This morning in my Secrets of Staying Organized online class, a participant asked for guidance in decluttering and organizing her holiday decorations. What a great question, right? If decorating or un-decorating your home for the holidays is cumbersome, it can take away from the spirit of the season, or make the season linger on long after the holidays are over. Here are three tips for organizing your holiday décor so you can simplify the season.
1. Declutter.
It always starts with decluttering, doesn’t it? Yep, and here’s why. It really makes no sense to take the time to organize a bunch of stuff you don’t really want or need, nor does it make sense to pay money for containers to store stuff you don’t like. So, take note of what made it out of the storage boxes this year. And note what’s still tucked away when it’s time to un-deck the halls. Give serious consideration to donating anything you no longer use or love. This will save you time for all the years to come.
2. Organize.
Next, consider if a new organizing scheme would make it easier to decorate and clean up after the season is over. For example, organizing by room can allow you to decorate and un-decorate one room at a time. You could also organize by item type (lights together, ornaments together, etc.) or by theme or color. Reevaluate your current system and see if there’s room for improvement and simplification.
3. Store.
Take the opportunity to evaluate your storage. I often see people using humongous bins to store their holiday items. This is great when you’re storing really big items, but for the small stuff, large bins are unnecessarily heavy and hard to maneuver. Large containers also make it harder to find specific items if you have many items or categories in a single container. Smaller containers allow you to categorize with more detail and they can allow you to bite-size the decorating and un-decorating process—put up or put away one container at a time. Finally, use shelves! If you’re stacking big, heavy bins in a corner of your storage area, it is harder than necessary to access specific containers and items.
Put these simple tips into action when you’re ready to un-deck your halls. And then, bask in the glowing of knowing how much easier next year will be.
What are your holiday storage tips and tricks? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments. Thanks for sharing!
Today I sorted through 2 large tubs of Christmas decorations that I haven’t used in years—and just returned from donating them to Goodwill. My tubs will have a list of contents posted on the outside when stored. Thanks for giving me the motivation & courage.
Well done Kathy! Congrats!!
I love Christmas and have the boxes of decorations to prove it. Most everything fits in small moving boxes so none are too heavy and they stack easily. I number them. On index cards, I put the number and what is in each box. It allows me to decorate or undecorate in the order I want and everything fits in its proper box. I use pencil so I can add or delete items easily.
Great ideas for handling Christmas decorations! Thanks for sharing!