5 Tips for Storing Seasonal Decorations
If you decorate for the seasons, you may be taking down your summer items and putting up those that are geared toward the fall holidays. Of course, after the pumpkins and turkeys come down, it will be time for the decorations that celebrate the winter holidays. While most of us decorate in order to welcome the coming seasons, it can be a bit of a chore to drag everything out and put it away each year. As time goes by and we get busier, it might just get put to the side. Storing everything efficiently makes the task of decorating much easier, and can increase your enjoyment of the process. Here are 5 tips on storing your seasonal decorations so that you can take them out and put them away with a minimum of stress and hassle.
- Keep the seasonal items out of the way, but not too out-of-the-way!
If getting the decorations requires a ladder or climbing on precarious shelving, then you have done a great job in keeping the items out of the path of everyday traffic, but you’ve also made this task harder on yourself. Try to find a happy medium. An overhead shelf is fine, if you can access it with a stepstool or by asking your taller partner or friend to help out. Storing heavier items in a low cabinet makes sense and won’t put you at risk of a concussion if a box were to topple.
- Separate everything by season
If you have a lot of decorations, then you will need separate boxes for each holiday. If you only have a few for some holidays, for example for Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, go ahead and put them in the same box, but separate them by using a different tote bag for each type of decoration. If you just toss everything in the same bin, it will be hard to find what you need and you might decide to simply not bother.
- Take care when putting things away
When you take down the Christmas lights, for example, wrap them carefully so that they aren’t a tangled mess when next December rolls around. Also, wrap fragile items to avoid breakage, and put the heavier items toward the bottom of the boxes and lighter items toward the top. Nothing is more frustrating when decorating for the holidays than opening a box and finding a bunch of broken items.
- Seal up the boxes well
As the year goes by, insects and dust can make their way into open boxes. You don’t want to have to dust every ornament before hanging it, and you certainly don’t want to have to deal with spiders in your lovely fall wreath. Keeping boxes taped up well and storing in plastic when warranted will go a long way toward keeping your items clean and ready to be displayed.
- Purge as you go
If you set out all of the fall decorations that you want to use and leave some in the box, this is a good sign that you don’t actually need those items left behind. Give them to someone else who will be able to use them. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with having extra items to store and not use again next year! The exception to this is if you are moving to a new house. In this case, keep the items if you like them in case you have more space to display seasonal decorations after you move.
Displaying seasonal decorations can make your house feel more like a lovely home. Taking care to store them properly will save you a lot of headaches when next year rolls around and you’re ready to take them out once again.
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