Packing up Christmas 2016...

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Sugarplum

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Jan 4, 2013
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All 6 totes, 2 plastic bags of wreathes, poinsettias and candy canes, and 2 tree boxes, 1 big and 1 small are at the door ready to go back to the storage unit. It only occurred to me this year that maybe I should store the items according to room. But I just packed them up as I normally do, like items together since stuff is scattered everywhere and a lot of times I mix things up from year to year. I keep garlands and greenery together. And I have two totes for tree decorations, including lots of ball ornaments that I use all over the house.

I keep my gift boxes, bags and tissue in a fuschia colored smaller tote that stays here in the closet as well as the standing gift wrap roll storage bin.

I have a big clear tote with red lid that I store all the things that I don't want exposed to the brutal heat here in Florida. It stays on a shelf in my one utility closet, along with my Christmas china, mugs, etc. The tote has my beautiful serveware, candles, water globes. I also store my mom's cardboard nativity from the 1960's and the chalk animals in this closet, with my cherished Shiny Brite ornaments in the original box. In the front entry closet I have my 2 little trees and my centerpiece, all bagged up, next to the Halloween plastic pumpkins.

I have a little green plastic laundry basket from Dollar Tree that I store all my holiday towels and potholders in. That goes in the linen closet.

Now I just have to go to work tomorrow and undecorate there. Ugh, lol!
 
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Christmaslvr

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Oct 18, 2007
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I finally have Christmas all packed away...we'll be putting the bins out in the shed today. I have to ask...how many totes/bins do you all have for Christmas? I know I have way too many...but it's so hard to pare down.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Apr 23, 2008
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Nancy. I only have 3 totes. I have over the years culled alot of Christmas and I have limited myself to 3 totes. If I buy something new it needs to be able to fit in the totes that I already have.

I got a new Christmas tree bag this year so I have 3 totes and 1 bag.
 
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MinnieCo

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Apr 10, 2008
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I packed all of my indoor decor, minus my trees this afternoon. That made me super happy to get it all done in one swoop. Tomorrow I'll do the trees. That's a big undertaking. My bins are numbered in the teens, but my trees go in tubs too. We have to transport our stuff to our house, because we don't have a garage, so everything goes in a tub, including outdoor decor.
 

tanya

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Jan 8, 2012
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I have 4 big totes, a large tree bag and a folding table for the Christmas village.
This does not include linens, plates, glasses, clothes as they are all stored in the house.
I also keep my wrapping stuff in the house through the year.
 

AuntJamelle

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Oct 22, 2007
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South Bend, IN
Everything is down and put away with a few exceptions. The lights and swags on the front porch still need to be gotten to. And I have a few heavy cement figures of snowmen/penguins that need to come inside from the porch as well.

In the house the only things left are those that need the extra tall ladder out of storage to get to. The large wreath in our highest living room window and the carolers I have over the living room closet.

The "North Pole" storage room is packed and not in a very organized way. We've had a piece of white wire shelving propped up against the wall in there since we moved in. I've hung different things on it as it stands but DH is going to put it up for me. Unfortunately that means I need to move a considerable amount of things on that side of the room out of his way first.

It will be a job, but once the shelf is hung I'll have a place to hang up all the swags from the front porch, all the wreaths I don't have storage boxes for yet and so on. And there will be the shelf part itself that I can set smaller items on.

My goal is to get everything in the storage area tidied up, and arranged in such a way that I'll have easy access to certain things as the year progresses. Right now the boxes of Easter items are way back behind all the Christmas things.

If possible, sometime over the summer I'll try to update the labels on the boxes and totes as well. But we'll see!

I also want to make sure all wrapping supplies are not buried but right out in front and easy to get to so that I don't have any excuses for starting to wrap EARLY next year!
 

Minta

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Oct 14, 2007
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We have several totes of Christmas decorations that we have not used in the last few years. When we packed away the Christmas decorations this year we specially left them out in the garage so we can go through them. A couple totes are outside lights that we forgot about so we will test them this spring/summer to purge out what doesn't work and then decide if we will use the rest or maybe pass them along to someone else. I have a couple full of glass ornaments and with pets in the house I will not use them so I will either sell them at the yard sale this summer or pass them onto someone who could use them.
 

MinnieCo

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After another LONG day...my house is packed. Wrapping all those ornaments takes sooooo long. Plus this year I had to spend a little extra time dividing them up so my daughter can take hers next year for her first apartment. Or at least that's what she kinda thinks she's going to do. We'll see...if not, they are accessible to put on the family tree. I'm WORN out!! I am purging though...each and every year I get rid of more and more. Now I have one better excuse...to put a box of decorations aside for my kid. Then if I don't want it, it's now in her hands to decide if it's important to her or not.

I also redid my inventory sheet I keep. I have to with all these boxes traveling back and forth to storage. Otherwise I loose track of stuff. I redid my numbering system to make it easier to recall..and reference. Before they were random boxes 1-???? Now they are outside 1, outside 2, outside 3...
Disney 1, disney 2, disney 3.... I think it's going to be much easier for my hubby when I sent him to get stuff.
 

AuntJamelle

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Oct 22, 2007
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DH was able to put up shelves in my large storage room upstairs this weekend which is going to be awesome! Everything is still a mess right now as I had to pull so much out of the room so the shelves could be installed. Have made a start though and am excited to keep working on organizing in there!

I also got the carolers display on top of the living room closet taken down and put away. Now the only traces of Christmas left are the swags and lights on the front porch and the huge wreath that we need the extra long ladder to get to.

I'll take care of front porch no later than this weekend and I suspect DH will take care of wreath then too.

Now that shelves are up in the storage area I'll just attach the swags to hangers and hang them up! Already did that will all my wreaths that I don't have storage containers for yet. Worked great!
 

MinnieCo

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I still need to have my hubby get the ladder out for the stuff above my front door, but it's been yucky out.
 

housewife2

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Aug 3, 2008
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everything except snow men is packed away. I have 15 totes I had 3 trees so I have a lot of decorations. each tote is labeled. I have all my wrapping stuff in my craft room.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Apr 23, 2008
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WOW, 15 totes!!!!! That is amazing.
 

Ahorsesoul

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Oct 13, 2007
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I finally packed up the Snowmen. It took 2 totes but mainly because I pack them into their cardboard boxes. If I didn't use them I'm sure they would fit into 1 tote. Now I'll get Dh to carry them to the basement.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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I think if I lived in a snowy place I would keep my snowmen out for a while too.
Winter here is June, July and August and I never think of unpacking them and displaying them. I might consider that this year.