Tips For Storing Holiday Decorations In A Small House
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American friends, are you all stuffed full of turkey? I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving. We Canadians are already knee-deep in getting ready for the holidays and I've just about finished decorating the house. I used to dread the task, primarily because I couldn't find my decorations year after year. Some were kept in original boxes, others were packed together. Some were tucked away in places forgotten, others were pulled out during the year and never put back in the same spot. But at the end of last season, I finally decided to organize and conquer the holiday decor once and for all! I thought I'd share with you a few of our organizing tricks.
Tips for Storing Christmas Decorations
Ours is a small house, without an attic, and we really don't have space to store big items like the Christmas tree inside. The garage comes really handy for situations like this.
Garage Storage Ideas
To make use of every square inch available, we used the vertical space and hung the tree bag from storage hooks mounted high in the rafters. This allows the tree to lie flat and retain its shape and we keep the garage floor clear for the car to move in and out. Thinking vertically is one way to get more storage out of your space. Even with just a bit of wall space, you can store many seasonal items using hooks, clips, and baskets like in this garage storage solution below.
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| Photo via California Closets |
Bankers Box Storage
Aside from the tree, we have boxes and boxes and boxes of decorations. Wreaths, ornaments, tabletop trees, lights, figurines, garlands... it used to be a cluttered mess. That is until I discovered the magic of the bankers box!
I used to keep my ornaments stored in their original plastic containers, all shapes and sizes, but this is much more efficient and uses less space. The more valuable and glass ornaments are individually wrapped and kept in ziploc bags but a large box like this is fine for the bulk of the plastic ornaments and pinecones. The box is nice and sturdy and the ornaments sit neatly until I take them out again next year.
These bankers boxes are long and narrow and fit snugly in the Ikea shelving units. I'm a fan of using closet organizers or shelving systems that are custom fit to your space. That way, everything has a home and you're more likely to keep your space neat and organized. For added functionality, I've labelled the boxes with what they contain. Its amazing how much these boxes can actually hold. See?
I used to keep my ornaments stored in their original plastic containers, all shapes and sizes, but this is much more efficient and uses less space. The more valuable and glass ornaments are individually wrapped and kept in ziploc bags but a large box like this is fine for the bulk of the plastic ornaments and pinecones. The box is nice and sturdy and the ornaments sit neatly until I take them out again next year.
Bench Drawer Organization
The last bit of holiday decor to organize is the gift wrap. I've designated one of the bench drawers in our craft area as gift wrap central.
Since wrapping gifts is a somewhat frequent occurrence, I like to keep everything I need to wrap a gift in one location. A small box holds scissors, tape, ribbons and gift tags; gift bags and tissue paper are stored neatly in bags.
To keep things manageable, I tend to keep my wrapping paper neutral... one or two holiday patterned papers, and a few rolls of plain craft paper or paper with a simple pattern that can work for any occasion. We also have a "special" wrapping paper that we only use for wrapping Santa's gifts (but don't tell Chloe!).
I thought I'd also show you my newest favourite wrapping paper. White dots on kraft paper...I bought it yesterday at Target for $1! I've already wrapped six gifts (they're for the advent calendar. More on that later!) and I still have half the roll left! Deal of the century and it's a shorter roll so storing this piece of holiday decor is super easy.
Have you unpacked your holiday decorations yet? Did you have to go hunting all over the house to find your ornaments? Or are an uber organized decorator?
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