Christmas Decoration Storage

Are you like many people who have tons and tons of Christmas decorations that you set out each year to make your house festive?  Do you have boxes full of Christmas decorations?  Are you using old cardboard boxes for storing these decorations?  You may want to try some of the following tips to keep your Christmas decorations stored well and easy to access as the years pass.

One thing to remember is that many retail stores and chain stores sell plastic totes specifically around Christmas time. These plastic totes are often colored in Christmas colors of green or red.  If you purchase some of these storage totes, you will know immediately upon glancing at them in your storage area that those are your Christmas decorations.  This will save you from having to dig through clear colored or other plastic totes to look for Christmas decorations each year.  Instead, you can simply look for all the totes that are colored green or red and know you have found your Christmas decorations.

You may also want to put a detailed list of what is stored in each box on the outside of the tote.  This will save you time when you get each tote out, instead of rifling through each tote trying to see what is packed in it, you can read the outside list. 

It is a good idea not to store your precious Christmas decorations in a cardboard box, because if you store them in a basement or a garage, you run the risk of little critters gnawing their way through the cardboard.  Your decorations will also remain safe from any type of water damage in a plastic tote, because unlike cardboard that absorbs water, a plastic tote will repel it.  Just make sure to keep the lid tightly closed on all plastic totes that you store Christmas decorations in and expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $15 depending on the size of the tote you purchase.

Frugal Christmas Storage Ideas

Many people might not store their Christmas decorations the appropriate way because of the money that must be spent to purchase all of the items needed to store them.  If this is the case for you, you may want to take heed of some of these frugal ideas for Christmas storage.

If you don't want to spend the money on Christmas ornament storage containers, you can always stop at the grocery or liquor store and request boxes for free that had wine stored in them. These boxes come with individualized compartments in which you can place Christmas ornaments that have been wrapped in padding.  Just make sure to store these boxes in a place where little pests and water can't get to them.

If purchasing a wreath storage bag or box is out of the question, simply place your wreath in a large garbage bag then cinch it at the top and store it for next year. 

Another important tip to remember as far as Christmas lights go, if you find a set of lights that quit working during a current Christmas season, make sure to just throw those away otherwise you may end up putting them next year forgetting they don't work.

Making Christmas decoration storage work for your financial situation is important.  If money is an issue, you can always use these tips to help preserve your Christmas decorations safely. 

Storing that Christmas Wreath

Do you have a gorgeous artificial Christmas wreath that you like to display at Christmas time?  When you take it down after Christmas is over, where do you put it?  If you are like a lot of people, you may just hang it on a hook in the garage or stuff it under the stairs in your basement.  To get the most out of your artificial wreath, you need to make sure that you store it appropriately and keep it safe wherever it is stored.

One way to store your artificial Christmas wreath is to store it in a special wreath storage box.  These boxes can be made of plastic or cardboard and are a special shape to fit your wreath.  Wreath storage boxes are ideal for storing your Christmas wreath flat, such as under the stairs or sitting on a shelf.  By putting your artificial wreath into a wreath storage box, you limit the amount of damage that could be done to it should it be stored without protection. These boxes should only set you back about $10, the money spent may protect your wreath for years to come!

You could also store the wreath in a special wreath storage bag.  These special storage bags can be made of plastic and with some fancier versions, a nice fabric bag.  Fabric bags will obviously be much more expensive, sometimes as much as $50, but can decorate an area if you choose to hang it during the off-season.  These storage bags come equipped with handles in which you can hang the bag from when the wreath is zipped or tied into it.  Simply put a hook in the area you wish to hang the wreath, such as a garage wall, and hang up your artificial wreath for another year!

As with the artificial Christmas tree storage bags, you will want to make sure you that purchase a wreath storage bag that is the right size for your wreath.  Doing a few simple measurements of your wreath's width and length will give you the measurements you need to find the right size storage unit!

Christmas Ornament Storage

How many times have you taken your Christmas ornaments off of your tree and just placed them in a shoebox or another type of box in which the ornaments roll around and knock into each other?  How many times have you opened your box of ornaments the following Christmas only to find several broken ornaments?  You can avoid this hassle and heartbreak by purchasing a Christmas ornament storage box. 

Christmas ornament storage boxes can either be plastic or sturdy cardboard and have a special feature that keeps your ornaments from moving around and rolling into each other: an ornament divider.  These storage boxes will come with cardboard dividers that stack on top of each other.  The dividers are separated into 12 to 24 individual squares in which you can place one ornament for storage.  You then place a protective piece of cardboard on top of the dividers after you have filled it with ornaments, then stack a new divider on top of that and add more Christmas ornaments until you have filled up the box or tote.

These boxes and totes have a lid that snaps on or flips over the top of the box for stackable storage.  Depending on the size of the ornament storage box you purchase, you can store from 48 to 84 ornaments.  As you would think the prices on these boxes vary according to how large they are.  The smaller totes or boxes, which hold 48 ornaments are between $10 and $15, the larger totes are going to cost you more.  You can find these ornament storage boxes online or at any major retailer come Christmas time.  The beauty of an ornament storage box is that you can safely store your ornaments every year without a lot of work.

How Can I Store These Christmas Cards?

