I hope you are all enjoying this week! Â The days between Christmas and New Years are some of my favorite days of the year. Â For me they are a mix of relaxing with family and thinking about the New Year ahead. Â And eating. Â Lots of eating. Â Because we can all eat what we want and then hit the gym hard with the rest of the world in January, right? Â :) Â I know a lot of people are itching to take down their Christmas decor as soon as Christmas day is over. Â I’m not one of those people! Â I would seriously keep my Christmas decor up for six months if I thought I could pull it off. Â In fact I told my family all today that next year I might start decorating trees before Halloween. Â The holiday season just goes by too quickly for me! Â I want those tree lights going year round. Â But alas.. at some point it all has to come down. Â And when I finally do pull the trigger and start putting things away, something inside me snaps. Â And I want every single thing in my house to be clean and organized.
I know you know the feeling. :)
So I start with my Christmas decor and make sure I’m putting it all away as organized as possible. Â Today I’m sharing a few ideas for how to organize Christmas decor once it all comes down. Â Some of these pics are from our previous house and some I took this year before I decorated for Christmas.
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I use all sorts of things to organize my Christmas decor. Â These decorative boxes came with gifts in them years ago. Â Perfect to hold random odds and ends.
In our previous house we were short on space so I used my living room trunks to hold Christmas decor.
I always wrap breakable items inside of Christmas throws, stockings and tree skirts.
PB stockings and holiday decor is on major sale right now! Â Happy dance. :)
Of course ornament boxes and organizers are my best friend. Â (Some favorites are at the end of this post.)
Small ornaments like the colorful balls in my kitchen scale are stored in GladWare.
These plastic containers are perfect for small items. Â I love clear containers because you can see what’s inside so easily.
Sometimes I add quilt batting to the bottom of boxes to hold breakable ornaments.
And I always use a lot of large Ziploc bags. Â They come in so many sizes and have labels already on them. Â Perfect!
I try to get creative with Christmas decor storage and use what I already have around the house. Â Especially for the small stuff.
I store most of my Christmas decor in my upstairs attic, but if I can find storage close to where I’m going to display my Christmas decor I use it to make things easy to set up and take down.
This mirrored cabinet in my entry is an example of what I’m talking about. Â (I forgot to take pics of how I had it decorated this year! Â It was similar to last year.) :)
My kids set up our Christmas village in the entry each year across from the cabinet which makes it a perfect place to store the village pieces all year!
I used to put these village pieces in their own individual boxes and haul them upstairs. Â This solution is SO much easier. Â Set up and clean up is a breeze!
Items like our Santa pics I hang on a door get stored in Ziploc bags.
I include the pictures and the burlap I use to make it easy.
I always try to group things together that go together when I decorate. Â In my attic I store my front porch trees right next to the wrapped presents and my red striped front porch rug. Â (There is nothing in these presents except some cook books to hold them down if it’s windy. Â Finally putting my cook books to good use.) Â ;)
Then I toss this bag on top of the presents. Â It holds the burlap for the trees along with the light timers.
I use these inexpensive zipper mesh pouches (love them!) to hold things like our family Christmas card pics that I display on our stairs and other family Christmas pictures I display every December.
For the larger items I use boxes that decor came in along with my favorite storage containers from The Container Store. Â The Container Store is my home away from home. Â But most of you know that. ;)
This is a peek of how I store my tree decorations. Â These Wing Lid Ornament Storage Boxes are my absolute favorite for storing regular sized tree ornaments. Â You can fit up to 75 ornaments so they hold a lot and they are so easy to access and to stack on top of each other. Â Their wreath storage boxes are also great. Â I have several and use them for a couple of wreaths and also for other random miscellaneous items. Â Then of course I use a lot of clear bins and totes. Â I use these for large items like big ornaments and my Christmas pillows and throws.
Quick recap of my main tips for organizing Christmas decor:
1 – Look for storage in places close to where you are displaying your Christmas decor. Â Can family room decor be stored in the family room? Â It’s not always possible, but if it is decorating and clean up will be a breeze!
2 – Wrap breakable items inside of Christmas throws, stockings and tree skirts.
3 – Shop your house for containers to use for storage! Â Boxes that gifts come in work great along with clear GladWare and Ziploc bags for smaller items.
4 – Keep items stored together that will be displayed together.
5 – Invest in some good bins/containers for larger items. Â You will use them year after year! Â I prefer clear containers so that I can easily see what’s inside.
6 – Purge as you go! Â I ALWAYS get rid of old Christmas decor each year. Â Some older items are special to our family and those stay, but if it’s decor without meaning that I didn’t want to put up this year I know I won’t want to put it up next year. Â Get rid of it! Â Only keep the items you use and love that make you happy when you pull them out each year.
