CIJ-Day 7-Put it Outside- Wrapping up the Holiday Season

[AnnieClaus]

When the sad day comes to put all the Outdoor decorations away until the next Holiday season,
we want to make sure that things are put away in an organized manner so that next year, we are not left
untangling- literally- a mess.

A few years ago my nephew came to take down my decorations. I'll forget never how he left a huge ball of lights by my front door!

See below for ways to ensure you put your outdoor decorations away properly.
Please post any tricks and hacks that you have developed over the years.
Do any of you have a storage shed outside specifically for this purpose?

Lights:

5 ways to keep strand lights tangle-free for next year

Tired of spending hours detangling string lights? Use these five methods for storing lights for next year.

www.cnet.com

Inflatables:
To store inflatables, carefully fold them up, wind up their electrical cords, and put them together inside a weatherproof box. Clear plastic storage boxes with tight-fitting lids are one of the best options. They'll keep out dust and moisture and allow you to see what's inside

Outdoor Christmas Decor:
Clear plastic storage boxes with tight-fitting lids are one of the best options. They'll keep out dust and moisture and allow you to see what's inside. Larger porch and yard decorations are often safest if they're left out and placed in a safe corner of your garage or storage shed.

Many people simply store large Christmas items in their garage. I remember going into my parent's garage and there would be several reindeer simply waiting for the next holiday season to go outside.

Although outdoor decorations are built to withstand the elements, it is still a good practice to protect them when they are not on display.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Great ideas here.
There is a house in my Mum's street that still has an awful lot of Christmas decor up. They put away the inflatables but left most of the rest. I wonder how effective they will be in December?

 

[Lori K]

I don't have a lot of outdoor decor, but all my outdoor garland goes in one bin that is labeled GARLAND. My door wreath goes in a zippered wreath bag, along with several indoor wreaths that I place on various doors, my leather strand with bells on it, and my centerpiece wreaths. They all nest nicely and this bag sits atop my ornament boxes on the top shelf in the garage. My garden flag goes in with other holiday linens. This is how I've always stowed these items. It works for me, so no reason to change it.

 

[Miss JoDee]

I have a lot of wall space on the back wall of the garage and hang my grapevine angel there (to big for a plastic lidded box. Our out door nativity leans against one of the other garage walls. It could use some repainting. I may just do that this summer yet. I will have to see what I can manage. All my decorations are stored on shelves along the back wall of the garage. I think I have 8 or 9 boxes. This will get culled down to fewer boxes after Christmas this year. It will be the last Christmas I will go "all out with decorations. It is starting to get to be to much and I want less stuff to maintain.

 

[jampss]

Good subject! Oranganizing Christmas decor! A few years ago I did cull. I have the holiday decor in plastic tubs (Christmas, Easter, Fall). I used to have paper boxes with lids that DH brought home for free, but I switched up.

 

[Lana]

Good ideals!

 

[missjane]

Not really a tip, per se, but I've found that I like things in the clear plastic storage bins, rather than the colored ones. When the color themed ones first came out, I was so excited and bought them, but soon regretted not being able to see inside. So, I'm slowly going to the clear.

Also, I learned to buy ones that are a manageable weight for me to handle alone after they're filled since DH may not be around at a certain time that I want to move them.

 

[Lori K]

Not really a tip, per se, but I've found that I like things in the clear plastic storage bins, rather than the colored ones. When the color themed ones first came out, I was so excited and bought them, but soon regretted not being able to see inside. So, I'm slowly going to the clear.

Also, I learned to buy ones that are a manageable weight for me to handle alone after they're filled since DH may not be around at a certain time that I want to move them.

I, too, have a lot of color-coded boxes for the holidays. I'm only replacing them if they happen to crack. But, I've put labels on both ends, with clear packing tape over the labels (which tend to dry out and fall off after a couple of years), so I can tell the contents -- Ornaments, Garland, Serving, Holiday Linens, Angels, etc. Orange lid/black tub I know is Halloween, I have a clear tub for St. Pats, and I can see lots of green, and one of the many standard blue tubs is labeled 4th. The lighter bins go on the top shelf, others are lower, with the heaviest on the bottom shelf, for the exact reason you mentioned. As a single person living alone, I don't want to be pulling the heavy bins down by myself. For those, if on the bottom shelf and if push comes to shove, I can bring items in from the garage as I need them, until the bin is light enough to carry.

 

[AnnieClaus]

Jane- That is a good tip to not fill them so full!
I have several that are quite large and full and they are way too heavy!!!!

 

[farmerswife]

Not really a tip, per se, but I've found that I like things in the clear plastic storage bins, rather than the colored ones. When the color themed ones first came out, I was so excited and bought them, but soon regretted not being able to see inside. So, I'm slowly going to the clear.

Also, I learned to buy ones that are a manageable weight for me to handle alone after they're filled since DH may not be around at a certain time that I want to move them.

Exactly the same for me. As I’ve gotten older I found that I need the bins to be smaller. That way I can decorate whenever creativity hits me. All my Christmas totes have been switched over to clear, and now I’m working on all my other decoration bins slowly getting there.

 

[Myron's Mom]

All of the outdoor decorations are in a box in the garage storage room. They are stored on the same shelf every year so we can find them.

I’m switching to smaller bins for storage here too. I’m finding I can’t manage the larger ones anymore. I find the smaller bins are easier to organized.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

I have also joined the SB Club.

 

[DahliaDoll]

My plastic storage is labeled with the contents and also numbered. I have a document on the computer with the box number and content. If I want a particular item, I can look at the document and tell DH to bring in that numbered box. Or go get it myself, of course. It also helps when storing them away again.

 

[PamelaG]

My plastic storage is labeled with the contents and also numbered. I have a document on the computer with the box number and content. If I want a particular item, I can look at the document and tell DH to bring in that numbered box. Or go get it myself, of course. It also helps when storing them away again.

Same here. Last year I put my ornaments away in bins according to the tree they go on - family trees, childhood tree, travel tree - makes is easy to decorate them one by one.

 

[farmerswife]

Same here. Last year I put my ornaments away in bins according to the tree they go on - family trees, childhood tree, travel tree - makes is easy to decorate them one by one.

Yes, I have started doing this as well, I find it much easier for decorating the individual trees.

 

[GrammaDeb]

I wish Dsil did something like that. I'll suggest it to him. Christmas totes are red, halloween totes are orange. All his totes sit stacked in the dining room walkway until he's ready to decorate with that tote's contents. Labels would surely simplify things.

 

[Cathymac2]

i agree that clear tubs are best. I use a Sharpie and write on the lid what it contains then TRY to put it back in the same tub. I have several with scribbled out writing! LOL. I do note the year(s) I use them on the box lid so I know what to look for when I have them brought in from Hub's shop to start decorating. I have done this for a few years and it seems to work for us.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

These are great tips, Annie.

I use labeled Rubbermaid Totes and stack them up on each other in our basement. We don't use the house attic to store things because of the fluctuation in temperatures. The basement temperature is consistent throughout the year.

We've stored the Christmas lights in the garage attic but this year we've moved them to the basement. We have been replacing outdoor lights every year for the last 5 years. We test them in November, they don't work and then we buy new ones. They work for that Christmas but come the following November, they don't work and the cycle keeps going. We're going to see if keep them in a room with a stable temperature will make a difference. Otherwise, I think this will be the final year of doing outdoor lights on the gutters.