list of only what you need. This time of the year is when most people make impulse buys, don’t fall into the must have it trap.
If you are just getting started out and don’t have any or very limited decorations. I urge you to plan before you buy. Know what you want and what you need make a list and buy only what you must. Don’t do as many have and over buy and have a lot of left over items that simply eat up your precious limited storage space.