I hope these tips and pictures gave you a few ideas for how to organize your Christmas decor as you are taking it down this year. Â If you missed seeing my house decorated for Christmas this post includes a round-up of the rooms I shared. Â Happy un-decorating everyone! Whenever you choose to start. :)
Awesome post chock full of great ideas and examples of easy ways to store Christmas decor! I love the idea of using quilt batting. I also really like the idea of like with like. And your use of the Gladware. So many great ideas! Thanks for putting this post together, Erin! You’ve helped a bunch of people today, I’m sure. :)
Thanks Jeanne! You are such a sweetheart. I’m so happy you liked this post! Hope you are enjoying this week with your kids! xo
I usually take my decorations down after the Epiphany, Jan.6 (Three King’s Day). It has been a tradition in my family way back! I’m with you, the holiday season does go to fast! You certainly have great ideas for organizing Christmas decor. I never thought of using the mesh pouches and gladware for the little things. I do use lots of clear bins, wreath boxes, and ornament boxes I wish I could use my attic for storage. We do have hurricane straps, but I’m still a little leary though about the Hurricanes blowing away my Christmas decor and my precious Dickens Village that I started collecting after I was married. We use a storage locker near by for all our storage needs. It sustains wind up to 160 mph. It’s that safe! Sorry for all the babbling, I just love you, your home ,and your blog! You are the first email I read! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2017! May you and your family have a happy and prosperous New Year!
I love that tradition Nancie! That storage locker sounds so smart! I’ve seen the Dickens village and love it too. Something so magical about Christmas villages all lit up! Thank you for your sweet words about this post.. and me and my blog! You always say the sweetest things and completely make my day. Wish I could give you a huge hug! Happy New Year to you and your family! xo
Great post, Erin! I am dreading taking all the decor down. I agree, it goes way too fast. Maybe we could leave the trees up with just lights on year round? No? Ok. Enjoy the final week of 2016 and may 2017 be the best yet! xxoo
Thank you Pam! Maybe we should start a year long tree movement.. ha! ;) Happy New Year cutie! Wishing you wonderful things in 2017 too. :) xo
I organize in the same way! They all work well! I don’t want to take my stuff down either. I will take my stuff down the second week in January when the church Christmas season ends! Love all your organization ideas! I agree with you that the first of the year causes me to try to mass organize everything! Love it!
Sounds like we are on the same page Amy! Love it! :) Enjoy your decorations for a bit longer! xo
What are your stockings hung from on your mantle? I am looking for something like that. And where did you purchase it at? Thanks so much, love your blog!
Hi Vickie! Thank you! They are stocking holders from Pottery Barn! They have some with decorative things on them like snowflakes, deer, etc. but I just bought the ones that lay flat. I’m not sure if they still have a lot in stock this year but if they do I bet they are on sale! xo
Erin, I laughed out loud at your comment: “finally putting those cookbooks to use!” Using them to keep your porch present decorations from blowing away…great idea! Thanks for truly bringing the sunny side to us always. ~Ann
Ha ha.. gotta be me. ;) Thank you so much Ann! You made my day. :) xo
We take our Christmas decor at the end of January (: and put everything up early November.. So we can definitely say that Christmas is a season. HA! But Christ is in our hearts all year. Btw nice tips!
Oh I love that! All of it. :) Thank you! xo
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who takes down decor and feels like every cupboard had to be organized too lol
I too purge…if it didn’t go out this year it won’t next. I also try buy 1 or 2 realky nice things in the sales after Christmas.
Me too Heidi! Happy after Christmas sale shopping! :) xo
I’m one of those people that loves to have my decor up as long as possible. I usually start decorating by October 15th. This year I was two weeks late because I went out of town with my husband to North Myrtle Beach. It was totally worth it! The lights are all on and the house is glowing as I am typing this message to you. Thanks for sharing your tips for storage. Happy new year!
Love that Debbie! Oct. 15th sounds perfect. :) Enjoy your glowing lights! Thank you and happy New Year! xo
I forgot you had wrapped up your cook books in the present boxes! 😂😂😂
I always thought everyone kept their Christmas decor up until after the new year, to me New Years is all part of it! So weird to me that some people take it all down the day after! I want to keep celebrating and enjoying it!
Erin, I bought some of the Christmas ornament storage containers from The Container Store that you recommended and I LOVE them so much!! Thank you for the awesome tips ☺ My kids loved putting the ornaments away in their special slots :) Love your blog, been reading for a long time!!
YEA! I’m so happy to hear that Kristin! They’re so nice, aren’t they!? My kids love that too.. and I have to admit.. so do I! A place for everything. ;) Thanks so much cutie! It means a lot to me that you enjoy my blog and have been reading for a long time. Wishing you and your family the best in 2017! xo