How to beat the scrooge of holiday storage!

Do we have to? My pup agrees there’s nothing more deflating than having to put up your holiday decorations. She also hates when we start moving stuff around. This is especially true after the Christmas season and maybe the saddest time of the year. It’s inevitable. So, here are some of my holiday storage tips for less stress, even with the mess!

Also, please understand that your storage does not have to look like the cover of a magazine. Mine doesn’t! If it does – that’s great! However, it may not be realistic for you. The priority is to get organized, then if you want to make your space more stylish – get to it!

1. Embrace the mess

Yup. Here we go. This is the most important. I’ve seen it too many times and done it myself. Things get thrown into boxes or on shelves for the sake of cleaning it up. Unless someone is coming over that is allergic to holiday decorations – DON’T RUSH PACKING. If a mess makes you or your housemates anxious or isn’t doable, then schedule a date or weekend for you to get it done. Allow that time to be the messy time and the priority to organize it.

2. Set up a work station

Have you ever got all your decorations up, only to realize you missed some and it’s too much trouble to get everything back out? So, you just toss it in a drawer somewhere? I’m raising my hand! We started setting up folding tables in the basement where the storage is and started carrying things to the tables over the span of a week (yes…a week!) If you don’t have the ability to create a separate space, you can use a dining room table, guest bed, etc. Before the basement was available, the guest bed was misc room decor, the dining table was all tree-related decoration, and the garage was outdoor decoration. Once everything was in piles, I moved onto sorting and organizing within those piles and decided how to store things from there. I also decorate and gift on a budget, so after holiday sales are a must and re-working the organization for new pieces need time.

3. Plan container use – last

This one is the toughest, for me. I love shopping for storage containers and they are so stylish, but hold off – here is why: You will get things that don’t work. Hear me roar: You cannot make stuff fit in the new, stylish box and you will not be any more organized than when you started. This goes for your current storage as well – especially if you added anything to your decorations this year. Once I saw my accumulation of ‘base-balls’ (the shatterproof ball ornaments that go on before the special ones) and my frustration of the traditional ornament boxes with separators – I used clear plastic drawer containers I had from cleaning out the closet, to organize them by color. You can easily access the color and size you want without having boxes stacked up. You can find my DIY for special ornaments here. Clear is the way to go unless you are willing to label each box or bag you can’t see into. Another rule for me is no storage inside decorative boxes. Don’t do it – put those in the gift giving section and let them go. They are the black hole for everything that fits inside of them.

4. Clear trash bags are your friend-sometimes

Again, I love some made-for holiday storage and stylish/matching items. However, when you want me to pay $30 (sometimes half off) for a tree bag when I can use a clear trash bag for pennies, it’s a no brainer. Even if I have to use a new one each year – I use the old one for trash as I’m cleaning up from presents opening and other non-food/liquid items. Now, are trash bags as tough? No. So, if you are storing your larger items like a tree, wreath, and garland in places that are high traffic and moving areas – the heavier duty bag may be for you. It’s up to you! If you need to use trash bags (or smaller bags) make sure they are CLEAR. If you can’t see it – it can tell you that it’s in there. Same goes for plastic storage containers.

5. Think about next year

I know…we are all still trying to recover from this year! But if you are wanting less stress and mess for next year, this is an important tip. Hear me out: if this is your first big organizing adventure, then it will feel very daunting at first. However, it will become a habit in all of your organization and help motivate you to organize now, for a smoother later. Also, make sure you are setting yourself up for success – I don’t like to start out telling people exactly what I did to organize, because it may not work for them. For example, I’m tall – so putting things up high isn’t a problem. I also decorate starting with color themes throughout the entire house. This won’t work for someone who decorates by room. So, I suggest thinking about how you think – then how you want to start your decorating next year and of course, stick to it. You’re more likely to stick to it if you’ve set it up that way.