How to Store & Organize Christmas Decor
Want to know what I did yesterday?? Well, I guess I should say what I did other than taking care of three sick kiddos. I put away all of my Christmas decor! Yep. It happened. Now before you get upset and think I’m a total scrooge, hear me out for a minute. See, I’ve had my holiday decor up since early November and I was just soooooooo ready for a clean and fresh house. I mean, you don’t realize how much it clutters things up until you take it all down. Plus it’s actually kind of become my tradition to spend the day after Christmas cleaning and decluttering the house. It feels so good. I just love getting a fresh start before the new year. I know you guys will be doing the same thing in your own homes soon too, so today I want to share how to store and organize your Christmas decor. Last year I basically just threw everything in giant plastic bins, which wasn’t so great when I went to unpack it all last month. So this time around, I wanted to be a lot more organized. I’ve come up with a few simple things that have made the whole process super easy, so I wanted to share that with you guys today!
How to Store and Organize Christmas Decor
1.Get rid of what you don’t love!
First of all, before you start packing anything up, go through all of your holiday home decor and get rid of anything you don’t love. Seriously, if you don’t love it, just throw it away or donate it. I should have done this last year, because I packed up a lot of Christmas decor I only felt so-so about. Just do yourself a favor now and downsize to only the stuff you know you’ll love and use again next year.
2.Store wreaths, garland & Christmas stems in wreath bags
Have you heard of these awesome wreath storage bags? They’re amazing. I didn’t even realize such a thing existed until a few days ago. They’re super heavy duty, and the ones I ordered are really big too, so I was able to fit all six of my wreaths in this one large bag. SCORE! It zips up and it even has handles so you can hang it if necessary. I love these because it keeps the wreaths organized and safely stored in a nice little package until next year.
I was also able to store my three-foot Christmas trees in these storage bags. I did have to bend the top branches down slightly, but they both fit in perfectly. I was so happy because I had no idea where I’d put these trees otherwise. I also put my garland and Christmas stems in there as well. Nice and organized!
3.Bubble wrap breakables and them store together!
The next thing I did this year was get myself some big bubble wrap to safely store all of my breakable holiday home decor. I didn’t do this last year and a few things did get damaged. So my plan this year was to put all of the breakables in one large tub and have them all safely wrapped up. Then they’re stored together snug and secure!
4.Store the fancy ornaments in a ornament storage container
I’ve been living under a rock or something because I’ve never used an actual ornament storage container before. But I finally ordered this one and I love it. I was able to make this work with my smaller and larger glass ornaments too. Then I just stored the plastic/non-fancy ones in a ziplock bag. Easy!
5. Store items together that go together
If you often feel overwhelmed with how to decorate for the holidays every year, try storing items together that go together. For example, if you know you’ll use the same Christmas decor on your mantel next year, try storing all of those items together in the same bin. Label the bin accordingly and then next year you don’t even have to think about how to style everything!
6.Wrap mini flocked trees
You guys know I have a lot of mini flocked Christmas trees. Well I wanted to make sure they stay in good condition while they’re in storage, so I decided to wrap each of them in a plastic grocery bag to ensure they don’t get damaged. I also did this to try to keep the flocking from going everrrrrrrywhere, you now how messy those are. I wrapped each one with a bag and stored them all together in a large plastic bin. Nothing fancy, but it works!
These are just a few of the things I did to store and organize our Christmas decor and I gotta say—it sure is a nice feeling knowing that everything is packed nicely and ready for next year. And as for our large Christmas trees, we actually put those back in their original boxes and then store it all in a large closet in our basement. (You can also use these large tree storage bags too). Overall, it took my husband and I about two hours or so to get everything packed up, but I know I’ll be grateful next year that I took a few extra steps to organize everything. And now that the Christmas decor is out of the house, it’s on to the next thing. I can’t wait to move a few things around and get a fresh look for the new year!
Christmas storage supplies:
Other posts you might like:
10 Simple Ways to Decorate for Winter
How to Transition From Christmas to Winter Decor
Simple Vintage Farmhouse Winter Porch
The Comments
Vicki
I don’t take my decor down right away, but one of your tips I had actually thought about myself was to store Items together based on where I display them. I guess not doing that forces me to be creative and not necessarily do things the same way, but I was pretty happy with my decor this year, and plan to store accordingly and label where it will go. I think this will make it easier to decorate in stages rather than have to get everything out at once just to find the right pieces to arrange together. Ornament storage boxes are the best! I have one that is a stackable plastic box with compartments that snap together with a handle on top, works great! Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year! Hope your littles are feeling better soon.
Sarah
> VickiI think that’s such a smart way to do it! Then you can decorate in phases if you want to next year. Mantel first, dining room, etc. It always feels good to get things organized and I’m glad I finally did it this year.
Jane
> VickiI do this, too, Vicki. I also take photos of the areas I’ve decorated so I can remember where I put arrangements, etc., if I really liked it. 🙂
Michele
What will you do next year if you decide to go with something else? Like a new color, a lot can happen in a year. My tastes change all the time and when I decide to shake things up I change everything. Just curious.
