Hammertime is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our blog, we may earn commissions.
Normally, once Christmas is over, I pack our decorations up and put them in nicely labeled storage bins. It’s worked for me, but I realized that I just throw everything in that bin, and don’t go through the items I may not have put out that year. I was bound and determined this year to go through and organize my Christmas decorations before storing them away!
I started off by being selective on what I kept. Let me show you what I did:
Lights:
I went through all the strings of lights we had and plugged them in to make sure they were all working. If they weren’t, or if they were half lit, I tossed them. This string, for example, only had half the bulbs working, so they went in the trash!
Once I only had working string lights left, I worked on organizing them. For my bigger outdoor lights, I got gallon-sized ziplock bags, put the lights in nicely, and labeled the bag with what they were. (white outdoor lights; colored outdoor lights, etc.) I also put how many I had of that exact style (I would put 1 of 2, for example. If it was the only one of its kind, I put 1 of 1). That way, next year, I will know how many I have of each kind when it comes to decorating outside and balancing the lights.
For my smaller outdoor lights, I utilized some cardboard I got from one of my shipments in the mail. They were the perfect size to wrap the lights around. (You can always cut pieces of cardboard out from a box!) I labeled the cardboard piece with what the lights were, and wrapped the lights around carefully.
This helped make the packing up of all the lights SO much better! I still utilized my labeled plastic bin, but I’m happy that next year, I’ll know that all the lights are working, and which lights are what!
Ornaments:
I normally store all of my ornaments in a short (in height) plastic bin, but I was so disappointed when I opened it up this year and one of my favorites was broken into pieces. I was determined to be better about storing them this year!
I went onto Amazon and bought two of these ornament organizers. They were super easy to put together.
As I took the ornaments off the tree, I placed them in their own compartments. Some of the smaller, non-fragile ornaments, I would put two to a compartment.
You stack the layers and then there is a lid to put on top. The side handles allow for easy carrying, and it was very easy to store both of these boxes in my basement!
Blankets, towels, etc:
We have several Christmas blankets, hand towels, etc. that I, again, normally throw into a plastic bin. I decided to purchase an XL accessory bag to store them in. When I got it, I couldn’t believe how big it was!
I was able to store all of our items and still have plenty of room leftover!
Christmas Tree:
We have artificial trees in our house. We have one large one (10 feet), a 6.5 foot one, and several smaller 4 foot ones. When I store them, I leave the 4 foot and the 6.5 foot trees standing. The 10 foot tree, though, has to be disassembled. I purchased a tree storage bag, like this. This bag is huge and fits our tree so well!
Christmas Wrapping Paper, etc.:
I purchased this gift wrap organizer from Amazon, and it’s a great way to organize wrapping paper rolls, tissue paper, gift bags, bows, and more!
It's Hammer Time 