What do you do with all of those lovely Christmas cards you receive each year during the Christmas season?  Many people just read the cards and toss them into the trash because they have no special place in which to store them.  Other people may store their Christmas cards on a shelf or just simply set them on a counter while others may tape them to a doorway. 

If this sounds like you and you were really hoping to find a new way to store those Christmas cards so that others can see them and it won't look tacky, don't fret, there is a unique way to keep your Christmas cards organized and stored throughout the Christmas season.  Many places online and in Christmas specialty stores sell Christmas card display stands, some even come with an Advent calendar. 

These Christmas card holders are often 40 inches high and can hold 20 or more cards and can either be hung on a wall or sat on the floor.  These wonderful display items often feature a cute Christmas scene and are usually made from a solid cardstock or wood.  Depending on what type of cardholder you purchase, you will most likely pay around $10 for paper and much more for the wooden kind. 

When Christmas rolls around and you are wondering what to do with all of those Christmas cards you receive, why not purchase a Christmas card holder to store those cards?  That way you don't have to toss the card as you get it, instead you can enjoy it the entire season!

Storing Those Christmas Lights

Every year it is the same old thing, people climb up on a ladder and hang Christmas lights and after Christmas, people climb up on that same ladder and remove those Christmas lights.  When Christmas lights are taken down and put away, do you throw them wadded up in a box only to have to untangle them the following Christmas?  You can save yourself the hassle of having to untangle Christmas lights every year by using a Christmas light storage box.

These Christmas light storage boxes have a winged top and come with dividers that you can wind your Christmas lights around and set in the storage box.  Most Christmas light storage boxes come with more than one divider so that you can organize several sets of lights in one box.  You can even use your Christmas light storage box for items other than Christmas lights.  You can store your garland and any electrical cords you may need the following year, all in the same box as your lights!

These storage boxes are sold separately for around $15 or in a pair for about $30.  Remember that regardless of the price on these boxes, you will have neatly stored lights each year at Christmastime!  Not only does purchasing a storage item such as this save you a hassle, it looks nice and neat also!  You can find this cool storage tool at many retail stores and online store.  Retail stores usually only carry these items during the season, but many stores online carry them all year long!

Organize that Wrapping Paper

You've purchased the wrapping paper to wrap all of those Christmas gifts and then you set it in the back of your closet and wait for another year to use it.  Perhaps the next year rolls around and you completely forgot about the wrapping paper in the back of your closet and when you pull it out, it is all wrinkled and pretty much rendered useless from the beating it took in the back of your closet.  Just like other Christmas decorations, with proper care, you Christmas wrapping paper can be preserved for the following year if you take care of it appropriately.

Christmas gift-wrap can be stored in a gift-wrap organizer that hangs from your closet door or in your closet.  The gift-wrap organizer comes with a hanger on the top for hanging in whatever closet or from whatever hook you choose.  These types of gift-wrap organizers can store up to 12 rolls of Christmas gift-wrap and it can store your ribbon and bows.  This is a great way to keep your wrapping paper and ribbons for those Christmas gifts organized.  This type of hanging organizer will cost about $20.

Another type of Christmas wrapping paper organizer is a vertical gift wrap storage container.  These storage containers are made from plastic and come with a lid.  They are a bit taller than your average gift-wrap, which allows for an easy fit for all of your Christmas gift-wrap.  A vertical gift-wrap organizer will hold around 16 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper and will run you around $13 or a bit more. 

Don't let your Christmas gift-wrap become damaged by simply discarding it in a closet when you are done with it.  With one purchase of a gift-wrap organizer, you can keep your Christmas wrapping paper fresh for next year!

How to Store Your Artificial Tree

So you had that beautiful artificial Christmas tree up for the holidays and the time has come to take it down and store it until next year. The problem many people run into when this occurs is just where to store your artificial Christmas tree without having to take it apart.  Many people just try to stuff it back in the box that it came from, but the tree gets misshapen and it can be difficult to straighten out the branches each year. Not to mention that little insects and other various four legged creatures can make their way into a cardboard storage box, so the tree's original box just won't cut it.   What's the best storage method?

You could try purchasing a Christmas tree storage bag that zips around the artificial tree.  This saves you the work of taking the tree apart and removing it from the tree stand.  Instead you can simply wrap the storage bag around the Christmas tree and zip or tie the ties up around it.

You must make sure when purchasing an artificial Christmas tree storage bag that the bag you buy actually fits your artificial tree.  Each type of storage bag fits a specific sized tree, such as trees up to nine feet tall, trees taller than 10 feet or smaller than six feet.  Read the box at purchase time carefully because you want to make sure you get a storage bag that fits your artificial Christmas tree!

Once you have your Christmas tree all wrapped up in the storage bag, you just need to find a place to store it for another year.  The best part is, you don't need to take it down completely and instead you just simply carry it out of the room it was up in and store it elsewhere. 

These storage bags can run from $20 to $50 and even more if you want to purchase a storage bag that stores your artificial Christmas tree completely decorated.  Yes, you can purchase a special storage bag to store your completely decorated artificial Christmas tree from year to year.  This saves you time every Christmas, instead of digging out your ornaments and decorating your tree, you just unwrap the decorated artificial tree from the previous year and place it where you want it.  This type of storage bag will cost you though.  Expect to pay close to $200 for this specialty bag.  You can find artificial Christmas tree storage bags online or at several retail stores, especially during the Christmas season.