Sarah
> MicheleWell this year I invested in more stuff that I know I’ll love for many years to come. I hadn’t really done that in the past, because I was mostly buying stuff I only felt so-so about. I’m hoping this collection of Christmas decor will carry me through for many years!
Nikki
I always take mine down the day after……I just get so eager to start cleaning and organizing. I have several items that will be going to Goodwill today. If I didn’t use it this year in my decor, I’m sure I won’t next year so I’m donating it all. The older I get, the more simple I get! 🙂
Sarah
> NikkiI am right there with you Nikki. I’m all about getting rid of stuff I don’t really love. Even if I’m only so-so about it, I’d rather not have it sitting around. Ya know what I mean? It’s so freeing!
Heidi Cunningham
I also take it all down the day after. I am just ready to start organizing and getting everything cleaned up. Thank you so much for all the tips!!
Stephanie
What a great post, as I was just sitting here with my coffee looking at my decorations thinking how should I be storing some new stuff I got! Now I want to see what you decorate with after Christmas!! That’s my dilemma right now with my new huge floating shelf!
Sarah
> StephanieI have a whole post about decorating after Christmas! I just shared a few tips but it might be helpful to you: https://sarahjoyblog.com/transition-christmas-winter-decor/
Lyndie
Such great products you shared for smooth packing! Only wish I had these items now! My storage containers are old and need replacing so I’ll need to invest for next year.
I totally agree with decluttering right after Christmas. My little family always did this the day after as well because we left for a mini New year’s vacation and didn’t want to come home to that mess! I continue to pack up as soon as I can unless my tree was put up later. Happy New year sarah! Hope everyone feels better soon! xo
Sarah
> LyndieDecluttering is the best way to start the new year! Nothing feels better than a fresh, organized house. Lately I’ve been all about getting rid of what I don’t absolutely love and I gotta say–it feels pretty darn good. Thanks for dropping by Lyndie!
Jeannie
I thought I was the only one who used plastic grocery bags to pack Christmas things! Last year I invested in clear bins to store my stuff. I have big numbered labels with short list of what’s inside. That way if my son gets the bins out for me, I can tell him I want bins numbered… Works quite well.
I have SO MUCH stuff but a lot is from my parents’ first tree in 1948, my son’s annual ornaments, & special purchases. It’s hard to decide what to get rid of when it’s all pretty special. I also have some non-breakable ornaments so the pets don’t break my antique ones! I don’t use my Santas or village every year, but I really like them so I’ll keep them for a while longer.
I love Christmas & lights. I leave my tree up til after New Year’s so I can enjoy the peaceful, magical atmosphere.
Sarah
> JeannieThat’s so smart Jeannie! I love the idea of using numbers to label things. That must make it really easy when you pull things out from year to year. And I hear you on not getting rid of the sentimental stuff. No reason to if it means something to you. I say keep it!
Ivory
Great post. Extremely helpful. Thank you. Happy New Year
Sarah
> Ivorythank for dropping by Ivory!
Julie Briones
Just ordered the tree bag! Thanks for the tip and link!
Corinne
I took my time too packing everything up, but I remember your instagram story from the other day about the tree not fitting back in the box. And I thought I’d share what I do every year. It only takes a few minutes, and doesn’t damage the tree, I wrap each section nice and snug with plastic wrap! It helps tighten the branches and then all the pieces fit nicely back in the box no problem! Can’t wait to see what’s coming up! Have a happy new year!
Sarah
> CorinneThat’s such a great idea! I should have done that. I’ll try to remember for next year, that would save me a lot of hassle!
Sherri
Thanks for your tips today!! Taking down Christmas decor today and you had some great tips for storage. Praying your kiddos are feeling better soon. 🙏
Rondell Konat
Thank you for the great tips, I loved the one tip for putting mantel display all in one container I think that will help a lot! Hope everyone is feeling better soon, my husband came down with bronchitis Christmas day!
Sarah
> Rondell KonatOh no!! Bronchitis on Christmas day?! That would be awful. Hope he’s feeling better now!
Lori
Great ideas. Thank you
I finally cleaned up my holiday containers. Thanks for the motivation. Everything packed away and more organized.
Hope your kids are feeling better.
Sarah
> LoriThanks Lori, we are still in the trenches but hopefully everyone starts feeling better soon.
AnnTN
Since my son and daughter in law weren’t here for Christmas this year, I didn’t do a lot of decorating. As is the norm for me, all Christmas comes down the afternoon of Christmas. There’s something refreshing and snuggly about seeing a room back to normal. 🙂
Sarah
> AnnTNI completely agree, it’s so refreshing to put it all away and start with a clean slate for the new year.
Rita A Stutler
We leave our decor up til Jan 6th…tradional Catholic. I love my mantle so I will put all of that in one bin also. I do not do so well with the rest, as I have so much Vhristmas decor, but maybe this year will be the year I get totally organized with my Christmas deorations. Thanks for great post.
Sierra
I’m ready to take mine down too. As much as I love it, I’m ready to feel like I have my house back in order. I love the idea of those storage bags and those ornament containers! Happy New Year! Sierra~Beautifully Candid